Now there were four on the log, floating towards a bend in the river. Nearby a holy man was living humbly in a little hut. He just happened to be the Bodhisatta the Enlightenment Being. He had been born into a rich high class family in Kasi. When he had grown up, he had given up all his wealth and position, and had come to live by himself next to the river. It was the middle of the night when the holy man heard the cries of panic coming from the Evil Prince. He thought, "That sounds like a frightened human being. My loving kindness will not let me ignore him. I must save him." He ran down to the river and shouted. "Don't be afraid! I will save you!" Then he jumped into the rushing torrent, grabbed the log, and used his great strength to pull it to shore. He helped the prince step safely onto the riverbank. Noticing the snake, water rat and parrot, he took them and the man to his cozy little hut. He started up his cooking fire. Thinking of the weakness of the animals, he gently warmed them by the fire. When they were warm and dry he set them aside. Then he let the prince warm himself. The holy man brought out some fruits and nuts. Again he fed the more helpless animals first, followed by the waiting prince. Not surprisingly this made the Evil Prince furious! He thought, "This stupid holy man doesn't care at all for me, a great royal prince. Instead he gives higher place to these three dumb animals!" Thinking this way, he built up a vengeful hatred against the gentle Bodhisatta. The next day the holy man dried the deadwood log in the sun. Then he chopped it up and burned it, to cook their food and keep them warm. In a few days the four who had been rescued by that same log were strong and healthy. The snake came to the holy man to say good bye. He coiled his body on the ground, arched himself up, and bowed his head respectfully. He said, "Venerable one, you have done a great thing for me! I am grateful to you, and I am not a poor snake. In a certain place I have a buried treasure of 40 million gold coins. And I will gladly give it to you for all life is priceless! Whenever you are in need of money, just come down to the riverbank and call out. "Snake! Snake!" The water rat, too, came to the holy man to say good bye. He stood up on his hind legs and bowed his head respectfully. He said, "Venerable one, you have done a great thing for me! I am grateful to you, and I am not a poor water rat. In a certain place I have a buried treasure of 30 million gold coins. And I will gladly give it to you for all life is priceless! Whenever you are in need of money, just come down to the riverbank and call out, "Rat! Rat!" Such grateful generosity from a snake and a water rat! A far cry from their previous stingy human lives! Then came the parrot to say his good bye to the holy man. He bowed his head respectfully and said, "Venerable one, you have done a great thing for me! I am grateful to you, but I possess no silver or gold. However, I am not a poor parrot. For if you are ever in need of the finest rice, just come down to the riverbank and call out. 'Parrot! Parrot!' Then I will gather together all my relatives from all the forests of the Himalayas and we will bring you many cart loads of the most precious scented red rice. For all life is priceless!" Finally the Evil Prince came to the holy man. Because his mind was filled with the poison of vengeance, he thought only about killing him if he ever saw him again. However, what he said was, "Venerable one, when I become king, please come to me and I will provide you with the Four Necessities." He returned to Benares and soon became the new king. In a while the holy man decided to see if the gratitude of these four was for real. First he went down to the riverbank and called out, "Snake! Snake!" At the sound of the first word, the snake came out of his home under the ground. He bowed respectfully and said,