again came to beg, but the elder daughter-in-law said to them,
"We are no longer busy, but we have nothing to give you. If we had,
we should give it to you." The youngest daughter-in-law, however,
was a clever little girl, and she thought to herself, "The Brahmans
will get very angry with us. When we had money, we gave them nothing;
and now we give them nothing because we have nothing to give." So she
fell at the elder Brahman's feet and said, "We have been very wicked
and have deserved to become poor. But please forgive us and tell me
how we may become rich as we were before." The elder Brahman said,
"Every Wednesday and every Thursday you must invite a Brahman to
dinner. And if you have no money to pay for the dinner, draw a pair
of cow's feet on your money-box. If you want grain for the dinner,
draw a pair of cow's feet on your corn-bin. Then worship the feet and
welcome the Brahmans. For you will find that you will have money in
your box and grain in your corn-bin. And in time you will all get as
rich as you were before." The little girl did what the Brahman told
her. And whenever she invited Brahmans to dinner, she drew the cow's
feet on the cash-box and on the corn-bin, and there was always money
and grain sufficient for the meal.

But some days later she fell asleep and dreamt that Budh [6] and
Brahaspati came to her bedside and said, "Little girl, little girl,
your husband has been made king over a great country. Go to him, and,
when you have found him, do not forget to worship us and to give feast
to the Brahmans." Then the little girl woke up and she told the other
six daughters-in-law. But they were jealous of her, and they became
very angry; and they kicked her so often and boxed her ears so hard
that she forgot all about drawing the cow's feet on her money-box and
on the corn-bin. So she never found any money in the box or any corn
in the bin. And every day they became poorer and poorer. First all the