My lord, having great anxiety on your account, I wandered about in
various countries. One day, when stooping to drink from a cool, clear
stream, near a forest, I saw something bright under the water, and
having taken it up, found it to be a ruby of very great value.
Exhausted by fatigue and the scorching heat of the sun, I went into a
small temple to rest, and saw there a brahman with a number of
children, all looking wretched and half-starved. He seemed to regard
me as a possible benefactor, and when questioned, readily told me his
story; how his wife had died, leaving him with the care of all these
children, and how, having no means of subsistence, he had wandered
about in the hope of obtaining some employment; but had got nothing
better than the charge of this small temple, where the offerings were
not sufficient to support him and his family.