When Putraka heard the wonders which, could be done with what he had
thought not worth having, he determined to get possession of the three
treasures for himself; not considering that it would be very wrong to
take what did not belong to him. “It seems a pity to fight,” he said,
“why don’t you race for the things, and let whichever wins the race
have them? That banyan tree over there would make a good winning post
and I will be the umpire.”
Instead of guessing what Putraka had in his mind, the brothers, who
were very simple fellows, said at once: “All right. We won’t fight,
we’ll race instead, and you can give us the start.” Putraka agreed, and
directly they were off he lost not a moment, but picked up the bowl and
the staff, put on the shoes, and flew straight up into the air with the
treasures. When the brothers came back, disputing about which of them
had won, there was not a sign of Putraka, the bowl, the stick, or the
shoes. They guessed at once what had happened; and after staring up in
the air for a long time, they went home, feeling very much enraged with
the man who had cheated them, and ashamed of having been so stupid as
to trust him.
19. What do you think of Putraka’s behaviour in this matter?
20. If you could have had one of the three things Putraka stole, which
would you have chosen?