Then a serving-maid came and said to the princess: "Princess, your mother remembers you.Come at once." And she went slowly, after drawing from her lover's face a passionate glance, for which Love's arrow had wedged a path.And Cloud-chariot went to the hermitage, thinking of her; while she, sick with the separation from the lord of her life, saw her mother, then tottered to her bed and fell upon it.Her eyes were blinded as if by smoke from the fire of love within her, her limbs tossed in fever, she shed tears.And though her friends anointed her with sandal and fanned her with lotus-leaves, she found no rest on her bed or in the lap of a friend or on the ground.
Then when the day fled away with the passionate red twilight, and the moon drew near to kiss the face of the laughing East, she despaired of life, and her modesty would not let her send a message in spite of all her love.But somehow she lived through the night.And Cloud-chariot too was in anguish at the separation.Even in his bed he was fallen into the hand of Love.Though his passion was so recent, he had already grown pale.Though shame kept him silent, his looks told of the pangs of love.And so he passed the night.
In the morning he arose and went to the shrine of Gauri.And his friend, the hermit's son, followed him and tried to comfort him.At that moment the lovelorn Sandal came out of her house alone, for she could not endure the separation, and crept to that lonely spot to end her life there.
She did not see her lover behind a tree, and with eyes brimming with tears she prayed to the goddess Gauri: "O goddess, since I could not in this life have Cloud-chariot as my husband, grant that in another life at last he may be my husband."Then she tied her garment to the limb of an ashoka tree before the goddess and cried: "Alas, my lord! Alas, Cloud-chariot! They say your benevolence is universal.Why did you not save me?"But as she fastened the garment about her neck, a voice from the sky was heard in the air: "My daughter, do nothing rash.Cloud-chariot, the future king of the fairies, shall be your husband."And Cloud-chariot heard the heavenly voice, and with his friend approached his rejoicing sweetheart.The friend said to the girl: "Here is the gift which the goddess grants you." And Cloud-chariot spoke more than one tender word and loosed the garment from her neck with his own hand.
Then a girl friend who had been gathering flowers there and had seen what was happening, came up joyfully and said, while Sandal's modest eyes seemed to be tracing a figure on the ground: "My dear, I congratulate you.Your wish is granted.This very day Prince Friend-wealth said in my presence to King All-wealth, your father:Father, the fairy prince , who deserves honour from all the world, who gave away the wishing-tree, is here, and we should treat him as an honoured guest.We could not findanother bridegroom like him.So let us welcome him with the gift of Sandal who is a pearl of a girl.' And the king agreed, and your brother Friend-wealth has this moment gone to the hermitage of the noble prince.I think your marriage will soon take place.So go to your chamber, and let the noble prince go to his hermitage."So she went slowly and happily and lovingly.And Cloud-chariot hastened to the hermitage.There he greeted Friend-wealth and heard his message, and told him about his own birth and former life.Then Friend- wealth was delighted and told Cloud-chariot's parents who were also delighted.Then he went home and made his own parents happy with the news.
That very day he invited Cloud-chariot to his home.And they made a great feast as was proper, and married the fairy prince and Sandal on the spot.Then Cloud-chariot was completely happy and spent some time there with his bride Sandal.
One day he took a walk for pleasure about the hills with Friend-wealth, and came to the seashore.There he saw great heaps of bones, and he asked Friend-wealth: "What creatures did these heaps of bones belong to?" His brother-in-law Friend-wealth said to the merciful prince: "Listen, my friend.I will tell you the story briefly."Long ago Kadru, the mother of the serpents, made a wager with her rival Vinata, the mother of the great bird Garuda.She won the wager and enslaved her rival.Now Garuda's anger continued even after he had freed his mother from slavery.He kept going into the underworld where Kadru's offspring, the serpents, live, to eat them.Some he killed, others he crushed.
Then Vasuki, king of the serpents, feared that in time all would be lost if the serpents were all to be slain thus.So he made an agreement with Garuda.He said: "O king of birds, I will send one serpent every day to the shore of the southern sea for you to eat.But you are never to enter the underworld again.What advantage would it be to you if all the serpents were slain at once?" And Garuda agreed, with an eye to his own advantage.
Since that time Garuda every day eats the snake sent by Vasuki here onthe seashore.And these heaps of bones from the serpents that have been eaten, have in time formed a regular mountain.
When Cloud-chariot heard this story from the lips of Friend-wealth, he was deeply grieved and said: "My friend, wretched indeed is that king Vasuki who deliberately sacrifices his own subjects to their enemy.He is a coward.He has a thousand heads, yet could not find a single mouth to say:O Garuda, eat me first.' How could he be so mean as to beg Garuda to destroy his own race? Or how can Garuda, the heavenly bird, do such a crime? Oh, insolent madness!"So the noble Cloud-chariot made up his mind that he would use his poor body that day to save the life of one serpent at least.At that moment a door-keeper, sent by Friend-wealth's father, came to summon them home.And Cloud-Chariot said: "Do you go first.I will follow." So he dismissed Friend-wealth, and remained there himself.
