sket plunged his fangs into my arms like a baby bi pe Taughed and pulled knoe speech, his father * hereupon the snake wo ‘ jould be terrified and re spit out the poison in wings and fly o aa and if you possessed it you could be- come a king? ‘One day when the boy had stayed beside the hut laziness, he notind¢ tiny monkey gambolling a re branches ‘and watche: it with open-mouthed wonder, “Boy, what are you looking packet of sweets. “They gave it ‘ping on. Naga danced to the pipe wonder our speech. At the end of his dance, he by the neck, and forced a bit ofa sweet Way. down, “He is now one of our family and sho he sid. After struggling through the sweet, Naga coed ‘man clapped the lid back ruite boy munched the sweet with his eyes wwish T were a mi SJean with his shirt, held it up and ered 7 _His father cad “If yee cl him monkey, e will never Hee you: Y Sie him anise name fou must54 “What shall we call him?” “Rama, name of the master of Hanuman, the Divine adore that name.” ‘The boy at once called, “Rama, here, take holding up the sweet, and the monkey did pause him. The boy hugged the tree trunk, and heaved hi of a forking brane 1 boy slid back to the gro, Motley. He fou und accept the gift, Whi ; the monkey was debating within himself, a erow ahead ee heat took away the sweet. The boy shrieked out a curse. Some His father ered, “Hey, what? Where did you learnt ig and di monkey's eyes taught him what he was expected to do ; ition with chin. Rama constant tried to push his cap back and attempted it he was whacked with a switch, and he soon resigned eating bis uniform until the end of the day. When hi sma’s clothes, the monkey performed spontaneous som: Householders beckoned to him to step in and divert a crying child. formed competently, eamed money for his master and peanuts for him sad) a clothes: ‘were offered to him as gifts. The father-son team started = © boy with the monkey riding on his shoulder an a ied by hi father at some distanoe away—for the moa also puzzled at his father's tactics. troken up without finding his father at rot going to see his fat looked at him for a moment. “I'm your master now. in Inged circumstances, the snake dart Tepsned sho. down wth his finger hi ater 1 to buy his beakfast withthe co denly come back, he would sl ‘money, He put the lid back on the snake, p found them and sat at the mouth onke, which would in the morning. He ‘quts and fried pulses to feed th 2 spe contents and pat a han tree and sighing for ‘unexpected pranks which was stored 1e monkey. He his mouth and is fa he caught him eat Jn the nut, alt506 made him cough a little and gasp for breath. The tention of people passing by the hut, mostly day ickaxes and women carrying True son of the father.” Everyone had a word at colony of huts, which had cropped up around AA the efforts of the municipality to dislodge these citizens ha the huts sprang up as often as they were destroyed, and wh cpunailor realized the concentration of voting power in this coly Squatters alone, except when some V.LP. fom Delhi passed th, they were asked to stay out of sight, behind the park val had flashed past in bis car. “Why are you nat out yet?” asked a woman, “My father is not here,” the boy said pathetical gone.” He sobbed alittle. ‘The woman put down her basket, sat by his side and asked, « wr sed, “A os “[ have money,” he said. name?” ‘man said. To further probing questions he said,“ “ talked to a man who saw him go H him get into the early-morni i snd ht eee ie yeoming ba, which goe up the moun, iit about the monkey?” the boy asked. “Won't ome bul” 4 {no ane to this question, Meanwhile a man hang ie mode ray wat eying his wa end of the lane. The woman baie! 4 shrill voice and ordered, “Sell this poor child two ides. Give hin 1d passed on , #hairychested man the pipe, handle the snake and feed it to. Also, he cou the ew edits coils. The boy n gold piece,” said the het had dealt him was the kidnapping of his boy ran in and fetched some ‘When of without any ea a number of days passed pap 4n unfortunate child.” others. What can I do? Why don't you sell you earring and Bi al go bankrupt if | listen to pee Joa aiving more people like you and start, les mony etek the ah and went he ache et hhow to go about this. A monkey boy hed polished off the ili idl fl eel where, even into a palace. Later om, a soft and pungent, with green chute? Terie yea Sata oy felt more at peace is robles every hour—and maybe get Sanit the world now, and alt ta world But the int tep would bet get id of Nags He oul ao at . ‘strumpet, to seduce a man from his child.” "The boy sat and D yoded ©egs and milk for him. | | |you were a boy? she asked. Her voice was kite skimming along a little nearer, its shadow al ‘lethargic snake, “Oh!” he screamed. “I know your purpose.” Garuda ‘make a swoop and dive at the right moment and stab his claws "Naga, who had refused the shelter ofthe anthil, and carry him of net. The boy dashed back tothe snake, retrieving his basket onthe way. Wier hhe saw the basket, Naga slithered back into it, as if coming home ater st" Naga wa: eventually reinstated in his comer ‘The boy sit tothe snake, “If you don't grow ings soon enovgh, | h will be hit on the head with a bamboo staff, Know this: | will not be guarding you forever. Il be a and if you come out ofthe basket and adventure abou ‘one can blame me afterward.”