Page:Indian fairy tales (1892).djvu/215

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Boy with Moon on Forehead
177

son," he said; but as I never had a child, you cannot be my son." "Do you remember your dog Shankar, and how you had him killed? And do you remember your cow Suri, and how you had her killed too? Your wives made you kill them because of me. And," he said, taking the King to Katar, "do you know whose horse that is?"

The King looked at Katar, and then said, "That is my horse Katar." "Yes," said the prince. "Do you not remember how he rushed past you out of his stable with me on his back?" Then Katar told the King the prince was really his son, and told him all the story of his birth, and of his life up to that moment; and when the King found the beautiful prince was indeed his son, he was so glad, so glad. He put his arms round him and kissed him and cried for joy.

"Now," said the King, "you must come with me to my palace, and live with me always."

"No," said the prince, "that I cannot do. I cannot go to your palace. I only came here to fetch my mother; and now that I have found her, I will take her with me to my father-in-law's palace. I have married a King's daughter, and we live with her father."

"But now that I have found you, I cannot let you go," said his father. "You and your wife must come and live with your mother and me in my palace."

"That we will never do," said the prince, "unless you will kill your four wicked Queens with your own hand. If you will do that, we will come and live with you."

So the King killed his Queens, and then he and his wife, the gardener's daughter, and the prince and his wife, all went to live in the King's palace, and lived there happily