the young man went down to the river to bathe, taking with him the little son of his friend the merchant, who was a mere child, and whom he persuaded to come with him by the gift of a dish of sweets. After he had bathed, the young man left the boy in charge of another friend, and then returned to the merchant's house. The merchant asked him, "Where is that little son of mine?" The young man replied, "A Kite swooped down from the air and carried him off." The merchant flew into a great rage and said, "You have kidnapped my son!" And he took the young man to the King's judgment hall. Here the owner of the Scales repeated his story of the Kite which swooped down from the sky and carried off the merchant's son. The officers of the court said, "This is impossible. How could a Kite carry off a boy?" The young man replied, "In a country where large Iron Scales can be eaten by Mice, a Kite might carry off an Elephant, to say nothing of a boy." When the officers of the court heard this, they were curious to hear the story of the Iron Scales; and when they had heard it they made the dishonest merchant return the Scales to their owner, while he on his part returned the merchant's son.
(Katha-Sarit-Sagara. Book X, Chapter 60.)
THE MONKEYS, THE FIREFLY AND THE BIRD
ONCE upon a time a troop of Monkeys were wandering through a wood. The weather was cold, and when in the twilight they came upon a Firefly they mistook it for the embers of a real fire. Accordingly, they placed dry grass and leaves around the Firefly, hoping to warm themselves; and one of the Monkeys fanned it with his breath, trying to kindle it into a blaze. A little Bird,
