well received; and the best apartments were assigned to them.
It had been a long-standing custom with Pashabutty to challenge every rich stranger who came to her to a game at dice, on condition that if he won, she and her seven sisters should surrender their charms to him; but if he lost the game he must forfeit his life. The challenge was given to the new guests, of whose birth and near connection with her Pashabutty was quite ignorant; for the letter sent by her sister had miscarried. They accepted the challenge, lost the game, and with it their lives. Pashabutty and her seven sisters feasted upon them.
The forest in which Dalimkumar had fallen from his horse was situated on the borders of a kingdom ruled by a young queen of extraordinary beauty, who seemed doomed by fate to widowhood. Unfettered by any law prohibiting the remarriage of widows in her kingdom, she had married several young men worthy of her, one after another, each one of whom had mysteriously died during the night following the day of marriage. The last of these had died on the very night that Dalim had been struck blind; and so while the next morning he was lying helpless, the royal elephant in quest of a new husband for its queen took him up on its back and entered the palace with him, in the midst of great rejoicings. The prince was at once introduced to the queen, who with joy accepted him as her lord. After spending a part of the night in delightful conversation, the royal couple retired to rest. The night advanced, and the whole city was wrapped in silence. But Dalimkumar, who had been informed of the fate of his predecessors, sat up with lights near him. Suddenly he heard unusual sounds in the room. The walls began to shake and crack in every direction. The prince was struck with terror, but he was not unmanned. Though blind, he found his sword, and grasping it in his hand, he stood firm to meet the impending danger. In the meantime, something like a thread cut through the nostrils of the queen which
