In the village of Haridr dwelt a greatZemindr. His name was Krishna Kanta Ri, and he was a very wealthy man. The profit from hisZemindriamounted to nearly two lakhs of rupees. This wealth had been accumulated by himself and by his brother, Rm Knta Ri, working together. The brothers were warmly attached, and at no time had it entered into the mind of either that the other could deceive him. The estates had all been bought in the name of the elder brother, Krishna Kanta Ri. The brothers messed together. Rm Knta Ri had one son named Gobind Ll. After the birth of this son it came into Rm Knta's mind that the brothers' joint possessions stood in one name, and that for the security of his son proper legal documents should be drawn out. For, though he knew Krishna Kanta incapable of deceiving him, or of acting unjustly towards him, yet what certainty had he as to what Krishna Kanta's sons might do after their father's death? Yet he could not bring himself to propose having legal papers made out, so he put it off from day to day. Necessity called him away to the estates, and there, suddenly, he died. If Krishna Kanta had ever desired to cheat his brother's son, and appropriate the entire property, there was now no obstacle in his way. But he had no such evil intention. He placed Gobind Ll with his own family, and treated him in all respects like his own sons; he determined to draw up a will bequeathing to Gobind Ll the half-share justly belonging to Rm Knta Ri.
Krishna Kanta Ri had two sons and a daughter. The eldest son was named Hara Ll, the younger Binod Ll, the daughter Shoilobati. In his will Krishna Kanta bequeathed to Gobind Ll half the estate, to Hara Ll and to Binod Ll, each three-sixteenths, to the widow and to the daughter each one-sixteenth. Hara Ll was very unruly; disobedient to his father, and evil-tongued. The provisions of a Bengali will seldom remain secret, and Hara Ll, becoming acquainted with this disposition of the property, said to his father.
