By chance one morning Raja Vikram went， attended by his ministers， to see his stables. At this time the young merchant also arrived there， and in the usual manner placed a fruit in the royal hand. As the king was thoughtfully tossing it in the air， it accidentally fell from his fingers to the ground. Then the monkey， who was tethered amongst the horses to draw calamities from their heads，[FN#34] snatched it up and tore it to pieces. Whereupon a ruby of such size and water came forth that the king and his ministers， beholding its brilliancy， gave vent to expressions of wonder.
[FN#34] The Persian proverb is—— "Bala e tavilah bar sat i maimun"： "The woes of the stable be on the monkey's head！" In some Moslem countries a hog acts prophylactic. Hence probably Mungo Park's troublesome pig at Ludamar.
Quoth Vikram to the young merchant severely——for his suspicions were now thoroughly roused——"Why hast thou given to us all this wealth？"
"O great king，" replied Mal Deo， demurely， "it is written in the scriptures （shastra） 'Of Ceremony' that 'we must not go empty-handed into the presence of the following persons， namely， Rajas， spiritual teachers， judges， young maidens， and old women whose daughters we would marry.' But why， O Vikram， cost thou speak of one ruby only， since in each of the fruits which I have laid at thy feet there is a similar jewel？" Having heard this speech， the king said to the master of his household， "Bring all the fruits which I have entrusted to thee." The treasurer， on receiving the royal command， immediately brought them， and having split them， there was found in each one a ruby， one and all equally perfect in size and water. Raja Vibram beholding such treasures was excessively pleased. Having sent for a lapidary， he ordered him to examine the rubies， saying， "We cannot take anything with us out of this world. Virtue is a noble quality to possess here below——so tell justly what is the value of each of these gems.[FN#35]"
[FN#35] So the moribund father of the "babes in the wood" lectures his wicked brother， their guardian：
"To God and you I recommend My children deare this day：
But little while， be sure， we have Within this world to stay." But， to appeal to the moral sense of a goldsmith！
To so moral a speech the lapidary replied， " Maha-Raja[FN#36]！ thou hast said truly； whoever possesses virtue， possesses everything； virtue indeed accompanies us always， and is of advantage in both worlds. Hear， O great king！ each gem is perfect in colour， quality and beauty. If I were to say that the value of each was ten million millions of suvarnas （gold pieces）， even then thou couldst not understand its real worth. In fact， each ruby would buy one of the seven regions into which the earth is divided."
[FN#36] Maha （great） raja （king）： common address even to those who are not royal.
The king on hearing this was delighted， although his suspicions were not satisfied； and， having bestowed a robe of honour upon the lapidary， dismissed him. Thereon， taking the young merchant's hand， he led him into the palace， seated him upon his own carpet in presence of the court， and began to say， "My entire kingdom is not worth one of these rubies： tell me how it is that thou who buyest and sellest hast given me such and so many pearls？"
Mal Deo replied： "O great king， the speaking of matters like the following in public is not right； these things——prayers， spells， drugs， good qualities， household affairs， the eating of forbidden food， and the evil we may have heard of our neighbour——should not be discussed in full assembly. Privately I will disclose to thee my wishes. This is the way of the world； when an affair comes to six ears， it does not remain secret； if a matter is confided to four ears it may escape further hearing； and if to two ears even Brahma the Creator does not know it； how then can any rumour of it come to man？"
