22
TALES OF THE PUNJAB
how hot your house is! Everything I touch seems burning!'
'You are out of the wind there, my son.' replied the cunning old Queen; 'sit more in the middle of the stool, and then you will feel the breeze and get cooler.'
But he didn't! for the stewpan-lid by this time had become so hot, that the Rat fairly frizzled when he sat down on it; and it was not until he had left all his tail, half his hair, and a large piece of his skin behind him, that he managed to escape, howling with pain, and vowing that never, never, never again would he make a bargain!