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 yearsold, but wonderfully brave.He was of great beauty, and even in childhood he was always thinking about others.He said to the heralds: "Gentlemen, I will give you my body.Wait a moment.I will hurry back after telling my parents."So they told the boy to go.And he went into the house, bowed before his parents, and said: "Mother! Father! I am going to give this wretched body of mine in order to win lasting happiness.Pray permit me.And I will take the king's gift, this statue of myself made of gold and gems, and give it to you together with the hundred villages.Thus I will pay my debt to you, and do some real good.And you will never be poor again, and will have plenty more sons."But his parents immediately said: "Son, what are you saying? Have you the rheumatism? Or are you possessed by a devil? If not, why do you talk nonsense? Who would sacrifice his child for money? And what child would give his body?"But the boy said: "I am not mad.Listen.My words are full of sense.The body is the seat of unnameable impurities, it is loathsome and full of pain.It perishes in no long time at best.If some good can be done with the worthless thing, that is a great advantage in this weary life, so wise men say.And what good is there except helping others? If anyone can serve his parents so easily, then how lightly should the body be esteemed!"Thus the boy, with his bold words and his firm purpose, persuaded his grieving parents.And he went and got from the king's men the golden statue and the hundred villages, and gave them to his parents.
So the boy with his parents followed the king's men to the city Brilliant-peak.And the king looked upon the brave boy as a magic jewel for his own preservation, and rejoiced greatly.He adorned the boy with garlands and perfumes, put him on an elephant, and took him with his parents to the home of the giant.
There the priest traced a magic circle beside the tree, and reverently lit the holy fire.Then the horrible giant Flame-face appeared, mumbling words of his own.He staggered, for he was drunk with blood, and snorted and yawned.His eyes flashed fire and his shadow made the whole world dark.
And the king said respectfully: "Great being, here is the human sacrifice you asked for, and this is the seventh day since I promised it.Be merciful.Accept this sacrifice."And the giant licked his chops, and looked the boy over, who was to be the sacrifice.Then the noble boy thought: "I have done some good with this body of mine.May I never rest in heaven or in eternal salvation, but may I have many lives in which to do some good with my body." And the air was filled with the chariots of gods who rained down flowers.
Then the boy was laid before the giant.His mother held his hands, and his father held his feet.When the king drew his sword and was ready to strike, the boy laughed so heartily that all of them, even the giant, forgot what they were doing, looked at the boy's face, and bowed low before him.
When the goblin had told this strange story, he asked the king: "O King, why did the boy laugh at the moment of death? I have a great curiosity about this point.If you know and will not tell, then your head will fly into a hundred pieces."And the king said: "Listen.I will tell you why the boy laughed.When danger comes to any weak creature, he cries for life to his mother and father.If they are not there, he begs protection from the king, whom heaven made his protector.Failing the king, he cries to a god.Some one of these should be his protector.But in the case of this boy everything was contrary.His parents held his hands and feet because they wanted money.And the king was ready to kill him with his own hand, to save his own life.And the giant, who is a kind of a god, had come there especially to eat him.So the boy thought:They are ridiculously fooled about their bodies, which are fragile, worthless, the seat of pain and suffering.The bodies of the greatest gods perish.And such creatures as these imagine that their bodies will endure!' So when he saw their strange madness, and felt that his own wishes were fulfilled, the Brahman boy laughed in astonishment and delight."Then the goblin slipped from the king's shoulder and went back to his home.And the king followed with determination.The heart of a good man is like the heart of the ocean.It cannot be shaken.
