But
he was a boy! How could she save him
from death?
Somehow, she contrived to keep him
hidden for three whole months. But at
the end of that time, she saw that it was
not going to be possible to keep him safe
any longer. She had been thinking all this
time about what she should do, and now
she carried out her plan.
First, she took a basket made of
bulrushes and daubed it all over with pitch
so that it was water-tight, and then she laid
the baby in it; then she carried it to the
edge of the river and laid it in the flags by
the river's brink. It did not show at all,
unless one were quite near it. Then she
kissed her little son and left him there.
But his sister stood far off, not seeming to
watch, but really watching carefully to see
what would happen to the baby.
Soon there was the sound of talk and
laughter, and a train of beautiful women
came down to the water's edge. It was the
king's daughter, come down to bathe in
the river, with her maidens. The maidens
walked along by the river's side.
As the king's daughter came near to the
water, she saw the strange little basket
lying in the flags, and she sent her maid to
bring it to her. And when she had opened
it, she saw the child; the poor baby was
crying. When she saw him, so helpless
and so beautiful, crying for his mother,
the king's daughter pitied him and loved
him.
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