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wounded old woman who
told me that she was the
nurse of the child of the
king of Mithila,
whom she could not follow
when he was attacked by
a gang of hunters, and
that when she was in such a
distress, a tiger approached
and wounded her and the
child was thrown from her
arms near a dead COW
attached to a trap. She
continued that, as the tiger
went near the child to kill
it, it was itself killed by
an arrow from the trap.
Then the hunters came
there and took away the
dead tiger, and along with
it, the child also. She
requested me to rescue the
child from them somehow.
I agreed and started in
search of the child. I soon
saw the hunters discussing
the method of killing the
child. I offered to be their
adviser and told them that
in the night the child should
be well-dressed and with-
Magadha to attend the
simanta ceremony of Va
sumati, she was unable
to accompany him; and,
while she
was in that
distress, a tiger attacked
her and she fell down and
the child was dropped
down from her hands near
the dead body of a cow
attached to a trap: bat
when the tiger tried to
kill the child, it was itself
killed by an arrow from
the trap. Just then the
hunters came there and
went away with the child.
She also said that her
own wounds were dressed
by a hunter, but she was
quite ignorant of what
happened to the other son
of the king and his nurse
who is her daughter. She
also expressed her resolve
to reach the king somehow
though she had no guide
to help her. I then went
in search of the child and
soon met the hunters who
were engaged in serious