twice as many pieces of money." So the bargain was concluded and signed and the son was placed in the merchant's house, where he became the object of all the wiles that women could devise.
The arts of women are these: deceitful speech; craft; oaths; pretended emotions; pretended weeping; pretended laughter; meaningless expressions of pleasure and pain; asking questions with a deferential air; indifference; equanimity, in prosperity, or adversity; making no difference between good and evil; sidelong glances directed towards lovers: that is the list of the accomplishments practised by the ladies of the town.
So the son handed over according to the agreement by Dhûrtamâyâ, was sent by his father to the island of Suvarna to acquire wealth. In that island lived a lady called Kalâvatî, and with her he spent a whole year. One day he said to Kalâvatî: " Pray tell me ! my youngest sister has often said, that although she was skilled in all the arts of attracting men, she never could succeed in getting anything out of her admirers. How is this to be accomplished ? " Kalâvatî repeated this to her mother: " My dear ! " replied the old lady, " it is quite clear that this admirer of yours is well up in the ways of women: you can't catch him like this; perhaps flattery might succeed. When
