A mother's premonition

Some of the villagers showed Ganapati sympathy while others scolded or mocked him. But his aunt was holding him with such affection, as if he had really been killed by the tiger. She was acting as though he had died and then come back to life by some miracle.

Although it had been decided that Ganapati would return home after spending four days at his uncle’s house, his mother arrived quite unexpectedly that same day. While she was taking her afternoon rest, in a dream she had seen her youngest son being attacked and killed by a tiger. She came with her servant to her brother’s home, practically insane with grief, assuming that her son was dead.

Ganapati was literally bathed in the sea of tears shed by his mother and aunt in their joy at seeing him alive and safe.