XV.

PRIDE GOETH BEFORE A FALL.

Corresponding to this English proverb, there isone in Tamil- Ahambhá vam álai alikkum-" Self-pride brings destruction;" and the following storyis related by the common folk to illustrate it.

In a certain village there lived ten cloth merchants,who always went about together. Once upon a timethey had travelled far afield, and were returninghome with a great deal of money which they hadobtained by selling their wares. Now there hap-pened to be a dense forest near their village, and thisthey reached early one morning. In it there livedthree notorious robbers, of whose existence thetraders had never heard, and while they were stillin the middle of it, the robbers stood before them,with swords and cudgels in their hands, and orderedthem to lay down all they had. The traders had noweapons with them, and so, though they were manymore in number, they had to submit themselves tothe robbers, who took away everything from them,even the very clothes they wore, and gave to each