was moving about in search of them and all their efforts came to nothing. In the meantime they had become weary from wandering and they felt very thirsty. As there was no water to be found, they climbed a tall tree to be able to watch the flight of water-fowl, so as to find out a pool frequented by them. They at last noticed a heron flying from a certain direction. The elder sister climbed down and proceeded in that direction, while the other girl remained on the tree. After proceeding a long way, the elder girl came to a lovely artificial lake belonging to a rajah whose son, the prince, was just then taking a stroll along the embankment. The prince chanced to see her and was straightway smitten with her charms and he determined to take her to wife. As the girl stooped to have a drink of water, she was stopped by the young man who forbade her to touch the water unless she consented to be his wife. There was nothing for her but to give her consent, as she was dying of thirst. She was thus taken into the royal palace and she became the prince 's wife. Meanwhile the younger girl got tired of waiting and was frightened out of her wits by troops of monkeys which began to sway the branches of the tree on which she was perched. She came down from the tree but was soon devoured by wild animals. Some time after this sad event, a cowherd happened to come to the place with his cattle. He picked up the girl's bones and made them into a fiddle. So strange did this fiddle prove, that it charmed all who heard its music. The man who belonged to the caste of milkmen gave up tending cattle, as his fiddle, with which he entertained his patrons, brought him more money. He went one day, in the course of his travels as a minstrel, to the king's palace where the elder sister was living. The music soon attracted all the members of the royal household and amongst those who came to listen to it, was the elder sister. It seemed to have a strangly depressing effect on the princess. In some mysterious way the fiddle said to her: "Our father dear went into the woods to give us Tiril fruits and, alas, we lost him for ever! My beloved sister left me and went to fetch

me some water to drink, but she never came back and became a royal princess. It was left for me to have my bones made into a fiddle by a stranger and to lament the loss of my dear ones for evermore ". The music saddened the heart of the princess and she could stand it no longer. Returning to her room in the royal palace, she threw herself on a couch and wept bitterly. The prince, finding her in such an unhappy mood, made kind inquiries, for it struck him as strange that the music which had enlivened everyone in the palace should have cast a damper on her spirits. The princess then for the first time told the story of her life and expressed a desire to possess the strange musical instrument. Anxious to please her, the prince at once arranged that the minstrel who owned the fiddle should stay in the palace as a guest. The man was served with rice and other articles of food which, as a man of different caste, he cooked for himself. After preparing his own dinner he went to the river for his bath. While he was away the palace servants removed the fiddle and substituted for it another which resembled it in general appearance. The minstrel had his dinner and was handsomely rewarded for the excellent music with which he had entertained the royal household. When he took his departure he was ordered to abstain from playing on his fiddle in that town. The man returned home in high glee; but he afterwards found that his fiddle had, for some unknown reason, lost its charm. He gave up his minstrelsy and resumed his old occupation as a herdsman.

Thus the princess, who had become queen by the death of the old king and the elevation of her husband to the throne, obtained possession of the skull and bones of her deceased sister. She placed these remains in an urn, well decorated with turmeric paste, powdered rice and vermillion, which she placed in a sacred niche. She then prayed earnestly to the Supreme Being (Sing Bonga) and asked that her sister may be restored to life. It pleased the Supreme Being to grant her prayer. She obtained the gift of ambrosia which she sprinkled on the urn, and forthwith, to her infinite delight, her dear sister sprang to life again.

Henceforth the two loving sisters lived happily together in the palace for many long years.

The Origin of Bride-Price.

