Hitopadesha (English translation)
The Book of Good Counsels
by Sir Edwin Arnold | 1861 | 33,335 words
The English translation of the Hitopadesha: a work of high antiquity, and extended popularity. The prose is doubtless as old as our own era; but the intercalated verses and proverbs compose a selection from writings of an age extremely remote....
Chapter 3 - The Story of Fate and the Three Fishes
"It was just such a pool as this, and on the arrival at it of just such men as these fishermen, that three fishes, who had heard their designs, held consultation as to what should be done.
'I shall go to another water,' said "Time-not-come,"[1] and away he went.
'Why should we leave unless obliged?' asked "Quick-at-peril." 'When the thing befalls I shall do the best I can—
'Who deals with bad dilemmas well, is wise.
The merchant's wife, with womanly device,
Kissed—and denied the kiss—under his eyes.'
'How was that?' asked the other fish. Quick-at-peril related:—
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
These composite titles may serve as instances of conjoined Sanskrit words. One such in the Champú of Trivikrama contains 118 letters.