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214 TALES OF THE PUNJAB

to the palm of my hand, and wrestle there as I go along.’

So the wrestlers jumped on to the old woman's palm, and wrestled away as she strode over hill and dale.

Now when the old woman’s daughter saw her mother, with the wrestlers wrestling on her hand, she said to herself,‘ Here she comes, with the soldiers she’ spoke about! It is time for me to be off!’

So she picked up the hundred and sixty camels, tied them in her blanket, and swinging it over her shoulder, set off at a run.

But one of the camels put its head out of the blanket and began groaning and hubble-bubble- ubbling, after the manner of camels; so, to quiet it, the girl tore down a tree or two, and stuffed them into the bundle also. On this, the farmer to whom the trees belonged came running up, and calling, ‘Stop thief! stop thief!’

‘Thief, indeed!’ quoth the girl angrily ; and with that she bundled farmer, fields, crops, oxen, house, and all into the blanket.

Soon she came to a town, and being hungry, asked a pastry-cook to give her some sweets; but he re- fused, so she caught up the town bodily ; and so on with everything she met, until her blanket was quite full.

At last she came to a big water-melon, and being thirsty, she sat down to cat it ; and afterwards, feeling sleepy, she determined to rest a while. But the camels in her bundle made such a hubble-bubble- ubbling that they disturbed her, so she just packed everything into the lower half of the water-melon

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