Yawning without covering the mouth was in olden times. regarded by the Hos of the Karwa-Killi clan as an evil symptom which distinguishes wer-tigers. They promptly seized anyone found yawning without covering the mouth, and carried him to a tiger's den where they abandoned him to his fate. A Munda's daughter was once detected in the act of yawning without covering her mouth with her hand. She was according to this inexorable custom, led by her people to the den of a tiger. Then the men cooked some rice and, after the girl had anointed herself with oil and turmeric-paste, they made her partake of the food and, after placing her on a raised seat right in front of the cave, they left the place A herdsman who bad been tending cattle in the jungle had quietly watched these proceedings from a distance. The man returned to the place in the evening, armed with a bow, after shutting up his cattle in the pen. As the tiger came out of its lair and was preparing to spring on the unhappy girl, the man aimed a dart at the beast and killed it on the spot. He took the girl home, intending to make her his wife. After some months had passed and the young couple had settled down as man and wife, a weaver came to the herdsman's house to sell cloth, and he saw and at once recognized the girl. Said the weaver to the herdsman: know this girl. She is the daughter of our rich Munda. You have acted indiscreetly by detaining her in your house. Should the Munda know of it, your life will be in serious jeopardy.” The poor herdsman was frightened out of his wits. He eventually plucked up courage to propose that he would present the Munda with three score cows and in addition a he-buffalo as the price of the village headman's consent to the matrimonial union. The weaver conveyed this message to the headman. The story was regarded with incredulity as the value of the gift was much too great for the herdsman who offered it; and the Munda was not satisfied until the message was fully

verified by a special messenger who was sent to the herdsman. The Munda gave his for mal consent to the marriage after receiving the promised gifts. Tradition says that this incident led to the abolition of the inhuman custom connected with yawning and to the introduction of the practice of claiming marriage dowers for brides.

A Saurian Son-in-law.

There was once upon a time a Ho whose wife was an expectant mother. Like a good husband, he gave his best attention to her wants and provided her with many dainty articles of food while she was in a delicate state. There lived in the neighbourhood a crocodile whose abode was in a tank and who had raised a variety of vegetables, such as gourds, pumpkins and herbs on the raised embankments along the margin of the water. This crocodile served the Ho as his greengrocer. In the course of friendly talk the Ho spoke to the Saurian one day of the present condition of his wife. The crocodile proposed, and it was agreed between the parties, that if a male child should be born a compact of eternal friendship would be established between the boy and the Saurian; but if the expected child should prove a girl, she would have to wed the Saurian. In due course a female child was born to the Ho couple. The girl grew up to womanhood in the house of her parents. She happened one day to accompany her mother to the tank. She saw a lotus flower in full bloom on the surface of the water and expressed a desire to possess it. Her mother told her to As she put her foot

her

get into the water and pluck the flower. into the tank she planted it right on the back of the crocodile who had been watching his opportunity to get possession of The Saurian glided slowly into deeper water with the girl on his back. When she found herself up to her ankle in water, she sang a song the burden of which was : "Mother dear, my feet are in ankle-deep

wet." Her mother sang back. child; it was your father who crocodile, and now the Saurian

water and they are getting "What can I do, my darling made a compact with the claims you as his wife." The

girl repeated her song with appropriate variations as she found herself by degrees up to her knees, then up to her breast and then up to her neck in water; but each time she met with the same response from her mother. At last she was taken right into the depths of the water where the crocodile had his quarters. After making her comfortable in her new home, the crocodile reappeared onthe surface of the tank and told his mother-in-law that he will follow the time-honoured custom and pay a ceremonial visit to his parents-in-law, accompanied by his wife, as soon as the honeymoon was over. Returning to his subaqueous chambers, the crocodile asked his wife to brew some Diang (rice-beer) in preparation of their visit. After enjoying the honeymoon the newly-wedded couple started off on their journey to the house of the bride's parents. The girl, according to custom, walked ahead, carrying the jar of Diang on her head. The crocodile, who was unaccustomed to rapid movement on firm ground, lagged behind, unnoticed by his wife. "Where is our dear son-in-law ?" asked the mother when the girl reached home. "Your son-in-law is a slow walker," said the girl, "he will turn up before very long." The mother then addressed her son and said: "Go, my son, and meet your good brother-in-law and welcome him to our house." The young man set out in the direction indicated to him. He went a long way, but came across none but an ugly reptile crawling slowly along from the opposite direction. He ran back in fear and trembling and told his people of his experiences. His sister assured him that he had indeed seen, but had failed to recognize, his own brotherin-law. The young man could not restrain a laugh when he found out who his sister's husband was. On the arrival of the crocodile, he was received with great cordiality by the entire household and he was offered a drink of Diang, which was served in a flat wooden trough in which pigs are fed. The crocodile had his fill of the strong liquor, and getting drunk as a drum he lost the power of speech. His wife spoke endearingly to him and did all she could to rouse him from