“Lord…,” she stuttered, “… Lord … forgive me for intruding so shamelessly, but I saw you wandering alone and thought you might have lost your way.” Ram and Lakshman looked at each other; their faces were grave, but a smile glinted in their eyes. They’d noticed she’d ignored Lakshman altogether. It amused and flattered Ram to be on the receiving end of this attention, even if it came from a rakkhoshi who’d changed shape; and it also repelled him vaguely. He experienced, for the first time, the dubious and uncomfortable pleasure of being the object of pursuit. This didn’t bother him unduly, though; he was, like all members of the male sex, slightly vain. Lakshman cleared his throat and said:

“Who are you, maiden? Do you come from these parts?”

“Not far from here,” said the beautiful woman, while the covering on her bosom slipped a little without her noticing it. “Lord,” she said, going up to Ram and touching his arm, “let’s go a little way from here. There’s a place not far away where you can get some rest.” Within the beautiful body, the rakkhoshi’s heart beat fiercely, but with trepidation.

“I don’t mind,” said the godly one slowly. “But what’s a woman like you doing here alone? Aren’t you afraid of thieves?”

“I know no fear, Lord,” she said. “Besides, seeing you, whatever fear I might have had melts away.”

“Before I go with you,” conceded Ram, “I must consult my brother—and tell him what to do when I’ve gone.” Surpanakha said: “Whatever pleases you, Lord,” but thought, “I’ve won him over; I can’t believe it. My prayers are answered.”

Ram went to Lakshman and said: “This creature’s beginning to tire me. Do something.”

“Like what?” said Lakshman. He was sharpening the blade of his knife. Ram admired the back of his hand and said moodily:

“I don’t know. Something she’ll remember for days. Teach her a lesson for being so forward.” Lakshman got up wearily with the knife still in one hand, and Ram said under his breath:

“Don’t kill her, though.”

A little later, a howl was heard. Lakshman came back; there was some blood on the blade. “I cut her nose,” he said. “It”—he gestured towards the knife—“went through her nostril as if it were silk. She immediately changed back into the horrible creature she really is. She’s not worth describing,” he said, as he wiped his blade and Ram chuckled without smiling. “She was in some pain. She flapped her arms and screamed in pain and ran off into the forest like some agitated beast.”