me. If not, I will kill you and all your people."

And the king was so frightened that he consented. Then the giant
disappeared.

Then King Moon mounted his horse with his wife
Lotus-bloom and rode away sad at heart, seeking for his soldiers.
And he thought: "Alas! I was bewildered by hunting and by love,
and I find myself ruined. Where can I find such a sacrifice for the
giant? Well, I will go to my own city now, and see what happens."

So he continued his search, and found his soldiers and his city
Brilliant-peak. There his subjects were delighted because he had
found a wife worthy of him, and they made a great feast. But it
was a day of despondency and dreadful agony for the king.

On the next day he told his counsellors the whole story. And one
counsellor named Wise said: "Your Majesty, do not despair. I will
find a victim for the sacrifice. The world is a strange place."

Thus the counsellor comforted the king, and made a statue of a
boy out of gold. And he sent the statue about the land, with
constant beating of drums and this proclamation: "We want a
noble Brahman boy seven years old who will offer himself as a
sacrifice to a giant with the permission of his parents. And when
he is killed, his mother must hold his hands, and his father must
hold his feet. And as a reward, the king will give his parents a
hundred villages and this statue of gold and gems."

Now there was a Brahman boy on a farm, who was only seven