One day the king of Sija was holding court. There was a learned lama in the assembly.
The king was surprised when, all of a sudden, the lama laughed heartily without any apparent cause.
"What made you laugh?" asked the king.
"I just saw a woman dancing at kumaogadh," said the lama. "Her skirt fell off. It was so funny. Everybody laughed."
"How can you possibly see it?" demanded the king.
"If you doubt me, please send someone to check," the lama said.
The king immediately despatched two men to inquire about the incident at Kumaongadh, which lay towards the west at a distance of many days' walk from Sija.
A few days afterwards during another session in court, the lama got up abruptly, stooped down and then wrung the sleeve of his coat. He squeezed some water out of his sleeve.
The king was perplexed and he asked the lama for an explanation. The lama said that he had just then rescued the two men the king had sent to Kumaongadh from drowning at a river crossing.
In a few weeks' time the men returned to Sija and reported that a dancer had indeed let her skirt fall while she was dancing. They also reported of themselves being miraculously saved from drowning.
The king was very impressed with the magical power shown by the lama. But he wanted to test him once more and said: "Oh, lama, you have done some good. Now, let me see what harm you can do."
Thereupon, the lama caused an earthquake, in which whole villages were destroyed. In the end there was nothing left of the kingdom. All you can now see are a couple of stone lions lying at the foot of the hill upon which the king's palace had once stood.
The king was surprised when, all of a sudden, the lama laughed heartily without any apparent cause.
"What made you laugh?" asked the king.
"I just saw a woman dancing at kumaogadh," said the lama. "Her skirt fell off. It was so funny. Everybody laughed."
"How can you possibly see it?" demanded the king.
"If you doubt me, please send someone to check," the lama said.
The king immediately despatched two men to inquire about the incident at Kumaongadh, which lay towards the west at a distance of many days' walk from Sija.
A few days afterwards during another session in court, the lama got up abruptly, stooped down and then wrung the sleeve of his coat. He squeezed some water out of his sleeve.
The king was perplexed and he asked the lama for an explanation. The lama said that he had just then rescued the two men the king had sent to Kumaongadh from drowning at a river crossing.
In a few weeks' time the men returned to Sija and reported that a dancer had indeed let her skirt fall while she was dancing. They also reported of themselves being miraculously saved from drowning.
The king was very impressed with the magical power shown by the lama. But he wanted to test him once more and said: "Oh, lama, you have done some good. Now, let me see what harm you can do."
Thereupon, the lama caused an earthquake, in which whole villages were destroyed. In the end there was nothing left of the kingdom. All you can now see are a couple of stone lions lying at the foot of the hill upon which the king's palace had once stood.
No comments:
Post a Comment