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       The Story of the Old Jackal and the Elephant

       THE PARTING OF FRIENDS

       The Story of the Lion, the Jackals, and the Bull

       The Story of the Monkey and the Wedge

       The Story of the Washerman's Jackass

       The Story of the Cat Who Served the Lion

       The Story of the Terrible Bell

       The Story of the Prince and the Procuress

       The Story of the Black Snake and the Golden Chain

       The Story of the Lion and the Old Hare

       The Story of the Wagtail and the Sea

       WAR

       The Battle of the Swans and Peacocks

       The Story of the Weaver-Birds and the Monkeys

       The Story of the Old Hare and the Elephants

       The Story of the Heron and the Crow

       The Story of the Appeased Wheelwright

       The Story of the Dyed Jackal

       The Story of the Faithful Rajpoot

       PEACE

       The Treaty Between the Peacocks and the Swans

       The Story of the Tortoise and the Geese

       The Story of Fate and the Three Fishes

       The Story of the Unabashed Wife

       The Story of the Herons and the Mongoose

       The Story of the Recluse and the Mouse

       The Story of the Crane and the Crab

       The Story of the Brahman and the Pans

       The Duel of the Giants

       The Story of the Brahman and the Goat

       The Story of the Camel, the Lion, and His Court

       The Story of the Frogs and the Old Serpent

       NALA AND DAMAYANTI

       Introduction

       NALA AND DAMAYANTI

       Part I

       Part II

      THE BOOK OF GOOD COUNSELS

       Table of Contents

      SELECTED FROM

      THE HITOPADEŚA

       [Translated from the Sanscrit by Sir Edwin Arnold]

      Translator's Preface

       Table of Contents

      A story-book from the Sanscrit at least possesses the minor merit of novelty. The "perfect language" has been hitherto regarded as the province of scholars, and few of these even have found time or taste to search its treasures. And yet among them is the key to the heart of modern India—as well as the splendid record of her ancient Gods and glories. The hope of Hindostan lies in the intelligent interest of England. Whatever avails to dissipate misconceptions between them, and to enlarge their intimacy, is a gain to both peoples; and to this end the present volume aspires, in an humble degree, to contribute.

      The "Hitopadeśa" is a work of high antiquity, and extended popularity. The prose is doubtless as old as our own era; but the intercalated verses and proverbs compose a selection from writings of an age extremely remote. The "Mahabharata" and the textual Veds are of those quoted; to the first of which Professor M. Williams (in his admirable edition of the "Nala," 1860) assigns a date of 350 B.C., while he claims for the "Rig-Veda" an antiquity as high as B.C. 1300. The "Hitopadeśa" may thus be fairly styled "The Father of all Fables"; for from its numerous translations have come Æsop and Pilpay, and in later days Reineke Fuchs. Originally compiled in Sanscrit, it was rendered, by order of Nushiraván, in the sixth century, A.D., into Persic. From the Persic it passed, A.D. 850, into the Arabic, and thence into Hebrew and Greek. In its own land it obtained as wide a circulation. The Emperor Acbar, impressed with the wisdom of its maxims and the ingenuity of its apologues, commended the work of translating it to his own Vizir, Abdul Fazel. That minister accordingly put the book into a familiar style, and published it with explanations, under the title of the "Criterion of Wisdom." The Emperor had also suggested the abridgment of the long series of shlokes which here and there interrupt the narrative, and the Vizir found this advice sound, and followed it, like the present Translator. To this day, in India, the "Hitopadeśa," under other names (as the "Anvári Suhaili"[1]),

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