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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends, by Gertrude
+Landa
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends
+
+
+Author: Gertrude Landa
+
+
+
+Release Date: September 27, 2008  [eBook #26711]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JEWISH FAIRY TALES AND LEGENDS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Jeannie Howse, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 26711-h.htm or 26711-h.zip:
+      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/6/7/1/26711/26711-h/26711-h.htm)
+      or
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+
+
+      +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+      | Transcriber's Note:                                       |
+      |                                                           |
+      | Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has     |
+      | been preserved.                                           |
+      |                                                           |
+      | Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For     |
+      | a complete list, please see the end of this document.     |
+      |                                                           |
+      +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+
+
+
+JEWISH FAIRY TALES AND LEGENDS
+
+   [Illustration: "Where is the door?" (Page 21)]
+
+JEWISH FAIRY TALES AND LEGENDS
+
+by
+
+"Aunt Naomi"
+(GERTRUDE LANDA)
+
+    When Childhood's toys have passed away,
+    May Books become another play.
+    Then may each book a blessing give
+    And bring you pleasure while you live.
+
+             --_Ruth Landa._
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Sixteenth Thousand
+
+New York
+Bloch Publishing Co., Inc.
+"_The Jewish Book Concern_"
+1943
+
+Copyright, 1919,
+Bloch Publishing Company.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The very cordial welcome given to my earlier volume of "Jewish Fairy
+Tales and Fables" has prompted me to draw further upon Rabbinic lore
+in the interest, chiefly, of the children. How the wise Rabbis of old
+took into account the necessities of the little ones, whose minds they
+understood so perfectly, is obvious from such legends as those dealing
+with boyish exploits of the great Biblical characters, Abraham, Moses,
+and David. These I have rewritten from the stories in the Talmud and
+Midrash in a manner suitable for the children of to-day.
+
+I have ventured also beyond the confines of these two wonderful
+compilations. There is a wealth of delightful imagination in the
+legends and folk-lore of the Jews of a later period which is almost
+entirely unknown to children. I have drawn also on these sources for
+some of the stories here presented. My desire is to give boys and
+girls something Jewish which they may be able to regard as companion
+delights to the treasury of general fairy-lore and childish romance.
+
+                                                 AUNT NAOMI.
+LONDON, _March, 1919_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+THE PALACE OF THE EAGLES                                            15
+
+THE GIANT OF THE FLOOD                                              27
+
+THE FAIRY PRINCESS OF ERGETZ                                        35
+
+THE HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY PALACE                                        67
+
+THE RED SLIPPER                                                     77
+
+THE STAR CHILD                                                      87
+
+ABI FRESSAH'S FEAST                                                 99
+
+THE BEGGAR KING                                                    113
+
+THE QUARREL OF THE CAT AND DOG                                     119
+
+THE WATER-BABE                                                     127
+
+SINBAD OF THE TALMUD                                               133
+
+THE OUTCAST PRINCE                                                 151
+
+THE STORY OF BOSTANAI                                              163
+
+FROM SHEPHERD-BOY TO KING                                          173
+
+THE MAGIC PALACE                                                   179
+
+THE SLEEP OF ONE HUNDRED YEARS                                     187
+
+KING FOR THREE DAYS                                                195
+
+THE PALACE IN THE CLOUDS                                           203
+
+THE POPE'S GAME OF CHESS                                           213
+
+THE SLAVE'S FORTUNE                                                225
+
+THE PARADISE IN THE SEA                                            235
+
+THE RABBI'S BOGEY-MAN                                              243
+
+THE FAIRY FROG                                                     251
+
+THE PRINCESS OF THE TOWER                                          259
+
+KING ALEXANDER'S ADVENTURES                                        277
+   a. THE VISION OF VICTORY                                        277
+   b. THE LAND OF DARKNESS                                         282
+   c. THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD                                     288
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+"Where is the door?"                                    _Frontispiece_
+
+Og, riding gaily on the unicorn behind the Ark, was quite happy     26
+
+A strange crowd of demons of all shapes and sizes poured into
+the synagogue with threatening gestures                             36
+
+He could not see what Sarah saw--a figure, a spirit, clutching
+a big stick                                                         68
+
+"The big fellow here got angry, beat the others and smashed
+them to bits"                                                       88
+
+He sprang from his stool, spluttering and cursing                  100
+
+He found a beautiful youth, clad in a deer skin, lying on the
+ground                                                             112
+
+With a cry, he put his fingers in his mouth to ease the pain
+and burned his tongue                                              126
+
+They saw the land rise up like a huge mountain and a tremendous
+stream of water gush forth                                         134
+
+He looked up and beheld the most beautiful woman his eyes had
+ever seen                                                          150
+
+As the Shah raised his sword an old man stepped from behind the
+tree                                                               162
+
+Behind him a fierce roar indicated that the lion was in pursuit    172
+
+The gates opened from within and the Arab stood before them        178
+
+The sun was shining on a noble city of pinnacles and minarets      188
+
+He heard a cry of alarm and saw a huge stone fall on the
+soldier riding behind him                                          194
+
+The four youths mounted the eagles which flew aloft to the
+extremity of their cords                                           202
+
+"Thou canst only be my long lost son Elkanan!"                     214
+
+He crouched on his throne and imagined he saw angels and demons
+and fairies                                                        234
+
+The monster was battering down the door of the synagogue           244
+
+Hanina and his wife followed the giant frog                        252
+
+The giant bird did not seem to notice its burden at all            258
+
+Then the door slowly opened and a figure in white stood in the
+entry                                                              276
+
+
+
+
+JEWISH FAIRY TALES AND LEGENDS
+
+The Palace of the Eagles
+
+
+East of the Land of the Rising Sun there dwelled a king who spent all
+his days and half his nights in pleasure. His kingdom was on the edge
+of the world, according to the knowledge of those times, and almost
+entirely surrounded by the sea. Nobody seemed to care what lay beyond
+the barrier of rocks that shut off the land from the rest of the
+world. For the matter of that, nobody appeared to trouble much about
+anything in that kingdom.
+
+Most of the people followed the example of the king and led idle,
+careless lives, giving no thought to the future. The king regarded the
+task of governing his subjects as a big nuisance; he did not care to
+be worried with proposals concerning the welfare of the masses, and
+documents brought to him by his advisors for signature were never
+read. For aught he knew they may have referred to the school
+regulations of the moon, instead of the laws of trading and such like
+public matters.
+
+"Don't bother me," was his usual remark. "You are my advisors and
+officers of state. Deal with affairs as you think best."
+
+And off he would go to his beloved hunting which was his favorite
+pastime.
+
+The land was fertile, and nobody had ever entertained an idea that bad
+weather might some year affect the crops and cause a scarcity of
+grain. They took no precautions to lay in stocks of wheat, and so when
+one summer there was a great lack of rain and the fields were parched,
+the winter that followed was marked by suffering. The kingdom was
+faced by famine, and the people did not like it. They did not know
+what to do, and when they appealed to the king, he could not help
+them. Indeed, he could not understand the difficulty. He passed it off
+very lightly.
+
+"I am a mighty hunter," he said. "I can always kill enough beasts to
+provide a sufficiency of food."
+
+But the drought had withered away the grass and the trees, and the
+shortage of such food had greatly reduced the number of animals. The
+king found the forests empty of deer and birds. Still he failed to
+realize the gravity of the situation and what he considered an
+exceedingly bright idea struck him.
+
+"I will explore the unknown territory beyond the barrier of rocky
+hills," he said. "Surely there will I find a land of plenty. And, at
+least" he added, "it will be a pleasant adventure with good hunting."
+
+A great expedition was therefore arranged, and the king and his
+hunting companions set forth to find a path over the rocks. This was
+not at all difficult, and on the third day, a pass was discovered
+among the crags and peaks that formed the summit of the barrier, and
+the king saw the region beyond.
+
+It seemed a vast and beautiful land, stretching away as far as the eye
+could see in a forest of huge trees. Carefully, the hunters descended
+the other side of the rock barrier and entered the unknown land.
+
+It seemed uninhabited. Nor was there any sign of beast or bird of any
+kind. No sound disturbed the stillness of the forest, no tracks were
+visible. As well as the hunters could make out, no foot had ever
+trodden the region before. Even nature seemed at rest. The trees were
+all old, their trunks gnarled into fantastic shapes, their leaves
+yellow and sere as if growth had stopped ages ago.
+
+Altogether the march through the forest was rather eerie, and the
+hunters proceeded in single file, which added to the impressiveness of
+the strange experience. The novelty, however, made it pleasant to the
+king, and he kept on his way for four days.
+
+Then the forest ended abruptly, and the explorers came to a vast open
+plain, a desert, through which a wide river flowed. Far beyond rose a
+mountain capped by rocks of regular shape. At any rate, they appeared
+to be rocks, but the distance was too great to enable anyone to speak
+with certainty.
+
+"Water," said the vizier, "is a sign of life."
+
+So the king decided to continue as far as the mountain. A ford was
+discovered in the river, and once on the other side it was possible to
+make out the rocks crowning the mountain. They looked too regular to
+be mere rocks, and on approaching nearer the king was sure that a huge
+building must be at the top of the mountain. When they arrived quite
+close, there was no doubt about it. Either a town, or a palace, stood
+on the summit, and it was decided to make the ascent next day.
+
+During the night no sound was heard, but to everybody's surprise a
+distinct path up the mountain was noticed in the morning. It was so
+overgrown with weeds and moss and straggling creepers that it was
+obvious it had not been used for a long time. The ascent was
+accordingly difficult, but half way up the first sign of life, noticed
+since the expedition began, made itself visible.
+
+It was an eagle. Suddenly it flew down from the mountain top and
+circled above the hunters, screaming, but making no attempt to attack.
+
+At length the summit was gained. It was a flat plateau of great
+expanse, almost the whole of which was covered by an enormous building
+of massive walls and stupendous towers.
+
+"This is the palace of a great monarch," said the king.
+
+But no entrance of any kind could be seen. The rest of the day was
+spent in wandering round, but nowhere was a door, or window, or
+opening visible. It was decided to make a more serious effort next
+morning to gain entry.
+
+However, it seemed a greater puzzle than ever. At length, one of the
+most venturesome of the party discovered an eagle's nest on one of the
+smallest towers, and with great difficulty he secured the bird and
+brought it down to the king. His majesty bade one of his wise men,
+Muflog, learned in bird languages, to speak to it. He did so.
