[297] Verily, sirs, on the eastern quarter of that same Himavant, king of mountains, green streams flow down, having their springs in mountain recesses exceedingly fine and subtle. In regions pleasing and delightful with the pure fragrance of freshly blossomed blue lotuses (uppala), red lotuses (paduma), white water-lilies (kumuda), naḷina lotuses, hundred-petalled lotuses (satapatta), sogandhika water-lilies, and mandālaka flowers; in dense forests of kuravaka, mucalinda, ketaka, vedisa, vañjula, punnāga, bakula, tilaka, piyaka, hasana, sāla, salaḷa, campaka, asoka, nāga trees, tiriṭi, bhujapatta, lodda, and sandalwood (candana); in thickets of black aloeswood (kāḷāgaru), paduma trees, piyaṅgu, deodar (devadāruka), and plantain (coca); in tracts wearing resplendent wreaths and garlands of kakudha, kuṭaja, aṅkola, kaccikāra, kaṇikāra, kaṇavera, koraṇḍa, koviḷāra, kiṃsuka, yodhika, wild jasmine (vanamallikā), manaṅgaṇa, manavajja, bhaṇḍi, and bhaginimāla; overspread with bushes of jasmine (jātisumanā), honey-scented madhugandhikā, dhanutakkāri, tālīsa, tagara, vetiver (usīra), and costus (koṭṭha); in regions adorned with a spreading canopy of adhimuttaka creepers in full flower; resounding with the cries of swans (haṃsa), pilava water-birds, grey geese (kādamba), and kāraṇḍaka ducks; the dwelling-place of hosts of vijjādharas, siddhas, ascetics (samaṇa), and hermits (tāpasa); a region frequented by humans, devas, yakkhas, rakkhasas, dānavas, gandhabbas, kinnaras, and great serpents (mahoraga) — verily, sirs, in such a delightful forest grove as this there dwells a spotted cuckoo (pussakokila) named Puṇṇamukha, of exceedingly sweet voice, his sportive, glancing eyes as though intoxicated. Verily, sirs, that same spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha has as his attendants three hundred and fifty bird-maidens (dijakaññā). Then, sirs, two bird-maidens, gripping a stick in their beaks and seating the spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha in the middle, fly up with him, thinking: "Let no weariness oppress the spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha on the long course of the road." Fifty bird-maidens fly along beneath, thinking: "If this spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha should fall from his seat, we shall catch him with our wings." Fifty bird-maidens fly along above, thinking: "Let not the sun's heat scorch the spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha." Fifty bird-maidens fly along on either side, fifty upon each, thinking: "Let neither cold nor heat, nor grass, nor dust, nor wind, nor dew touch the spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha." Fifty bird-maidens fly along in front, thinking: "Let no cowherds or keepers of cattle, no grass-cutters or wood-gatherers or workers of the forest strike the spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha with a stick, or a potsherd, or the hand, (or a stone,) or a clod, or a cudgel, or a knife, or with pebbles; and let not this spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha come into collision with bushes or creepers, with trees or branches, with posts or rocks, or with birds of greater strength." Fifty bird-maidens fly along behind, addressing him with gentle, kindly, charming, and sweet words, thinking: "Let not this spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha grow disconsolate upon his seat." Fifty bird-maidens fly off in every direction, bringing back fruits of many a sort from many kinds of trees, thinking: "Let not this spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha be distressed by hunger." Then, sirs, those bird-maidens swiftly convey the spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha, for his delight, from pleasure-grove to pleasure-grove, from park to park, from river-ford to river-ford, from mountain peak to mountain peak, from mango grove to mango grove, from rose-apple grove to rose-apple grove, from labuja (breadfruit) grove to labuja grove, from coconut walk to coconut walk. Then, sirs, the spotted cuckoo Puṇṇamukha, borne about the whole day by those bird-maidens, praises them thus: "Excellent, excellent, sisters! This indeed, sisters, is what befits you as daughters of good family: that you should wait upon your husband."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.