Mist covered the Yamuna on a winter morning. Radha set out toward the river with her friends. They spoke of bathing and the morning rites. The woodland also held the promise of a meeting. Kutila watched them with suspicious eyes. She wanted to learn where they were really going. Their every step seemed to her a secret.
Krishna noticed Kutila on the path. He understood her intention to follow the girls. He devised a way to change the game. He dressed to look like her brother Abhimanyu. He concealed the familiar signs of His appearance. With a confident step He stood before her. Kutila greeted Him as her brother.
She explained why she had come to the forest. She thought Radha hid something from the family. Krishna in disguise listened very carefully. He suggested that she observe them for herself. He would wait on the path for her report. Kutila believed she had found an ally. She hurried to the flowered bushes by the river.
Meanwhile the friends enjoyed the morning. Lalita kept watch over the woodland path. Kutila found their shelter among the vines. She argued with Lalita about her account. Then she entered the flowery bower. On a bed of flowers she noticed a garland. Beside it lay scattered pearls from a necklace.
Kutila took the garland and the pearls. She thought she had proof of her suspicion. Radha challenged her hasty conclusion. Lalita also asked her to be patient. But Kutila kept the ornaments she had found. She pretended to head straight home. Instead she hastened back to "Abhimanyu."
On the path she showed him her finds. Krishna heard her report in another man's guise. He pretended to be deeply disturbed. He said he would seek help beyond the village. He told her to return to their mother Jatila. Then He set out on the road toward Mathura. Kutila believed her brother was acting decisively.
After some time Krishna returned in disguise. He called to Jatila and Kutila outside the house. He warned them of another supposed deception. Someone who looked like Him would soon appear. He should therefore hide inside with Radha. They should keep watch from the upper floor. The two women accepted the strange advice.
Krishna entered the house and reached Radha. Her friends understood the new trick at once. The real Abhimanyu arrived at the door. Kutila saw him and began to scold him loudly. Jatila stood beside her, trusting the plan. He could not understand why they barred his home. Bewilderment sent him back along the path.
Abhimanyu thought his sister was upset. He went to find someone who could help her. Kutila was sure she was guarding the house. Jatila thought she was protecting the family. Yet the visitor they welcomed inside was Krishna. Radha and her friends shared a secret smile. One disguise had turned the whole scene around.
In this account suspicion becomes part of the joke. Kutila followed the girls to prevent a meeting. Instead she herself opened Krishna's way to Radha. The real Abhimanyu met a closed door. Radha remembered the odd words from the balcony. The friends laughed at Krishna's ingenuity. By the Yamuna the winter morning ended in surprise.