+
+In a harsh croaking voice, the eagle replied, "I am but a young bird,
+only seven centuries old. I know naught. On a tower higher than that
+on which I dwell, is the eyrie of my father. He may be able to give
+you information."
+
+More he would not say. The only thing to do was to climb the higher
+tower and question the father eagle. This was done, and the bird
+answered:
+
+"On a tower still higher dwells my father, and on yet a higher tower
+my grandfather, who is two thousand years old. He may know something.
+I know nothing."
+
+After considerable difficulty the topmost tower was reached and the
+venerable bird discovered. He seemed asleep and was only awakened
+after much coaxing. Then he surveyed the hunters warily.
+
+"Let me see, let me think," he muttered slowly. "I did hear, when I
+was a tiny eagle chick, but a few years old--that was long, long
+ago--that my great-grandfather had said that his great-grandfather had
+told him he had heard that long, long, long ago--oh, ever so much
+longer than that--a king lived in this palace; that he died and left
+it to the eagles; and that in the course of many, many, many thousands
+of years the door had been covered up by the dust brought by the
+winds."
+
+"Where is the door?" asked Muflog.
+
+That was a puzzle the ancient bird could not answer readily. He
+thought and thought and fell asleep and had to be kept being awakened
+until at last he remembered.
+
+"When the sun shines in the morning," he croaked, "its first ray falls
+on the door."
+
+Then, worn out with all his thinking and talking, he fell asleep
+again.
+
+There was no rest for the party that night. They all watched to make
+certain of seeing the first ray of the rising sun strike the palace.
+When it did so, the spot was carefully noted. But no door could be
+seen. Digging was therefore begun and after many hours, an opening was
+found.
+
+Through this an entrance was effected into the palace. What a
+wonderful and mysterious place it was, all overgrown with the weeds of
+centuries! Tangled masses of creepers lay everywhere--over what were
+once trimly kept pathways, and almost completely hiding the lower
+buildings. In the crevices of the walls, roots had insinuated
+themselves, and by their growth had forced the stones apart. It was
+all a terrible scene of desolation. The king's men had to hack a way
+laboriously through the wilderness of weeds with their swords to the
+central building, and when they did so they came to a door on which
+was an inscription cut deep into the wood. The language was unknown to
+all but Muflog, who deciphered it as follows:
+
+    "We, the Dwellers in this Palace, lived for many years in
+    Comfort and Luxury. Then Hunger came. We had made no
+    preparation. We had amassed jewels in abundance but not Corn. We
+    ground Pearls and Rubies to fine flour, but could make no Bread.
+    Wherefore we die, bequeathing this Palace to the eagles who will
+    devour our bodies and build their eyries on our towers."
+
+A dread silence fell on the whole party when Muflog read these strange
+words, and the king turned pale. This warning from the dead past was
+making the adventure far from enjoyable. Some of the party suggested
+the immediate abandonment of the expedition and the prompt return
+home. They feared hidden dangers now. But the king remained resolute.
+
+"I must investigate this to the end," he said in a firm voice. "Those
+who are seized by fear may return. I will go on, if needs be, alone."
+
+Encouraged by these words, the hunters decided to remain with the
+king. One of them began to batter at the door, but the king was
+anxious to preserve the inscription, and after more cutting away of
+weeds, the key was seen to be sticking in the keyhole. Unlocking the
+door, however, was no light task, for ages of rust had accumulated.
+When finally this was accomplished the door creaked heavily on its
+hinges and a musty smell came from the dank corridor that was
+revealed.
+
+The explorers walked ankle-deep in dust through a maze of rooms until
+they came to a big central hall of statues. So artistically fashioned
+were they that they seemed lifelike in their attitudes, and for a
+moment all held their breath. This hall was dustless, and Muflog
+pointed out that it was an airtight chamber. Evidently it had been
+specifically devised to preserve the statues.
+
+"These must be the effigies of kings," said his majesty, and on
+reading the inscriptions, Muflog said that was so.
+
+At the far end of the hall, on a pedestal higher than the others, was
+a statue bigger than the rest. In addition to the name there was an
+inscription on the pedestal. Muflog read it amid an awed stillness:
+
+    "I am the last of the kings--yea, the last of men, and with my
+    own hands have completed this work. I ruled over a thousand
+    cities, rode on a thousand horses, and received the homage of a
+    thousand vassal princes; but when Famine came I was powerless.
+    Ye who may read this, take heed of the fate that has overwhelmed
+    this land. Take but one word of counsel from the last of the
+    mortals; prepare thy meal while the daylight lasts * * *"
+
+The words broke off: the rest was undecipherable.
+
+"Enough," cried the king, and his voice was not steady. "This has
+indeed been good hunting. I have learned, in my folly and pursuit of
+pleasure, what I had failed to see for myself. Let us return and act
+upon the counsel of this king who has met the end that will surely be
+our own should we forget his warning."
+
+Looking out across the plain they had traversed, his majesty seemed to
+see a vision of prosperous cities and smiling fertile fields. In
+imagination, he saw caravans laden with merchandise journeying across
+the intervening spaces. Then, as darker thoughts followed, a cloud
+appeared to settle over the whole land. The cities crumbled and
+disappeared, the eagles swooped down and took possession of that which
+man had failed to appreciate and hold; and after the eagles the dust
+of the ages settled slowly, piling itself up year by year until
+everything was covered and only the desert was visible.
+
+Scarcely a word was spoken as the king and his hunters made their way
+back to the land East of the Rising Sun. In all, they had been away
+forty days when they re-crossed the barrier of rocks. They were
+joyously welcomed.
+
+"What have you brought," asked the populace. "In a little while we
+shall be starving."
+
+"Ye shall not starve," said the king. "I have brought wisdom from the
+Palace of the Eagles. From the fate and sufferings of others I have
+learned a lesson--my duty."
+
+At once he set to work to organize the proper distribution of the food
+supply and the cultivation of the land. He wasted no more time on
+foolish pleasures, and in due course the land East of the Rising Sun
+enjoyed happiness and prosperity and even established fruitful
+colonies in the plain overlooked by the Palace of the Eagles.
+
+   [Illustration: Og, riding gaily on the unicorn behind the Ark,
+   was quite happy. (_Page 30_).]
+
+
+
+
+The Giant of the Flood
+
+
+Just before the world was drowned all the animals gathered in front of
+the Ark and Father Noah carefully inspected them.
+
+"All ye that lie down shall enter and be saved from the deluge that is
+about to destroy the world," he said. "Ye that stand cannot enter."
+
+Then the various creatures began to march forward into the Ark. Father
+Noah watched them closely. He seemed troubled.
+
+"I wonder," he said to himself, "how I shall obtain a unicorn, and how
+I shall get it into the Ark."
+
+"I can bring thee a unicorn, Father Noah," he heard in a voice of
+thunder, and turning round he saw the giant, Og. "But thou must agree
+to save me, too, from the flood."
+
+"Begone," cried Noah. "Thou art a demon, not a human being. I can have
+no dealings with thee."
+
+"Pity me," whined the giant. "See how my figure is shrinking. Once I
+was so tall that I could drink water from the clouds and toast fish at
+the sun. I fear not that I shall be drowned, but that all the food
+will be destroyed and that I shall perish of hunger."
+
+Noah, however, only smiled; but he grew serious again when Og brought
+a unicorn. It was as big as a mountain, although the giant said it was
+the smallest he could find. It lay down in front of the Ark and Noah
+saw by that action that he must save it. For some time he was puzzled
+what to do, but at last a bright idea struck him. He attached the huge
+beast to the Ark by a rope fastened to its horn so that it could swim
+alongside and be fed.
+
+Og seated himself on a mountain near at hand and watched the rain
+pouring down. Faster and faster it fell in torrents until the rivers
+overflowed and the waters began to rise rapidly on the land and sweep
+all things away. Father Noah stood gloomily before the door of the Ark
+until the water reached his neck. Then it swept him inside. The door
+closed with a bang, and the Ark rose gallantly on the flood and began
+to move along. The unicorn swam alongside, and as it passed Og, the
+giant jumped on to its back.
+
+"See, Father Noah," he cried, with a huge chuckle, "you will have to
+save me after all. I will snatch all the food you put through the
+window for the unicorn."
+
+Noah saw that it was useless to argue with Og, who might, indeed, sink
+the Ark with his tremendous strength.
+
+"I will make a bargain with thee," he shouted from a window. "I will
+feed thee, but thou must promise to be a servant to my descendants."
+
+Og was very hungry, so he accepted the conditions and devoured his
+first breakfast.
+
+The rain continued to fall in great big sheets that shut out the light
+of day. Inside the Ark, however, all was bright and cheerful, for Noah
+had collected the most precious of the stones of the earth and had
+used them for the windows. Their radiance illumined the whole of the
+three stories in the Ark. Some of the animals were troublesome and
+Noah got no sleep at all. The lion had a bad attack of fever. In a
+corner a bird slept the whole of the time. This was the phoenix.
+
+"Wake up," said Noah, one day. "It is feeding time."
+
+"Thank you," returned the bird. "I saw thou wert busy, Father Noah,
+so I would not trouble thee."
+
+"Thou art a good bird," said Noah, much touched, "therefore thou shalt
+never die."
+
+One day the rain ceased, the clouds rolled away and the sun shone
+brilliantly again. How strange the world looked! It was like a vast
+ocean. Nothing but water could be seen anywhere, and only one or two
+of the highest mountain tops peeped above the flood. All the world was
+drowned, and Noah gazed on the desolate scene from one of the windows
+with tears in his eyes. Og, riding gaily on the unicorn behind the
+Ark, was quite happy.
+
+"Ha, ha!" he laughed gleefully. "I shall be able to eat and drink just
+as much as I like now and shall never be troubled by those tiny little
+creatures, the mortals."
+
+"Be not so sure," said Noah. "Those tiny mortals shall be thy masters
+and shall outlive thee and the whole race of giants and demons."
+
+The giant did not relish this prospect. He knew that whatever Noah
+prophesied would come true, and he was so sad that he ate no food for
+two days and began to grow smaller and thinner. He became more and
+more unhappy as day by day the water subsided and the mountains began
+to appear. At last the Ark rested on Mount Ararat, and Og's long ride
+came to an end.
