Part II
The wayfaring man believed her tale， and conducted her to her home， where she gave the same account of the accident which had befallen her， ending with， "beyond this， I know not if they have killed my husband， or have let him go." The father thus soothed her grief "Daughter！ have no anxiety； thy husband is alive， and by the will of the Deity he will come to thee in a few days. Thieves take men's money， not their lives." Then the parents presented her with ornaments more precious than those which she had lost； and summoning their relations and friends， they comforted her to the best of their power.
And so did I. The wicked hunchback had， meanwhile， returned to his own city， where he was excellently well received， because he brought much wealth with him. His old associates flocked around him rejoicing； and he fell into the same courses which had beggared him before. Gambling and debauchery soon blunted his passions， and emptied his purse. Again his boon companions， finding him without a broken cowrie， drove him from their doors， he stole and was flogged for theft； and lastly， half famished， he fled the city. Then he said to himself， "I must go to my father-in-law， and make the excuse that a grandson has been born to him， and that I have come to offer him congratulations on the event."
Imagine， however， his fears and astonishment， when， as he entered the house， his wife stood before him. At first he thought it was a ghost， and turned to run away， but she went out to him and said， "Husband， be not troubled ！ I have told my father that thieves came upon us， and killed the slave girl and robbed me and threw me into a well， and bound thee and carried thee off. Tell the same story， and put away all anxious feelings. Come up and change thy tattered garments-alas！ some misfortune hath befallen thee. But console thyself； all is now well， since thou art returned to me， and fear not， for the house is shine， and I am thy slave."
The wretch， with all his hardness of heart， could scarcely refrain from tears. He followed his wife to her room， where she washed his feet， caused him to bathe， dressed him in new clothes， and placed food before him. When her parents returned， she presented him to their embrace， saying in a glad way， "Rejoice with me， O my father and mother！ the robbers have at length allowed him to come back to us." Of course the parents were deceived， they are mostly a purblind race； and Hemgupt， showing great favour to his worthless son-in-law， exclaimed， "Remain with us， my son， and be happy！"
For two or three months the hunchback lived quietly with his wife， treating her kindly and even affectionately. But this did not last long. He made acquaintance with a band of thieves， and arranged his plans with them.
After a time， his wife one night came to sleep by his side， having put on all her jewels. At midnight， when he saw that she was fast asleep， he struck her with a knife so that she died. Then he admitted his accomplices， who savagely murdered Hemgupt and his wife； and with their assistance he carried off any valuable article upon which he could lay his hands. The ferocious wretch！ As he passed my cage he looked at it， and thought whether he had time to wring my neck. The barking of a dog saved my life； but my mistress， my poor Ratnawati-ah， me！ ah， me！——
"Queen，" said the jay， in deepest grief， "all this have I seen with mine own eyes， and have heard with mine own ears. It affected me in early life， and gave me a dislike for the society of the other sex. With due respect to you， I have resolved to remain an old maid. Let your majesty reflect， what crime had my poor mistress committed？ A male is of the same disposition as a highway robber； and she who forms friendship with such an one， cradles upon her bosom a black and venomous snake."
"Sir Parrot，" said the jay， turning to her wooer， "I have spoken. I have nothing more to say， but that you he-things are all a treacherous， selfish， wicked race， created for the express purpose of working our worldly woe， and——"
"When a female， O my king， asserts that she has nothing more to say， but，" broke in Churaman， the parrot with a loud dogmatical voice， "I know that what she has said merely whets her tongue for what she is about to say. This person has surely spoken long enough and drearily enough."
"Tell me， then， O parrot，" said the king， "what faults there may be in the other sex."
"I will relate，" quoth Churaman， "an occurrence which in my early youth determined me to live and to die an old bachelor."
When quite a young bird， and before my schooling began， I was caught in the land of Malaya， and was sold to a very rich merchant called Sagardati， a widower with one daughter， the lady Jayashri. As her father spent all his days and half his nights in his counting-house， conning his ledgers and scolding his writers， that young woman had more liberty than is generally allowed to those of her age， and a mighty bad use she made of it.
O king！ men commit two capital mistakes in rearing the "domestic calamity，" and these are over-vigilance and under-vigilance. Some parents never lose sight of their daughters， suspect them of all evil intentions， and are silly enough to show their suspicions， which is an incentive to evil-doing. For the weak-minded things do naturally say， "I will be wicked at once. What do I now but suffer all the pains and penalties of badness， without enjoying its pleasures？" And so they are guilty of many evil actions； for， however vigilant fathers and mothers may be， the daughter can always blind their eyes.
