This was truly logical.

　　On the other hand， the jay was sternly reproved for her mutinous and treasonable assertions by the husband of her mistress， Raja Ram， who， although still a bridegroom， had not forgotten the gallant rule of his syntax——

　　The masculine is more worthy than the feminine；

　　till Madan-manjari burst into tears and declared that her life was not worth having. And Raja Ram looked at her as if he could have wrung her neck.

　　In short， Raja Vikram， all the four lost their tempers， and with them what little wits they had. Two of them were but birds， and the others seem not to have been much better， being young， ignorant， inexperienced， and lately married. How then could they decide so difficult a question as that of the relative wickedness and villany of men and women？ Had your majesty been there， the knot of uncertainty would soon have been undone by the trenchant edge of your wit and wisdom， your knowledge and experience. You have， of course， long since made up your mind upon the subject？

　　Dharma Dhwaj would have prevented his father's reply. But the youth had been twice reprehended in the course of this tale， and he thought it wisest to let things take their own way.

　　"Women，" quoth the Raja， oracularly， "are worse than we are； a man， however depraved he may be， ever retains some notion of right and wrong， but a woman does not. She has no such regard whatever."

　　"The beautiful Bangalah Rani for instance？" said the Baital， with a demonaic sneer.

　　At the mention of a word， the uttering of which was punishable by extirpation of the tongue， Raja Vikram's brain whirled with rage. He staggered in the violence of his passion， and putting forth both hands to break his fall， he dropped the bundle from his back. Then the Baital， disentangling himself and laughing lustily， ran off towards the tree as fast as his thin brown legs would carry him. But his activity availed him little.

　　The king， puffing with fury， followed him at the top of his speed， and caught him by his tail before he reached the siras-tree， hurled him backwards with force， put foot upon his chest， and after shaking out the cloth， rolled him up in it with extreme violence， bumped his back half a dozen times against the stony ground， and finally， with a jerk， threw him on his shoulder， as he had done before.

　　The young prince， afraid to accompany his father whilst he was pursuing the fiend， followed slowly in the rear， and did not join him for some minutes.

　　But when matters were in their normal state， the Vampire， who had endured with exemplary patience the penalty of his impudence， began in honeyed accents，

　　"Listen， O warrior king， whilst thy servant recounts unto thee another true tale."