+
+"I will soon leave thee, Father Noah," he said. "I shall wander round
+the world to see what is left of it."
+
+"Thou canst not go until I permit thee," said Noah. "Hast thou
+forgotten our compact so soon? Thou must be my servant. I have work
+for thee."
+
+Giants are not fond of work, and Og, who was the father of all the
+giants, was particularly lazy. He cared only to eat and sleep, but he
+knew he was in Noah's power, and he shed bitter tears when he saw the
+land appear again.
+
+"Stop," commanded Noah. "Dost thou wish to drown the world once more
+with thy big tears?"
+
+So Og sat on a mountain and rocked from side to side, weeping silently
+to himself. He watched the animals leave the Ark and had to do all the
+hard work when Noah's children built houses. Daily he complained that
+he was shrinking to the size of the mortals, for Noah said there was
+not too much food.
+
+One day Noah said to him, "Come with me, Og. I am going around the
+world. I am commanded to plant fruit and flowers to make the earth
+beautiful. I need thy help."
+
+For many days they wandered all over the earth, and Og was compelled
+to carry the heavy bag of seeds. The last thing Noah planted was the
+grape vine.
+
+"What is this--food, or drink?" asked Og.
+
+"Both," replied Noah. "It can be eaten, or its juice made into wine,"
+and as he planted it, he blessed the grape. "Be thou," he said, "a
+plant pleasing to the eye, bear fruit that will be food for the hungry
+and a health-giving drink to the thirsty and sick."
+
+Og grunted.
+
+"I will offer up sacrifice to this wonderful fruit," he said. "May I
+not do so now that our labors are over?"
+
+Noah agreed, and the giant brought a sheep, a lion, a pig and a
+monkey. First, he slaughtered the sheep, then the lion.
+
+"When a man shall taste but a few drops of the wine," he said, "he
+shall be as harmless as a sheep. When he takes a little more he shall
+be as strong as a lion."
+
+Then Og began to dance around the plant, and he killed the pig and the
+monkey. Noah was very much surprised.
+
+"I am giving thy descendants two extra blessings," said Og, chuckling.
+
+He rolled over and over on the ground in great glee and then said:
+
+"When a man shall drink too much of the juice of the wine, then shall
+he become a beast like the pig, and if then he still continues to
+drink, he shall behave foolishly like a monkey."
+
+And that is why, unto this day, too much wine makes a man silly.
+
+Og himself often drank too much, and many years afterward, when he was
+a servant to the patriarch Abraham, the latter scolded him until he
+became so frightened that he dropped a tooth. Abraham made an ivory
+chair for himself from this tooth. Afterwards Og became King of
+Bashan, but he forgot his compact with Noah and instead of helping the
+Israelites to obtain Canaan he opposed them.
+
+"I will kill them all with one blow," he declared.
+
+Exerting all his enormous strength he uprooted a mountain, and raising
+it high above his head he prepared to drop it on the camp of the
+Israelites and crush it.
+
+But a wonderful thing happened. The mountain was full of grasshoppers
+and ants who had bored millions of tiny holes in it. When King Og
+raised the great mass it crumbled in his hands and fell over his head
+and round his neck like a collar. He tried to pull it off, but his
+teeth became entangled in the mass. As he danced about in rage and
+pain, Moses, the leader of the Israelites, approached him.
+
+Moses was a tiny man compared with Og. He was only ten ells high, and
+he carried with him a sword of the same length. With a mighty effort
+he jumped ten ells into the air, and raising the sword, he managed to
+strike the giant on the ankle and wound him mortally.
+
+Thus, after many years, did the terrible giant of the flood perish for
+breaking his word to Father Noah.
+
+
+
+
+The Fairy Princess of Ergetz
+
+
+I
+
+In a great and beautiful city that stood by the sea, an old man lay
+dying. Mar Shalmon was his name, and he was the richest man in the
+land. Propped up with pillows on a richly decorated bed in a luxurious
+chamber, he gazed, with tears in his eyes, through the open window at
+the setting sun. Like a ball of fire it sank lower and lower until it
+almost seemed to rest on the tranquil waters beyond the harbor.
+Suddenly, Mar Shalmon roused himself.
+
+"Where is my son, Bar Shalmon?" he asked in a feeble voice, and his
+hand crept tremblingly along the silken coverlet of the bed as if in
+search of something.
+
+"I am here, my father," replied his son who was standing by the side
+of his bed. His eyes were moist with tears, but his voice was steady.
+
+"My son," said the old man, slowly, and with some difficulty, "I am
+about to leave this world. My soul will take flight from this frail
+body when the sun has sunk behind the horizon. I have lived long and
+have amassed great wealth which will soon be thine. Use it well, as I
+have taught thee, for thou, my son, art a man of learning, as befits
+our noble Jewish faith. One thing I must ask thee to promise me."
+
+   [Illustration: A strange crowd of demons of all shapes and
+   sizes poured into the synagogue with threatening gestures.
+   (_Page 40_).]
+
+"I will, my father," returned Bar Shalmon, sobbing.
+
+"Nay, weep not, my son," said the old man. "My day is ended; my life
+has not been ill-spent. I would spare thee the pain that was mine in
+my early days, when, as a merchant, I garnered my fortune. The sea out
+there that will soon swallow up the sun is calm now. But beware of it,
+my son, for it is treacherous. Promise me--nay, swear unto me--that
+never wilt thou cross it to foreign lands."
+
+Bar Shalmon placed his hands on those of his father.
+
+"Solemnly I swear," he said, in a broken voice, "to do thy wish--never
+to journey on the sea, but to remain here in this, my native land.
+'Tis a vow before thee, my father."
+
+"'Tis an oath before heaven," said the old man. "Guard it, keep it,
+and heaven will bless thee. Remember! See, the sun is sinking."
+
+Mar Shalmon fell back upon his pillows and spoke no more. Bar Shalmon
+stood gazing out of the window until the sun had disappeared, and
+then, silently sobbing, he left the chamber of death.
+
+The whole city wept when the sad news was made known, for Mar Shalmon
+was a man of great charity, and almost all the inhabitants followed
+the remains to the grave. Then Bar Shalmon, his son, took his father's
+place of honor in the city, and in him, too, the poor and needy found
+a friend whose purse was ever open and whose counsel was ever wisdom.
+
+Thus years passed away.
+
+One day there arrived in the harbor of the city a strange ship from a
+distant land. Its captain spoke a tongue unknown, and Bar Shalmon,
+being a man of profound knowledge, was sent for. He alone in the city
+could understand the language of the captain. To his astonishment, he
+learned that the cargo of the vessel was for Mar Shalmon, his father.
+
+"I am the son of Mar Shalmon," he said. "My father is dead, and all
+his possessions he left to me."
+
+"Then, verily, art thou the most fortunate mortal, and the richest, on
+earth," answered the captain. "My good ship is filled with a vast
+store of jewels, precious stones and other treasures. And know you, O
+most favored son of Mar Shalmon, this cargo is but a small portion of
+the wealth that is thine in a land across the sea."
+
+"'Tis strange," said Bar Shalmon, in surprise; "my father said nought
+of this to me. I knew that in his younger days he had traded with
+distant lands, but nothing did he ever say of possessions there. And,
+moreover, he warned me never to leave this shore."
+
+The captain looked perplexed.
+
+"I understand it not," he said. "I am but performing my father's
+bidding. He was thy father's servant, and long years did he wait for
+Mar Shalmon's return to claim his riches. On his death-bed he bade me
+vow that I would seek his master, or his son, and this have I done."
+
+He produced documents, and there could be no doubt that the vast
+wealth mentioned in them belonged now to Bar Shalmon.
+
+"Thou art now my master," said the captain, "and must return with me
+to the land across the sea to claim thine inheritance. In another year
+it will be too late, for by the laws of the country it will be
+forfeit."
+
+"I cannot return with thee," said Bar Shalmon. "I have a vow before
+heaven never to voyage on the sea."
+
+The captain laughed.
+
+"In very truth, I understand thee not, as my father understood not
+thine," he replied. "My father was wont to say that Mar Shalmon was
+strange and peradventure not possessed of all his senses to neglect
+his store of wealth and treasure."
+
+With an angry gesture Bar Shalmon stopped the captain, but he was
+sorely troubled. He recalled now that his father had often spoken
+mysteriously of foreign lands, and he wondered, indeed, whether Mar
+Shalmon could have been in his proper senses not to have breathed a
+word of his riches abroad. For days he discussed the matter with the
+captain, who at last persuaded him to make the journey.
+
+"Fear not thy vow," said the captain. "Thy worthy father must, of a
+truth, have been bereft of reason in failing to tell thee of his full
+estate, and an oath to a man of mind unsound is not binding. That is
+the law in our land."
+
+"So it is here," returned Bar Shalmon, and with this remark his last
+scruple vanished.
+
+He bade a tender farewell to his wife, his child, and his friends,
+and set sail on the strange ship to the land beyond the sea.
+
+For three days all went well, but on the fourth the ship was becalmed
+and the sails flapped lazily against the masts. The sailors had
+nothing to do but lie on deck and wait for a breeze, and Bar Shalmon
+took advantage of the occasion to treat them to a feast.
+
+Suddenly, in the midst of the feasting, they felt the ship begin to
+move. There was no wind, but the vessel sped along very swiftly. The
+captain himself rushed to the helm. To his alarm he found the vessel
+beyond control.
+
+"The ship is bewitched," he exclaimed. "There is no wind, and no
+current, and yet we are being borne along as if driven before a storm.
+We shall be lost."
+
+Panic seized the sailors, and Bar Shalmon was unable to pacify them.
+
+"Someone on board has brought us ill-luck," said the boatswain,
+looking pointedly at Bar Shalmon; "we shall have to heave him
+overboard."
+
+His comrades assented and rushed toward Bar Shalmon.
+
+Just at that moment, however, the look-out in the bow cried excitedly,
+"Land ahead!"
+
+The ship still refused to answer the helm and grounded on a sandbank.
+She shivered from stem to stern but did not break up. No rocks were
+visible, only a desolate tract of desert land was to be seen, with
+here and there a solitary tree.
+
+"We seem to have sustained no damage," said the captain, when he had
+recovered from his first astonishment, "but how we are going to get
+afloat again I do not know. This land is quite strange to me."
