And so, they started quarrelling, and visited the village elders for justice. The elders asked them to pledge before the Fire-God to find the truth. 
 
Papabuddhi suggested, "Before pledging before the Fire-God, we can request the spirit of the tree to stand witness. It was in front of a big tree that we had buried all the money; and it may be able to reveal to us who the thief is". 
 
The judges agreed, "We shall go the jungle together, and request the spirit of the tree to reveal the truth to us. If that fails, we will take pledge before the Fire-God." 
 
Papabuddhi immediately went home to his father, "I have stolen a huge amount of money from Dharmabuddhi, and we have taken the matter to the village elders. Your co-operation will save me and put the blame on Dharmabuddhi. Otherwise, I shall not only lose the money but face the risk of losing my life for stealing".