When therefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan saw that he had again
failed in the end and object of his journey, he once more took the
way of the cool grove; and having taken the Siddhî-kür captive as
before in his bag, in which there was place for a hundred, and made
fast the mouth of the same with his cord woven of a hundred threads
of different colours, he bore him along to present to his Master and
Teacher Nâgârg'una.
And as they went the Siddhî-kür asked him to beguile the way with a
tale, or else give the signal that he should tell one. And when the
Well-and-wise-walking Khan had given the signal that the Siddhî-kür
should tell one, he began after this wise, saying,--