+
+He could not find it marked on any of his charts or maps, and the
+sailors stood looking gloomily at the mysterious shore.
+
+"Had we not better explore the land?" said Bar Shalmon.
+
+"No, no," exclaimed the boatswain, excitedly. "See, no breakers strike
+on the shore. This is not a human land. This is a domain of demons. We
+are lost unless we cast overboard the one who has brought on us this
+ill-luck."
+
+Said Bar Shalmon, "I will land, and I will give fifty silver crowns to
+all who land with me."
+
+Not one of the sailors moved, however, even when he offered fifty
+golden crowns, and at last Bar Shalmon said he would land alone,
+although the captain strongly urged him not to do so.
+
+Bar Shalmon sprang lightly to the shore, and as he did so the ship
+shook violently.
+
+"What did I tell you?" shouted the boatswain. "Bar Shalmon is the one
+who has brought us this misfortune. Now we shall refloat the ship."
+
+But it still remained firmly fixed on the sand. Bar Shalmon walked
+towards a tree and climbed it. In a few moments he returned, holding a
+twig in his hand.
+
+"The land stretches away for miles just as you see it here," he called
+to the captain. "There is no sign of man or habitation."
+
+He prepared to board the vessel again, but the sailors would not allow
+him. The boatswain stood in the bow and threatened him with a sword.
+Bar Shalmon raised the twig to ward off the blow and struck the ship
+which shivered from stern to stern again.
+
+"Is not this proof that the vessel is bewitched?" cried the sailors,
+and when the captain sternly bade them remember that Bar Shalmon was
+their master, they threatened him too.
+
+Bar Shalmon, amused at the fears of the men, again struck the vessel
+with the twig. Once more it trembled. A third time he raised the
+twig.
+
+"If the ship is bewitched," he said, "something will happen after the
+third blow."
+
+"Swish" sounded the branch through the air, and the third blow fell on
+the vessel's bow. Something did happen. The ship almost leaped from
+the sand, and before Bar Shalmon could realize what had happened it
+was speeding swiftly away.
+
+"Come back, come back," he screamed, and he could see the captain
+struggling with the helm. But the vessel refused to answer, and Bar
+Shalmon saw it grow smaller and smaller and finally disappear. He was
+alone on an uninhabited desert land.
+
+"What a wretched plight for the richest man in the world," he said to
+himself, and the next moment he realized that he was in danger indeed.
+
+A terrible roar made him look around. To his horror he saw a lion
+making toward him. As quick as a flash Bar Shalmon ran to the tree and
+hastily scrambled into the branches. The lion dashed itself furiously
+against the trunk of the tree, but, for the present, Bar Shalmon was
+safe. Night, however, was coming on, and the lion squatted at the foot
+of the tree, evidently intending to wait for him. All night the lion
+remained, roaring at intervals, and Bar Shalmon clung to one of the
+upper branches afraid to sleep lest he should fall off and be
+devoured. When morning broke, a new danger threatened him. A huge
+eagle flew round the tree and darted at him with its cruel beak. Then
+the great bird settled on the thickest branch, and Bar Shalmon moved
+stealthily forward with a knife which he drew from his belt. He crept
+behind the bird, but as he approached it spread its big wings, and Bar
+Shalmon, to prevent himself being swept from the tree, dropped the
+knife and clutched at the bird's feathers. Immediately, to his dismay,
+the bird rose from the tree. Bar Shalmon clung to its back with all
+his might.
+
+Higher and higher soared the eagle until the trees below looked like
+mere dots on the land. Swiftly flew the eagle over miles and miles of
+desert until Bar Shalmon began to feel giddy. He was faint with hunger
+and feared that he would not be able to retain his hold. All day the
+bird flew without resting, across island and sea. No houses, no ships,
+no human beings could be seen. Toward night, however, Bar Shalmon, to
+his great joy, beheld the lights of a city surrounded by trees, and as
+the eagle came near, he made a bold dive to the earth. Headlong he
+plunged downward. He seemed to be hours in falling. At last he struck
+a tree. The branches broke beneath the weight and force of his falling
+body, and he continued to plunge downward. The branches tore his
+clothes to shreds and bruised his body, but they broke his terrible
+fall, and when at last he reached the ground he was not much hurt.
+
+
+II
+
+Bar Shalmon found himself on the outskirts of the city, and cautiously
+he crept forward. To his intense relief, he saw that the first
+building was a synagogue. The door, however, was locked. Weary, sore,
+and weak with long fasting, Bar Shalmon sank down on the steps and
+sobbed like a child.
+
+Something touched him on the arm. He looked up. By the light of the
+moon he saw a boy standing before him. Such a queer boy he was, too.
+He had cloven feet, and his coat, if it was a coat, seemed to be made
+in the shape of wings.
+
+"_Ivri Onochi_," said Bar Shalmon, "I am a Hebrew."
+
+"So am I," said the boy. "Follow me."
+
+He walked in front with a strange hobble, and when they reached a
+house at the back of the synagogue, he leaped from the ground,
+spreading his coat wings as he did so, to a window about twenty feet
+from the ground. The next moment a door opened, and Bar Shalmon, to
+his surprise, saw that the boy had jumped straight through the window
+down to the door which he had unfastened from the inside. The boy
+motioned him to enter a room. He did so. An aged man, who he saw was a
+rabbi, rose to greet him.
+
+"Peace be with you," said the rabbi, and pointed to a seat. He clapped
+his hand and immediately a table with food appeared before Bar
+Shalmon. The latter was far too hungry to ask any questions just then,
+and the rabbi was silent, too, while he ate. When he had finished, the
+rabbi clapped his hands and the table vanished.
+
+"Now tell me your story," said the rabbi.
+
+Bar Shalmon did so.
+
+"Alas! I am an unhappy man," he concluded. "I have been punished for
+breaking my vow. Help me to return to my home. I will reward thee
+well, and will atone for my sin."
+
+"Thy story is indeed sad," said the rabbi, gravely, "but thou knowest
+not the full extent of thy unfortunate plight. Art thou aware what
+land it is into which thou hast been cast?"
+
+"No," said Bar Shalmon, becoming afraid again.
+
+"Know then," said the rabbi, "thou art not in a land of human beings.
+Thou hast fallen into Ergetz, the land of demons, of djinns, and of
+fairies."
+
+"But art thou not a Jew?" asked Bar Shalmon, in astonishment.
+
+"Truly," replied the rabbi. "Even in this realm we have all manner of
+religions just as you mortals have."
+
+"What will happen to me?" asked Bar Shalmon, in a whisper.
+
+"I know not," replied the rabbi. "Few mortals come here, and mostly, I
+fear they are put to death. The demons love them not."
+
+"Woe, woe is me," cried Bar Shalmon, "I am undone."
+
+"Weep not," said the rabbi. "I, as a Jew, love not death by violence
+and torture, and will endeavor to save thee."
+
+"I thank thee," cried Bar Shalmon.
+
+"Let thy thanks wait," said the rabbi, kindly. "There is human blood
+in my veins. My great-grandfather was a mortal who fell into this
+land and was not put to death. Being of mortal descent, I have been
+made rabbi. Perhaps thou wilt find favor here and be permitted to live
+and settle in this land."
+
+"But I desire to return home," said Bar Shalmon.
+
+The rabbi shook his head.
+
+"Thou must sleep now," he said.
+
+He passed his hands over Bar Shalmon's eyes and he fell into a
+profound slumber. When he awoke it was daylight, and the boy stood by
+his couch. He made a sign to Bar Shalmon to follow, and through an
+underground passage he conducted him into the synagogue and placed him
+near the rabbi.
+
+"Thy presence has become known," whispered the rabbi, and even as he
+spoke a great noise was heard. It was like the wild chattering of many
+high-pitched voices. Through all the windows and the doors a strange
+crowd poured into the synagogue. There were demons of all shapes and
+sizes. Some had big bodies with tiny heads, others huge heads and
+quaint little bodies. Some had great staring eyes, others had long
+wide mouths, and many had only one leg each. They surrounded Bar
+Shalmon with threatening gestures and noises. The rabbi ascended the
+pulpit.
+
+"Silence!" he commanded, and immediately the noise ceased. "Ye who
+thirst for mortal blood, desecrate not this holy building wherein I am
+master. What ye have to say must wait until after the morning
+service."
+
+Silently and patiently they waited, sitting in all manner of queer
+places. Some of them perched on the backs of the seats, a few clung
+like great big flies to the pillars, others sat on the window-sills,
+and several of the tiniest hung from the rafters in the ceiling. As
+soon as the service was over, the clamor broke out anew.
+
+"Give to us the perjurer," screamed the demons. "He is not fit to
+live."
+
+With some difficulty, the rabbi stilled the tumult, and said:
+
+"Listen unto me, ye demons and sprites of the land of Ergetz. This man
+has fallen into my hands, and I am responsible for him. Our king,
+Ashmedai, must know of his arrival. We must not condemn a man unheard.
+Let us petition the king to grant him a fair trial."
+
+After some demur, the demons agreed to this proposal, and they trooped
+out of the synagogue in the same peculiar manner in which they came.
+Each was compelled to leave by the same door or window at which he
+entered.
+
+Bar Shalmon was carried off to the palace of King Ashmedai, preceded
+and followed by a noisy crowd of demons and fairies. There seemed to
+be millions of them, all clattering and pointing at him. They hobbled
+and hopped over the ground, jumped into the air, sprang from housetop
+to housetop, made sudden appearances from holes in the ground and
+vanished through solid walls.
+
+The palace was a vast building of white marble that seemed as delicate
+as lace work. It stood in a magnificent square where many beautiful
+fountains spouted jets of crystal water. King Ashmedai came forth on
+the balcony, and at his appearance all the demons and fairies became
+silent and went down on their knees.
+
+"What will ye with me?" he cried, in a voice of thunder, and the rabbi
+approached and bowed before his majesty.
+
+"A mortal, a Jew, has fallen into my hands," he said, "and thy
+subjects crave for his blood. He is a perjurer, they say. Gracious
+majesty, I would petition for a trial."
+
+"What manner of mortal is he?" asked Ashmedai.
+
+Bar Shalmon stepped forward.
+
+"Jump up here so I may see thee," commanded the king.
+
+"Jump, jump," cried the crowd.
+
+"I cannot," said Bar Shalmon, as he looked up at the balcony thirty
+feet above the ground.
