Note 1 — XX The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged

Once on a time there lived a king who had a son. The young prince had three friends, the son of the prime minister, the son of the prefect of the police, and the son of the richest merchant of the city. These four friends had great love for one another. Once on a time they bethought themselves of seeing distant lands. They accordingly set out one day, each one riding on a horse. They rode on and on, till about noon they came to the outskirts of what seemed to be a dense forest. There they rested a while, tying to the trees their horses, which began to browse. When they had refreshed themselves, they again mounted their horses and resumed their journey. At sunset they saw in the depths of the forest a temple, near which they dismounted, wishing to lodge there that night. Inside the temple there was a sannyasi,1 apparently absorbed in meditation, as he did not notice the four friends. When darkness covered the forest, a light was seen inside the temple. The four friends resolved to pass the night on the balcony of the temple; and as the forest was infested with many wild beasts, they deemed it safe that each of them should watch one prahara2 of the night, while the rest should sleep. It fell to the lot of the merchant’s son to watch during the first prahara, that is to say, from six in the evening to nine o’clock at night. Towards the end of his watch the merchant’s son saw a wonderful sight. The hermit took up a bone with his hand, and repeated over it some words which the merchant’s son distinctly heard. The moment the words were uttered, a clattering sound was heard in the precincts of the temple, and the merchant’s son saw many bones moving from different parts of the forest. The bones collected themselves inside the temple, at the foot of the hermit, and lay there in a heap. As soon as this took place, the watch of the merchant’s son came to an end; and, rousing the son of the prefect of the police, he laid himself down to sleep.