Upon a time a man and his wife went a day's journey from their village
to the bazaar to sell their wares, and it fell upon the day of their
return that it rained heavily, and as they hurried along the highway,
they sought shelter from the head priest of a temple. He, however, would
not even let them enter. They begged to be permitted to sleep in the
sheltered place at the head of the stairs, but this also the priest
refused. Angered, they went under the temple and there rested.
When the priest had lain down on his mat in the room just over the place
where the man and his wife were hidden, he heard the man say to his
wife, "It will be good to be again with our young and beautiful
daughter. I trust all is well with her."
Having heard these words, the priest arose hastily and called, "Come up,
good people, and sleep in the temple. Here, too, are mats to rest upon."
And, as they talked of their beautiful daughter, the priest asked, "When
I am out of the temple, released from my vows, will you give me your
daughter to wife?"