+
+"Try," said the rabbi.
+
+Bar Shalmon did try, and found, the moment he lifted his feet from the
+ground, that he was standing on the balcony.
+
+"Neatly done," said the king. "I see thou art quick at learning."
+
+"So my teachers always said," replied Bar Shalmon.
+
+"A proper answer," said the king. "Thou art, then, a scholar."
+
+"In my own land," returned Bar Shalmon, "men said I was great among
+the learned."
+
+"So," said the king. "And canst thou impart the wisdom of man and of
+the human world to others?"
+
+"I can," said Bar Shalmon.
+
+"We shall see," said the king. "I have a son with a desire for such
+knowledge. If thou canst make him acquainted with thy store of
+learning, thy life shall be spared. The petition for a trial is
+granted."
+
+The king waved his scepter and two slaves seized Bar Shalmon by the
+arms. He felt himself lifted from the balcony and carried swiftly
+through the air. Across the vast square the slaves flew with him, and
+when over the largest of the fountains they loosened their hold. Bar
+Shalmon thought he would fall into the fountain, but to his amazement
+he found himself standing on the roof of a building. By his side was
+the rabbi.
+
+"Where are we?" asked Bar Shalmon. "I feel bewildered."
+
+"We are at the Court of Justice, one hundred miles from the palace,"
+replied the rabbi.
+
+A door appeared before them. They stepped through, and found
+themselves in a beautiful hall. Three judges in red robes and purple
+wigs were seated on a platform, and an immense crowd filled the
+galleries in the same queer way as in the synagogue. Bar Shalmon was
+placed on a small platform in front of the judges. A tiny sprite, only
+about six inches high, stood on another small platform at his right
+hand and commenced to read from a scroll that seemed to have no
+ending. He read the whole account of Bar Shalmon's life. Not one
+little event was missing.
+
+"The charge against Bar Shalmon, the mortal," the sprite concluded,
+"is that he has violated the solemn oath sworn at his father's
+death-bed."
+
+Then the rabbi pleaded for him and declared that the oath was not
+binding because Bar Shalmon's father had not informed him of his
+treasures abroad and could not therefore have been in his right
+senses. Further, he added, Bar Shalmon was a scholar and the king
+desired him to teach his wisdom to the crown prince.
+
+The chief justice rose to pronounce sentence.
+
+"Bar Shalmon," he said, "rightly thou shouldst die for thy broken
+oath. It is a grievous sin. But there is the doubt that thy father may
+not have been in his right mind. Therefore, thy life shall be spared."
+
+Bar Shalmon expressed his thanks.
+
+"When may I return to my home?" he asked.
+
+"Never," replied the chief justice.
+
+Bar Shalmon left the court, feeling very downhearted. He was safe now.
+The demons dared not molest him, but he longed to return to his home.
+
+"How am I to get back to the palace?" he asked the rabbi. "Perhaps
+after I have imparted my learning to the crown prince, the king will
+allow me to return to my native land."
+
+"That I cannot say. Come, fly with me," said the rabbi.
+
+"Fly!"
+
+"Yes; see thou hast wings."
+
+Bar Shalmon noticed that he was now wearing a garment just like all
+the demons. When he spread his arms, he found he could fly, and he
+sailed swiftly through the air to the palace. With these wings, he
+thought, he would be able to fly home.
+
+"Think not that," said the rabbi, who seemed to be able to read his
+thoughts, "for thy wings are useless beyond this land."
+
+Bar Shalmon found that it would be best for him to carry out his
+instructions for the present, and he set himself diligently to teach
+the crown prince. The prince was an apt pupil, and the two became
+great friends. King Ashmedai was delighted and made Bar Shalmon one of
+his favorites.
+
+One day the king said to him: "I am about to leave the city for a
+while to undertake a campaign against a rebellious tribe of demons
+thousands of miles away. I must take the crown prince with me. I leave
+thee in charge of the palace."
+
+The king gave him a huge bunch of keys.
+
+"These," he said, "will admit into all but one of the thousand rooms
+in the palace. For that one there is no key, and thou must not enter
+it. Beware."
+
+For several days Bar Shalmon amused himself by examining the hundreds
+of rooms in the vast palace until one day he came to the door for
+which he had no key. He forgot the king's warning and his promise to
+obey.
+
+"Open this door for me," he said to his attendants, but they replied
+that they could not.
+
+"You must," he said angrily, "burst it open."
+
+"We do not know how to burst open a door," they said. "We are not
+mortal. If we were permitted to enter the room we should just walk
+through the walls."
+
+Bar Shalmon could not do this, so he put his shoulder to the door and
+it yielded quite easily.
+
+A strange sight met his gaze. A beautiful woman, the most beautiful he
+had ever seen, was seated on a throne of gold, surrounded by fairy
+attendants who vanished the moment he entered.
+
+"Who art thou?" asked Bar Shalmon, in great astonishment.
+
+"The daughter of the king," replied the princess, "and thy future
+wife."
+
+"Indeed! How know you that?" he asked.
+
+"Thou hast broken thy promise to my father, the king, not to enter
+this room," she replied. "Therefore, thou must die, unless--"
+
+"Tell me quickly," interrupted Bar Shalmon, turning pale, "how my life
+can be saved."
+
+"Thou must ask my father for my hand," replied the princess. "Only by
+becoming my husband canst thou be saved."
+
+"But I have a wife and child in my native land," said Bar Shalmon,
+sorely troubled.
+
+"Thou hast now forfeited thy hopes of return," said the princess,
+slowly. "Once more hast thou broken a promise. It seems to come easy
+to thee now."
+
+Bar Shalmon had no wish to die, and he waited, in fear and trembling
+for the king's return. Immediately he heard of King Ashmedai's
+approach, he hastened to meet him and flung himself on the ground at
+his majesty's feet.
+
+"O King," he cried, "I have seen thy daughter, the princess, and I
+desire to make her my wife."
+
+"I cannot refuse," returned the king. "Such is our law--that he who
+first sees the princess must become her husband, or die. But, have a
+care, Bar Shalmon. Thou must swear to love and be faithful ever."
+
+"I swear," said Bar Shalmon.
+
+The wedding took place with much ceremony. The princess was attended
+by a thousand fairy bridesmaids, and the whole city was brilliantly
+decorated and illuminated until Bar Shalmon was almost blinded by the
+dazzling spectacle.
+
+The rabbi performed the marriage ceremony, and Bar Shalmon had to
+swear an oath by word of mouth and in writing that he loved the
+princess and would never desert her. He was given a beautiful palace
+full of jewels as a dowry, and the wedding festivities lasted six
+months. All the fairies and demons invited them in turn; they had to
+attend banquets and parties and dances in grottoes and caves and in
+the depths of the fairy fountains in the square. Never before in
+Ergetz had there been such elaborate rejoicings.
+
+
+III
+
+Some years rolled by and still Bar Shalmon thought of his native land.
+One day the princess found him weeping quietly.
+
+"Why art thou sad, husband mine?" she asked. "Dost thou no longer love
+me, and am I not beautiful now?"
+
+"No, it is not that," he said, but for a long time he refused to say
+more. At last he confessed that he had an intense longing to see his
+home again.
+
+"But thou art bound to me by an oath," said the princess.
+
+"I know," replied Bar Shalmon, "and I shall not break it. Permit me to
+visit my home for a brief while, and I will return and prove myself
+more devoted to thee than ever."
+
+On these conditions, the princess agreed that he should take leave for
+a whole year. A big, black demon flew swiftly with him to his native
+city.
+
+No sooner had Bar Shalmon placed his feet on the ground than he
+determined not to return to the land of Ergetz.
+
+"Tell thy royal mistress," he said to the demon, "that I shall never
+return to her."
+
+He tore his clothes to make himself look poor, but his wife was
+overjoyed to see him. She had mourned him as dead. He did not tell of
+his adventures, but merely said he had been ship-wrecked and had
+worked his way back as a poor sailor. He was delighted to be among
+human beings again, to hear his own language and to see solid
+buildings that did not appear and disappear just when they pleased,
+and as the days passed he began to think his adventures in fairyland
+were but a dream.
+
+Meanwhile, the princess waited patiently until the year was ended.
+
+Then she sent the big, black demon to bring Bar Shalmon back.
+
+Bar Shalmon met the messenger one night when walking alone in his
+garden.
+
+"I have come to take thee back," said the demon.
+
+Bar Shalmon was startled. He had forgotten that the year was up. He
+felt that he was lost, but as the demon did not seize him by force, he
+saw that there was a possibility of escape.
+
+"Return and tell thy mistress I refuse," he said.
+
+"I will take thee by force," said the demon.
+
+"Thou canst not," Bar Shalmon said, "for I am the son-in-law of the
+king."
+
+The demon was helpless and returned to Ergetz alone.
+
+King Ashmedai was very angry, but the princess counseled patience.
+
+"I will devise means to bring my husband back," she said. "I will send
+other messengers."
+
+Thus it was that Bar Shalmon found a troupe of beautiful fairies in
+the garden the next evening. They tried their utmost to induce him to
+return with them, but he would not listen. Every day different
+messengers came--big, ugly demons who threatened, pretty fairies who
+tried to coax him, and troublesome sprites and goblins who only
+annoyed him. Bar Shalmon could not move without encountering
+messengers from the princess in all manner of queer places. Nobody
+else could see them, and often he was heard talking to invisible
+people. His friends began to regard him as strange in his behavior.
+
+King Ashmedai grew angrier every day, and he threatened to go for Bar
+Shalmon himself.
+
+"Nay, I will go," said the princess; "it will be impossible for my
+husband to resist me."
+
+She selected a large number of attendants, and the swift flight of the
+princess and her retinue through the air caused a violent storm to
+rage over the lands they crossed. Like a thick black cloud they
+swooped down on the land where Bar Shalmon dwelt, and their weird
+cries seemed like the wild shrieking of a mighty hurricane. Down they
+swept in a tremendous storm such as the city had never known. Then, as
+quickly as it came, the storm ceased, and the people who had fled into
+their houses, ventured forth again.
+
+The little son of Bar Shalmon went out into the garden, but quickly
+rushed back into the house.
+
+"Father, come forth and see," he cried. "The garden is full of strange
+creatures brought by the storm. All manner of creeping, crawling
+things have invaded the garden--lizards, toads, and myriads of
+insects. The trees, the shrubs, the paths are covered, and some shine
+in the twilight like tiny lanterns."
