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'Sleep, child, sleep against my side,

Aiyo! aiyo! the weary way you've cried;

Hush, child, hush, pressed close against my side.

'Aiyo! aiyo! will the trees never end?

Our women's feet are weary; O Great One, send

Night on us, that our wanderings may end.

'Hush, child, hush, thy father leads the way,

Thy mother's feet are weary, but the day

Will end somewhere for the followers in the way.

'Aiyo! aiyo! the way is rough and steep,

Aiyo! the thorns are sharp, the rivers deep,

But the night comes at last. So sleep, child, sleep.'

Until Punchi Menika and Hinnihami were three years old Silindu appeared not even to be aware of their existence. He took no notice of them in the house or compound, and never spoke about them. But one day he was sitting in front of his hut staring into the jungle, when Punchi Menika crawled up to him and put her hand on his knee, and looked solemnly up into his face. Silindu looked down at her, took her by her hands, and stood her up between his two knees. He stared vacantly into her eyes for some time, and then suddenly he began to speak to her in a low voice: