CHAPTER VI

The Saturday Story

Once upon a time there was a town-called Atpat. In it there lived a
poor Brahman who had three daughters-in-law. He rose early even during
the rainy season, and every day immediately after his morning meal he
used to go to his field with his children and his daughters-in-law. One
first Saturday in Shravan he got up as usual and said to the youngest
of his daughters-in-law, "To-day is Saturday; you had better stay
at home, and although there is very little in the house, you must
try to get some sort of a dinner ready. Go upstairs and scrape
together all the grain there is in the grain-jars and make bread
with it. For vegetables you had better gather grass and make some
chutney out of clover leaves." When the Brahman had left, his little
daughter-in-law followed his orders as best she could. There was in the
jar upstairs only grain for half an ordinary loaf. So she made tiny,
tiny loaves and prepared some vegetables out of grass and made some
clover chutney. Then she sat down to wait for the family's return
from the field. As she did so, Saturn came disguised as a beggar all
covered with sores, and cried, "O Lady! I am aching all over: give
me hot water to bathe in and oil to rub myself with, and then give me
something to eat." The little daughter-in-law felt very sorry for the
poor beggar. She went inside and got him a few drops of oil and warmed
some water for his bath, and then gave him one of the tiny loaves to
eat. The beggar ate it, and then gave her his blessing, saying, "You
will never want for anything." He then folded up the leaves from which
he had eaten, stuck them into a corner of the eaves, and disappeared.