+
+Bar Shalmon went out into the garden, but he did not see toads and
+lizards. What he beheld was a vast array of demons and goblins and
+sprites, and in a rose-bush the princess, his wife, shining like a
+star, surrounded by her attendant fairies. She stretched forth her
+arms to him.
+
+"Husband mine," she pleaded, "I have come to implore thee to return to
+the land of Ergetz with me. Sadly have I missed thee; long have I
+waited for thy coming, and difficult has it been to appease my
+father's anger. Come, husband mine, return with me; a great welcome
+awaits thee."
+
+"I will not return," said Bar Shalmon.
+
+"Kill him, kill him," shrieked the demons, and they surrounded him,
+gesticulating fiercely.
+
+"Nay, harm him not," commanded the princess. "Think well, Bar
+Shalmon, ere you answer again. The sun has set and night is upon us.
+Think well, until sunrise. Come to me, return, and all shall be well.
+Refuse, and thou shalt be dealt with as thou hast merited. Think well
+before the sunrise."
+
+"And what will happen at sunrise, if I refuse?" asked Bar Shalmon.
+
+"Thou shalt see," returned the princess. "Bethink thee well, and
+remember, I await thee here until the sunrise."
+
+"I have answered; I defy thee," said Bar Shalmon, and he went indoors.
+
+Night passed with strange, mournful music in the garden, and the sun
+rose in its glory and spread its golden beams over the city. And with
+the coming of the light, more strange sounds woke the people of the
+city. A wondrous sight met their gaze in the market place. It was
+filled with hundreds upon hundreds of the queerest creatures they had
+ever seen, goblins and brownies, demons and fairies. Dainty little
+elves ran about the square to the delight of the children, and quaint
+sprites clambered up the lamposts and squatted on the gables of the
+council house. On the steps of that building was a glittering array of
+fairies and attendant genii, and in their midst stood the princess, a
+dazzling vision, radiant as the dawn.
+
+The mayor of the city knew not what to do. He put on his chain of
+office and made a long speech of welcome to the princess.
+
+"Thank you for your cordial welcome," said the princess, in reply,
+"and you the mayor, and ye the good people of this city of mortals,
+hearken unto me. I am the princess of the Fairyland of Ergetz where my
+father, Ashmedai, rules as king. There is one among ye who is my
+husband."
+
+"Who is he?" the crowd asked in astonishment.
+
+"Bar Shalmon is his name," replied the princess, "and to him am I
+bound by vows that may not be broken."
+
+"'Tis false," cried Bar Shalmon from the crowd.
+
+"'Tis true. Behold our son," answered the princess, and there stepped
+forward a dainty elfin boy whose face was the image of Bar Shalmon.
+
+"I ask of you mortals of the city," the princess continued, "but one
+thing, justice--that same justice which we in the land of Ergetz did
+give unto Bar Shalmon when, after breaking his oath unto his father,
+he set sail for a foreign land and was delivered into our hands. We
+spared his life; we granted his petition for a new trial. I but ask
+that ye should grant me the same petition. Hear me in your Court of
+Justice."
+
+"Thy request is but reasonable, princess," said the mayor. "It shall
+not be said that strangers here are refused justice. Bar Shalmon,
+follow me."
+
+He led the way into the Chamber of Justice, and the magistrates of the
+city heard all that the princess and her witnesses, among whom was the
+rabbi, and also all that Bar Shalmon, had to say.
+
+"'Tis plain," said the mayor, delivering judgment, "that her royal
+highness, the princess of the Fairyland of Ergetz, has spoken that
+which is true. But Bar Shalmon has in this city wife and child to whom
+he is bound by ties that may not be broken. Bar Shalmon must divorce
+the princess and return unto her the dowry received by him on their
+marriage."
+
+"If such be your law, I am content," said the princess.
+
+"What sayest thou, Bar Shalmon?" asked the mayor.
+
+"Oh! I'm content," he answered gruffly. "I agree to anything that
+will rid me of the demon princess."
+
+The princess flushed crimson with shame and rage at these cruel words.
+
+"These words I have not deserved," she exclaimed, proudly. "I have
+loved thee, and have been faithful unto thee, Bar Shalmon. I accept
+the decree of your laws and shall return to the land of Ergetz a
+widow. I ask not for your pity. I ask but for that which is my right,
+one last kiss."
+
+"Very well," said Bar Shalmon, still more gruffly, "anything to have
+done with thee."
+
+The princess stepped proudly forward to him and kissed him on the
+lips.
+
+Bar Shalmon turned deadly pale and would have fallen had not his
+friends caught him.
+
+"Take thy punishment for all thy sins," cried the princess, haughtily,
+"for thy broken vows and thy false promises--thy perjury to thy God,
+to thy father, to my father and to me."
+
+As she spoke Bar Shalmon fell dead at her feet. At a sign from the
+princess, her retinue of fairies and demons flew out of the building
+and up into the air with their royal mistress in their midst and
+vanished.
+
+
+
+
+The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace
+
+
+Sarah, the wife of the patriarch Abraham, and the great mother of the
+Jewish people, was the most beautiful woman who ever lived. Everybody
+who saw her marveled at the dazzling radiance of her countenance; they
+stood spellbound before the glorious light that shone in her eyes and
+the wondrous clearness of her complexion. This greatly troubled
+Abraham when he fled from Canaan to Egypt. It was disconcerting to
+have crowds of travelers gazing at his wife as if she were something
+more than human. Besides, he feared that the Egyptians would seize
+Sarah for the king's harem.
+
+So, after much meditation, he concealed his wife in a big box. When he
+arrived at the Egyptian frontier, the customs officials asked him what
+it contained.
+
+"Barley," he replied.
+
+"You say that because the duty on barley is the lowest," they said.
+"The box must surely be packed with wheat."
+
+   [Illustration: He could not see what Sarah saw--a figure, a
+   spirit, clutching a big stick. (_Page 72_).]
+
+"I will pay the duty on wheat," said Abraham, who was most anxious
+they should not open the box.
+
+The officials were surprised, for, as a rule, people endeavored to
+avoid paying the duties.
+
+"If you are so ready to pay the higher tax," they said, "the box must
+contain something of greater value. Perhaps it contains spices."
+
+Abraham intimated his readiness to pay the duty on spices.
+
+"Oh, Oh!" laughed the officers. "Here is a strange person ready to pay
+heavy dues. He must be anxious to conceal something--gold, perchance."
+
+"I will pay the duty on gold," said Abraham, quietly.
+
+The officers were now completely bewildered.
+
+"Our highest duty," said their chief, "is on precious stones, and
+since you decline to open the box, we must demand the tax on the
+costliest gems."
+
+"I will pay it," said Abraham, simply.
+
+The officers could not understand this at all, and after consulting
+among themselves, they decided that the box must be opened.
+
+"It may contain something highly dangerous," they argued.
+
+Abraham protested, but he was arrested by the guards and the box
+forced open. When Sarah was revealed, the officials stepped back in
+amazement and admiration.
+
+"Indeed, a rare jewel," said the chief.
+
+It was immediately decided to send Sarah to the king. When Pharaoh
+beheld her, he was enraptured. She was simply dressed in the garments
+of a peasant woman, with no adornment and no jewels, and yet the king
+thought he had never seen a woman so entrancingly beautiful. When he
+saw Abraham, however, his brow clouded.
+
+"Who is this man?" he demanded of Sarah.
+
+Fearing that he might be imprisoned, or even put to death if she
+acknowledged him as her husband, Sarah replied that he was her
+brother.
+
+Pharaoh felt relieved. He smiled on Abraham and greeted him
+pleasantly.
+
+"Thy sister is exceeding fair to gaze upon," he said, "and comely of
+form. She hath bewitched me by her matchless charm. She shall become
+the favorite of my harem. I will recompense thee well for thy loss of
+her. Thou shalt be loaded with gifts."
+
+Abraham was too wise to betray the anger that surged in his heart.
+
+"Courage, my beloved," he whispered to Sarah. "The good God will not
+forsake us."
+
+He made pretense of agreeing to Pharaoh's suggestion, and the chief
+steward of the king gave him an abundant store of gold and silver and
+jewels, also sheep and oxen and camels. Abraham was conducted to a
+beautiful palace, where many slaves attended him and bowed before him,
+for one on whom the monarch had showered favors was a great man in the
+land of Pharaoh. Left alone, Abraham began to pray most devoutly.
+
+Meanwhile, Sarah was led into a gorgeous apartment where the queen's
+own attendants were ordered to array her in the richest of the royal
+garments. Then she was brought before Pharaoh who dismissed all the
+attendants.
+
+"I desire to be alone with thee," said the king to Sarah. "I have much
+to say to thee, and I long to feast my eyes on those features of
+beauty rare."
+
+But Sarah shrank from him. To her, he appeared ugly and loathsome. His
+smile was a vicious leer, and his voice sounded like a harsh croak.
+
+"Fear not," he said, trying to speak tenderly and kindly. "I will do
+thee no harm. Nay, I will load thee with honors. I will grant any
+request that thou makest."
+
+"Then let me go hence," said Sarah, quickly. "I desire naught but that
+thou shouldst permit me to depart with my brother."
+
+"Thou jestest," said Pharaoh. "That cannot be. I will make thee
+queen," he cried, passionately and he made a move toward her.
+
+"Stop!" cried Sarah. "If thou approachest one step nearer...."
+
+Pharaoh interrupted with a laugh. To threaten a king was so funny that
+he could not refrain from a hoarse cackle. But Sarah had become
+suddenly silent. She was looking not at him, but behind him. Pharaoh
+turned, but observed nothing. He could not see what Sarah saw--a
+figure, a spirit, clutching a big stick.
+
+"Come," said the king, "be not foolish. I cannot be angry with a
+creature so fair as thou art. But it is not meet--nay, it is not
+wise--to utter threats to one who wears a crown."
+
+Sarah made no reply. She was no longer afraid. She knew that her
+prayers, and those of Abraham, had been answered, and that no harm
+would befall her. Pharaoh mistook her silence and advanced toward her.
+As he did so, however, he felt a tremendous blow on the head. He was
+stunned for a moment. On recovering himself he looked all round the
+room, but could see nothing. Sarah continued to stand motionless.
+
+"Strange," muttered Pharaoh. "I--I thought some one had entered the
+room."
+
+Again he moved toward Sarah, and once more he received a staggering
+blow--this time on the shoulder. It was only by a great effort of will
+that he did not cry out in pain. He concluded he must have been seized
+by some sudden illness, but after a moment he felt better and bravely
+tried to smile at Sarah.
+
+"I--I just thought of something most important," said he, attempting
+to offer some explanation for nearly toppling over in an undignified
+manner. He stood nearer to Sarah and began to raise his hand to touch
+her.
+
+"If thou layest but a finger on me, it will be at thy peril,"
+exclaimed Sarah, her eyes flashing angrily.
+
+"Pshaw!" he cried, losing patience, and he raised his hand.
+
+This time the cudgel of the spirit invisible to Pharaoh did not strike
+him: it came down gently and rested lightly on the king's
+out-stretched arm. And Pharaoh could not move it. He grew pale and
+trembled.
+
+"Art thou a witch?" he gasped, at last.
+
+Sarah was so angry when she heard this insult that she flashed a
+signal with her eyes to the spirit, and the latter plied his cudgel
+lustily about the king's head and shoulders, making the monarch break
+out in most unkingly howls of pain.
+
+"Thy pardon, thy pardon, I crave," he managed to scream. "I mean not
+what I said. I am ill--very ill. My body aches. My arm is paralyzed."
+
+The cudgeling ceased and Pharaoh was able to move his arm. He writhed
+in agony, for he was bruised all over. He rushed hastily away, saying
+he would return on the morrow. Sarah found herself locked in, but she
+was not again disturbed.
+
+Pharaoh, however, had further adventures. The spirit was in merry mood
+and had a night's entertainment at the king's expense. No sooner did
+the king lie down upon his bed than the spirit tilted it and sent him
+sprawling on the floor. Whenever Pharaoh tried to lie down the same
+thing happened. He went from one room to another, but all efforts at
+rest were unavailing. Every bed rejected him and every chair and
+couch did the same, although when he commanded others to lie down they
+did so quite comfortably. He tried lying down with one of his
+attendants, but while the latter was able to remain undisturbed,
+Pharaoh found himself bodily lifted, stood upon his head, spun around
+and then rolled over on the ground.
+
+His physicians could provide no remedy, his magicians--hastily
+summoned from their own slumbers--could afford no explanation, and
+Pharaoh spent a terrible night wandering from room to room and up and
+down the corridors, where the corners seemed to go out of their way to
+bump against him and the stairs seemed to go down when he wanted to
+walk up, and vice-versa. Such a higgledy-piggeldy palace was never
+seen. Worse still, with the first streak of dawn he noticed that he
+was smitten with leprosy.
+
+Hastily he sent for Abraham and said: "Who and what thou art I know
+not. Thou and thy sister have brought a plague upon me. I desired to
+make her my queen, but now I say to you: Rid me of this leprosy and
+get thee hence with thy sister. I will bestow riches on ye, but get ye
+gone, and speedily."
+
+With a magic jewel which he wore on his breast, Abraham restored
+Pharaoh to health, and then departed with Sarah. These final words he
+said to Pharaoh:
+
+"Sarah is not my sister, but my wife. I give thee this warning. Should
+thy descendants at any time seek to persecute our descendants, then
+will our God, He, the One God of the universe, surely punish the king
+with plague again."
+
+And, many years afterward, as you read in the Bible, the prediction
+came true.
+
+
+
+
+The Red Slipper
+
+
+Rosy-red was a sweet little girl, with beautiful blue eyes, soft pink
+cheeks and glorious ruddy-gold hair of the tinge that artists love to
+paint. Her mother died the day she was born, but her grandmother
+looked after her with such tender care that Rosy-red regarded her as
+her mother. She was very happy, was Rosy-red. All day long she sang,
+as she tripped gaily about the house or the woods that surrounded it,
+and so melodious was her voice that the birds gathered on the trees to
+listen to her and to encourage her to continue, by daintily chirruping
+whenever she ceased.
+
+Merrily Rosy-red performed all the little duties her grandmother
+called upon her to do, and on festivals she was allowed to wear a
+delightful pair of red leather slippers, her father's gift to her on
+her first birthday. Now, although neither she nor her father knew it,
+they were magic slippers which grew larger as her feet grew. Rosy-red
+was only a child and so did not know that slippers don't usually grow.
+Her grandmother knew the secret of the slippers, but she did not tell,
+and her father had become too moody and too deeply absorbed in his own
+thoughts and affairs to notice anything.
+
+One day--Rosy-red remembered it only too sadly--she returned from the
+woods to find her grandmother gone and three strange women in the
+house. She stopped suddenly in the midst of her singing and her cheeks
+turned pale, for she did not like the appearance of the strangers.
+
+"Who are you?" she asked.
+
+"I am your new mother," answered the eldest of the three, "and these
+are my daughters, your two new sisters."
+
+Rosy-red trembled with fear. They were all three so ugly, and she
+began to cry.
+
+Her new sisters scolded her for that and would have beaten her had not
+her father appeared. He spoke kindly, telling her he had married
+again, because he was lonely and that her step-mother and step-sisters
+would be good to her. But Rosy-red knew different. She hastened away
+to her own little room and hid her slippers of which she was very
+proud.
+
+"They have turned my dear granny out of doors; they will take from me
+my beautiful slippers," she sobbed.
+
+After that, Rosy-red sang no more. She became a somber girl and a
+drudge. The birds could not understand. They followed her through the
+woods, but she was silent, as if she had been stricken dumb, and her
+eyes always seemed eager to be shedding tears. Also, she was too busy
+to notice her feathered friends.
+
+She had to collect firewood for the home, to draw water from the well
+and struggle along with the heavy bucket whose weight made her arms
+and her back ache with pain. Sometimes, too, her white arms were
+scarred with bruises, for her cruel and selfish step-sisters did not
+hesitate to beat her. Often they went out to parties, or to dances,
+and on these occasions she had to act as their maid and help them to
+dress. Rosy-red did not mind; she was only happy when they were out of
+the house. Then only did she sing softly to herself, and the birds
+came to listen.
+
+And thus many unhappy years passed away.
+
+Once, when her father was away from home, her step-sisters went off to
+a wedding dance. They told her not to forget to draw water from the
+well, and warned her that if she forgot, as she did the last time,
+they would beat her without mercy when they returned.
+
+So Rosy-red, tired though she was, went out in the darkness to draw
+water. She lowered the bucket, but the cord broke and the pail fell to
+the bottom of the well. She ran back home for a long stick with a hook
+at the end of it to recover the bucket, and as she put it into the
+water she sang:
+
+    Swing and sweep till all does cling
+    And to the surface safely bring.
+
+Now it so happened that a sleeping jinn dwelt at the bottom of the
+well. He could only be awakened by a spell, and although Rosy-red did
+not know it, the words she uttered, which she had once heard her
+granny use, were the spell.
+
+The jinn awoke, and he was so delighted with the sweet voice that he
+promptly decided to help the girl whom he saw peering down into the
+water. He fastened the bucket to the stick and, taking some jewels
+from a treasure of which he was the guardian, he put them inside.
+
+"Oh, how beautiful," cried Rosy-red when she saw the glittering gems.
+"They are ever so much nicer than those my sisters put on to go to
+the ball."
+
+Then she sat thinking for a while and a bright idea came into her
+head.
+
+"I will give these jewels to my sisters," she said. "Perhaps they will
+be kinder to me."
+
+She waited impatiently until the sisters returned from the dance and
+immediately told them. For a moment they were too dazed to speak when
+they saw the sparkling precious stones. Then they looked meaningly at
+one another and asked how she came by them. Rosy told them of the
+words she had sung.
+
+"Ah, we thought so," said the sisters, to her horror. "The jewels are
+ours. We hid them in the well for safety. You have stolen them."
+
+In vain Rosy-red protested. Her sisters would not listen. They beat
+her severely, told her to hurry off to bed, and then, snatching the
+bucket, they hurried off to the well. They lowered the bucket and sang
+the words that Rosy-red had sung. At least they thought they sang; but
+their voices were harsh. The sleeping jinn awoke again, but he did not
+like the croaking sound the sisters made.
+
+"Ha, ha!" he laughed. "I will teach you to disturb my sleep with
+hideous noises and shall punish such pranks played on me. Here are
+some more croakers," and he filled the bucket with slimy toads and
+frogs.
+
+The sisters were so enraged that they ran back home and dragged poor
+Rosy-red from her bed.
+
+"You cat, you thief," screamed one.
+
+"You cheat," exclaimed the other. "Off you go. Not another day can you
+remain in this house."
+
+Rosy-red was too much taken by surprise to say anything. It was an
+outrage to turn her out of her father's house while he was away on a
+journey, but the thought came to her that she could hardly be less
+happy living alone in the woods.
+
+She had only time to snatch her pretty red slippers, and as soon as
+she was out of sight of the house she put them on. It made her feel
+less miserable. The sun was now rising and when its rays shone on her
+she began to sing. With her old friends, the birds, twittering all
+about her, she felt quite happy.
+
+On and on she walked, much farther into the woods than ever before.
+When she grew tired there was always a pleasant shady nook where she
+could rest; when she became hungry, there were fruit trees in
+abundance; and when she was thirsty she always came to a spring of
+clear, fresh water. The magic slippers guided her. All day long she
+wandered, and when toward evening she noticed her slippers were muddy
+she took them off to clean. And then darkness fell. It began to rain
+and she grew frightened. She crouched under a tree until she noticed a
+light some short distance away. She got up and walked toward it.
+
+When quite close, she saw that the light came from a cave dwelling. An
+old woman came out to meet her. It was her grandmother, but so many
+years had passed that Rosy-red did not recognize her. Granny, however,
+at once knew her. "Come in, my child, and take shelter from the rain,"
+she said kindly, and Rosy-red was only too glad to accept the
+invitation.
+
+The inside of the cave was quite cosy, and Rosy-red, who was almost
+completely exhausted, quickly fell fast asleep. She awoke with a
+start.
+
+"My pretty red slippers," she cried. "Where are they?"
+
+She put her hand in the pocket of her tattered dress, but could only
+find one.
+
+"I must have lost the other," she sobbed. "I must go out and look for
+it."
