Atondido Stories
But this time the cowherd had followed Suri, and had seen
the wonderful child and all she did to it. So he ran and told the
four Queens, "The King's cow has a beautiful boy inside her. He
has a moon on his forehead and a star on his chin. Such a child
has never been seen before!"
At this the Queens were terrified. They tore their clothes and
their hair and cried. When the King came home at evening, he
asked them why they were so agitated. "Oh," they said, "your
cow came and tried to kill us; but we ran away. She tore our hair
and our clothes." "Never mind," said the King. "Eat your dinner
and be happy. The cow shall be killed to-morrow morning."
Now Suri heard the King give this order to the servants, so she
said to herself, "What shall I do to save the child?" When it was
midnight, she went to the King's horse called Katar, who was
very wicked, and quite untameable. No one had ever been able
to ride him; indeed no one could go near him with safety, he was
so savage. Suri said to this horse, "Katar, will you take care of
something that I want to give you, because the King has ordered
me to be killed to-morrow?"
"Good," said Katar; "show me what it is." Then Suri brought
up the child, and the horse was delighted with him. "Yes," he
said, "I will take the greatest care of him. Till now no one has
been able to ride me, but this child shall ride me." Then he swal-
lowed the boy, and when he had done so, the cow made him
many salaams, saying, "It is for this boy's sake that I am to die."
The next morning she was taken to the jungle and there killed.
The beautiful boy now lived in the horse's stomach, and he
stayed in it for one whole year. At the end of that time the horse
thought, "I will see if this child is alive or dead." So he brought
him up; and then he loved him, and petted him, and the little
prince played all about the stable, out of which the horse was
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