At last one of the messengers saw the queen in
the holy man's hermitage and went back and told the king. The king
was overjoyed, and, taking his chief minister with him, he journeyed
to the hermitage. He threw himself at the holy man's feet and then
loaded him with presents. And the holy man was pleased and said,
"O King, I have treated your wife exactly as if she had been my own
daughter. She has lived here just as if she had been in her father's
house. Now take her with you back again and once more go through the
marriage ceremony with her." The king consented, and both he and the
queen prostrated themselves before the holy man, and then they both
returned to Atpat. And they celebrated their home-coming with the
greatest splendour. And the rest of the king's reign was as happy as
possible. And we shall be just as happy if we honour Shiva like the
King of Atpat did.
CHAPTER XVI
The Rishi and the Brahman
Once upon a time there was a town called Atpat. In it there lived a
Brahman. For many years he lived happily and cultivated his fields of
rice and grain.
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