विक्रम चरित (उज्जैन सम्राट् विक्रमादित्य - पराक्रम, न्याय एवं ३२ पुतलियों की कथा सटीक)

68 fixed in the direction the boar had taken, he continued to follow him, and left his father and all the followers far behind him. The difficult road over which the prince pursued the boar rendered it impossible for him to come up to his victim as speedily as he could have wished ; he nevertheless kept up the chase, passing, as he went, over valleys and by the side of precipices, through rugged paths and dangerous defiles. The king and his followers were anxiously awaiting his return, while every moment he was widening the distance between them. The boar, after having gone some miles, ensconsed himself in a cave, the prince remaining trans- fixed to the spot with fatigue and vexation. It pained him to think that all his efforts had proved fruitless for the capture of the forest denizen ; and what mortified him still more was, that it would go, far to convey an unfavorable opinion of his skill in archery and in the use of arms to the mind of his father, to please whom was the chief desire of his heart. However, he thought of retracing his steps back and relating all the occurrence to the king, but he found that he was quite fatigued by the exertions he had made, and his horse still more so ; added to which he felt a burning thirst and a sensation of weakness which rendered him quite incapable of moving a step in obedience to his wish. In this state the clouds of night found him listlessly leaning against a tree. As the darkness thickened around him he became fully sonsible of his condition, and the danger he was exposing himself to by remaining in that lonely and desolate place, perhaps to become a prey to the wild animals infesting the locality ; so he strove to mount his horse, and succeeded in gaining his seat, but as he was suffering very severely from thirst, his first object was to go in search of water. Having roamed about for some time, he happened to reach the inviting banks of a lake of great extent, clear as crystal, with a variety of trees uniformly placed at a convenient distance from each other, and forming a delight- ful arbour, cool and refreshing to travellers and others who sought their friendly shade. The prince, as may well be