ker-lis-ti-an

Updated: May 19, 2025

'Who is thy woman in the Plains? Fair or black? I was fair once. Laughest thou? Once, long ago, if thou canst believe, a Sahib looked on me with favour. Once, long ago, I wore European clothes at the Mission-house yonder. She pointed towards Kotgarh. 'Once, long ago. I was Ker-lis-ti-an and spoke English as the Sahibs speak it. Yes. My Sahib said he would return and wed me yes, wed me.

Rudyard Kipling - Kim