Atondido Stories
The Charmed Ring
A merchant started his son in life with three hundred rupees,
and bade him go to another country and try his luck in trade.
The son took the money and departed. He had not gone far be-
fore he came across some herdsmen quarrelling over a dog, that
some of them wished to kill. "Please do not kill the dog," pleaded
the young and tender-hearted fellow; "I will give you one hun-
dred rupees for it." Then and there, of course, the bargain was
concluded, and the foolish fellow took the dog, and continued
his journey. He next met with some people fighting about a cat.
Some of them wanted to kill it, but others not. "Oh! please do not
kill it," said he; "I will give you one hundred rupees for it." Of
course they at once gave him the cat and took the money. He
went on till he reached a village, where some folk were quarrel-
ling over a snake that had just been caught. Some of them
wished to kill it, but others did not. "Please do not kill the
snake," said he; "I will give you one hundred rupees." Of course
the people agreed, and were highly delighted.
What a fool the fellow was! What would he do now that all
his money was gone? What could he do except return to his fa-
ther? Accordingly he went home.
"You fool! You scamp!" exclaimed his father when he had
heard how his son had wasted all the money that had been given
to him. "Go and live in the stables and repent of your folly. You
shall never again enter my house."
So the young man went and lived in the stables. His bed was
the grass spread for the cattle, and his companions were the dog,
the cat, and the snake, which he had purchased so dearly. These
creatures got very fond of him, and would follow him about
during the day, and sleep by him at night; the cat used to sleep
at his feet, the dog at his head, and the snake over his body,
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