'Now we will journey on to my family, and we will all repay you for the
kindness you showed to me.'
'You have done more than enough in giving me back my hand,' replied the
girl; but the snake only smiled.
'Be quick, lest the sun should set,' he answered, and began to wriggle
along so fast that the girl could hardly follow him.
By and bye they arrived at the house in a tree where the snake lived,
when he was not travelling with his father and mother. And he told them
all his adventures, and how he had escaped from his enemy. The father
and mother snake could not do enough to show their gratitude. They made
their guest lie down on a hammock woven of the strong creepers which
hung from bough to bough, till she was quite rested after her
wanderings, while they watched the baby and gave him milk to drink from
the coconuts which they persuaded their friends the monkeys to crack for
them. They even managed to carry small fruit tied up in their tails for
the baby's mother, who felt at last that she was safe and at peace. Not
that she forgot her husband, for she often thought of him and longed to
show him her son, and in the night she would sometimes lie awake and
wonder where he was.
* * * * *
In this manner many weeks passed by.
And what was the prince doing?
Well, he had fallen very ill when he was on the furthest border of the
kingdom, and he was nursed by some kind people who did not know who he
was, so that the king and queen heard nothing about him. When he was
better he made his way slowly home again, and into his father's palace,
where he found a strange man standing behind the throne with the
peacock's feathers. This was his wife's brother, whom the king had taken
into high favour, though, of course, the prince was quite ignorant of
what had happened.
For a moment the king and queen stared at their son, as if he had been
unknown to them; he had grown so thin and weak during his illness that
his shoulders were bowed like those of an old man.
'Have you forgotten me so soon?' he asked.
At the sound of his voice they gave a cry and ran towards him, and
poured out questions as to what had happened, and why he looked like
that. But the prince did not answer any of them.
'How is my wife?' he said. There was a pause.
Then the queen replied:
'She is dead.'
'_Dead!_' he repeated, stepping a little backwards. 'And my child?'
'He is dead too.'