458 THE BRAHMIN AND THE BARBER
When he had finished his story, one of the auditors
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remarked to him: You seem to be very clever at crawling
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about on all-fours.' Yes, I am indeed very clever at it,' answered the Brahmin, as you ' shall see.' And, suiting his action to his words, he went down on all-fours, and proceeded to run two or three times round the spectators, who were splitting then sides with laughter.
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Enough, enough! cried the president. All that we have heard and seen furnishes evidence very much in your favour, but before coming to any decision we must hear what the others have to say for themselves.'
A second Brahmin accordingly spoke as follows;
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One day, in order to present a decent appearance at a samaradhanam( treat to Brahmins), which had been
announced in our neighbourhood, I called in the barber to shave my head and chin. When he had finished, I told my wife to give him a copper coin for his trouble; but by mistake she gave him two. In vain did I request the barber to return me the other coin. He was obstinate, and refused to do so; and the more I insisted on his returning it, the more stubborn did he become. The dispute was becoming
very serious when the barber, assuming a milder tone, observed ": There is only one way of settling the difference between us. For the extra coin which you ask me to
return I will shave your wife ' s head as well, if that suits you." " Certainly," answered I, after a moment ' s reflec
tion;
" your proposal will, doubtless, put an end to our quarrel without unfairness on either side."
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My wife, hearing what was about to happen to her, wished to run away; but I laid hold of her and made her sit down, while the barber, armed with his razor, completely shaved her head. My wife kept crying out most bitterly the whole time, abusing and cursing both of us; but I let her rave, for I preferred seeing her head clean shaven to giving this villain of a barber money which he had not rightly earned. My wife, deprived thus of her beautiful hair, immediately hid herself through sheer shame, and dared not appear again. The barber also decamped, and meeting my mother in the street, related to her with infinite gusto what had just taken place. She at once hastened to the house to assure herself of the fact,