+
+"No, no," said granny. "You cannot do that. A storm is raging."
+
+Rosy-red peered out through the door of the cave and drew back in fear
+as she saw the lightning flash and heard the thunder rolling. She
+sobbed herself to sleep again, and this time was awakened by voices.
+She feared it might be her sisters who had discovered her hiding place
+and had come to drag her forcibly back home again. So she crept into a
+corner of the cave and listened intently.
+
+A man was speaking.
+
+"Know you to whom this red slipper belongs?" he was asking. "I found
+it in the woods."
+
+Rosy-red was on the point of rushing out to regain her lost slipper
+when her granny's voice--very loud on purpose that she should
+hear--restrained her.
+
+"No, no, I know not," she repeated again and again, and at length the
+man departed.
+
+Granny came back into the cave and said, "I am sorry, Rosy-red, but
+for aught I knew, he might be a messenger from your cruel sisters;
+and, of course, I cannot let anyone take you back to them."
+
+Next day, the man called again, this time with several attendants.
+Again, Rosy-red concealed herself.
+
+"I am a chieftain's son, and wealthy," said the man. "I must find the
+wearer of this shoe. Only a graceful and beautiful girl can wear such
+a dainty slipper."
+
+Rosy-red did not know whether to be more frightened or pleased, when
+her granny told her the man was very handsome and of noble bearing.
+
+Day after day he came, each time with more retainers, and, finally, he
+arrived mounted on a richly caparisoned camel with a hundred and one
+followers, all mounted as he was.
+
+"The girl I seek is here," he said. "Deny it no longer. My servants
+have scoured the woods and the whole neighborhood. One is prepared to
+swear he heard a young girl singing yesterday."
+
+Rosy-red saw that concealment was no longer possible. She liked the
+man's voice, and she stepped out bravely, wearing her one slipper.
+
+The stranger, bowing low before her, held out the other, and Rosy-red
+took it and put it on. It fitted perfectly.
+
+"Many girls have tried to put on that shoe," said the young man, "but
+all have failed. And I have sworn to make the wearer my bride. I am a
+chieftain's son, and thou shalt be a princess."
+
+So Rosy-red left the cave with her granny, and mounting a camel was
+led through the woods to her new home where she knew naught but
+happiness and the days of her sufferings were quite forgotten. And
+always she wore her magic red slippers.
+
+
+
+
+The Star-Child
+
+
+When Abraham was born, his father, Terah, who was one of the chief
+officers of King Nimrod, gave a banquet to a large number of his
+friends. He entertained them most sumptuously, and the merriest of the
+guests was the chief of the king's magicians. He was an old man,
+exceedingly fond of wine, and he drank deeply. The feast lasted
+throughout the night, and the gray dawn of early morning appeared in
+the sky before Terah's friends thought of rising from the table.
+
+Suddenly the old magician jumped to his feet.
+
+"See," he cried, excitedly, pointing through the open door to the sky.
+"See yon bright star in the east. It flashes across the heavens."
+
+The others looked, but said they could see nothing.
+
+"Fools," shouted the old man, "ye may not see, but I do. I, the wisest
+of the king's magicians and astrologers, tell you it is an omen. See
+how the brilliant star darts across the sky! It has swallowed a
+smaller star, and another, even a third, yet a fourth. It is an omen,
+I say, a portent that bodes ill. And, moreover," he added, growing
+still more excited, "it is an omen connected with the birth of the
+little son of Terah."
+
+   [Illustration: "The big fellow here got angry, beat the others
+   and smashed them to bits." (_Page 95_).]
+
+"Nonsense," cried Terah.
+
+"Talk not to me of nonsense," said the magician, sternly. "I must
+hasten to inform the king."
+
+Hurriedly he left the house of Terah, followed by the other magicians,
+some of whom now said they also had seen a star swallow four others.
+They did not think it wise to contradict their chief, although he had
+drunk a great deal of wine and could not walk steadily.
+
+King Nimrod was awakened from his sleep, and his magicians appeared
+before him.
+
+"O King, live for ever," said the chief, by way of salute. "Grave
+indeed is the news that has led us to disturb thee in thy slumbers.
+This night a son has been born unto thy officer, Terah, and with the
+coming of the dawn a warning has appeared to us in the skies. I, the
+chief of thy magicians, did observe a brilliant star rise in the east
+and dart across the heavens and swallow four smaller stars."
+
+"We observed it, too," said the other magicians.
+
+"And what means this?" inquired the king.
+
+"It means," said the chief magician, mysteriously, "that this
+star-child will destroy other children, that his descendants will
+conquer thine. Take warning. Purchase this child from thy officer,
+Terah, and slay it so that it may not grow up a danger to thee."
+
+"Thy advice pleases me," said the cruel king.
+
+In vain Terah protested. King Nimrod would not disregard the warning
+of his magicians, but he consented to give Terah three days in which
+to deliver up the child. Sad at heart Terah returned home, and on the
+second day told his wife the terrible news.
+
+"We must not allow our little son, Abraham, to be slain," she said.
+"If he is to become great he must live. I have a plan. King Nimrod
+will not be satisfied unless a child is slain. Therefore, take thou
+the child of a slave to him and tell him it is Abraham. He will not
+know the difference. And so that the trick shall not be discovered,
+take our child away and hide it for a time."
+
+Terah thought this an excellent idea, and he carried it out. The sick
+child of a slave, which was born only a few hours before Abraham, was
+taken to King Nimrod who killed it with his own hands, and Terah's
+little boy was secretly carried by his nurse to a cave in a forest.
+There Abraham was carefully nurtured and brought up.
+
+From time to time Abraham was visited by his father and mother, and
+not until he was ten years old did they think it safe to bring him
+from the cave in the forest to their home. Even then they deemed it
+best to be careful. Their elder son, Haran, was a maker of idols and
+Abraham became his helper without Haran being told it was his brother.
+
+Abraham, the star-child, was a strange little boy. He did not believe
+in the idols.
+
+"I worship the sun by day and the moon and the stars by night," he
+said to Haran.
+
+"There are times when you cannot see the sun by day, nor the moon and
+stars by night," said Haran, "but you can always have your idol with
+you."
+
+This troubled little Abraham for a while, but one day he came running
+to his brother and said, "I have made a discovery. I shall no longer
+worship the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars. There must be some
+mighty power behind them that orders them to shine, the sun by day and
+the moon and stars by night. That great power shall be my God."
+
+Abraham asked all sorts of queer questions of his father. "Who made
+the sun and the moon and the stars?" he asked.
+
+"I know not," replied Terah.
+
+"I have asked all your idols, your gods, and they answer not," said
+Abraham.
+
+"They cannot speak," said Terah.
+
+"Then why do you pray to them and worship them?" persisted the boy.
+
+Terah did not answer. Abraham asked his mother, but she could only
+tell him that the gods who created everything were with them in the
+house.
+
+"But Haran made those silly things of wood and clay," said Abraham,
+and at last they refused to answer his awkward questions.
+
+Mostly he stood at the door of the house, gazing at the sky as if
+trying to read the secrets behind the sun and stars.
+
+"Thou shouldst have been placed with an astrologer," said Haran to him
+one day. "Thou art a child of the stars."
+
+Terah heard this and was angry with Haran, for he feared that the
+secret of the child's birth might be betrayed.
+
+"I know not why my father keeps thee here," said Haran afterward to
+Abraham. "Thou art becoming lazy. I have worked enough this day and
+will go out to the woods to watch the hunting. Stay thou here.
+Perchance a purchaser may come. Be heedful and obtain good payment for
+the idols."
+
+Not long after Haran left, an old man entered the shop and said he
+wished to buy an idol.
+
+"I dropped my idol on the ground yesterday and it broke," he said. "I
+must have a stronger one."
+
+"Certainly thou must have a god so strong that naught can break it,"
+answered Abraham. "Tell me, how old art thou?"
+
+"Full sixty years, boy," replied the man.
+
+"And yet thou hast not reached years of wisdom," said Abraham. "See
+how easy it is to break thy gods," and he took a stick and smashed one
+of the idols with a single blow.
+
+The old man fled from the shop horrified.
+
+Next, a woman entered.
+
+"I am too poor to have an idol of my own," she said. "Therefore, I
+have brought a little food as an offering to one of the many gods
+here."
+
+"Offer it to any idol that pleases thee," said Abraham, with a laugh.
+
+The woman placed it before the smallest idol.
+
+"This idol is small and surly," said the boy. "It does not accept thy
+offering," and he raised his stick and smashed it.
+
+"Try a bigger idol with thy offering," he said, and the woman did so.
+
+"Thou also hast no manners," said Abraham, addressing the god; "eat,
+or I shall smash thee to pieces."
+
+The idol, of course, did not eat, and so Abraham broke it, and the
+woman rushed out into the street in great alarm.
+
+Abraham tried all the idols in turn with the food, and as each was
+unable to eat, he broke them all except the largest. Before this idol,
+which was as tall as a man, he paused. Then, laughing loudly, he
+placed the stick which he had used in the idol's hand.
+
+By this time, a crowd, attracted by the cries of the old man and the
+woman, had gathered at the door.
+
+"What hast thou done?" they demanded, angrily.
+
+"I? Nothing," answered Abraham. "See, the largest idol holds in its
+hand a big stick. It seems to me that he has been angry and has killed
+all the others. Ask him why he did this."
+
+The people stood bewildered until Terah and Haran returned.
+
+"What is the meaning of this?" they asked, pointing to the broken
+idols.
+
+"Oh! Such fun," replied Abraham. "There has been a fight here. A woman
+brought a food offering to the gods, and they quarrelled because they
+all wanted it. So the big fellow here got angry, and, taking up the
+stick which you see he still holds, he beat the others and smashed
+them to bits."
+
+"Absurd!" cried Haran. "The idols cannot do these things."
+
+"Ask the big fellow to strike me if I have told lies," returned
+Abraham.
+
+"Cease your nonsense," commanded his father.
+
+"What funny gods yours are," said Abraham, musingly, standing before
+the big idol. "Do you think he will hit me if I smack his face?"
+
+Before anybody could stop him, he smacked the idol's face and then
+knocked off its head with the stick.
+
+Some of the people ran off to the palace, and soon came an order from
+King Nimrod that the idol-breaker should be brought before him.
+Abraham, Haran and Terah were seized by the guards and marched off to
+the palace.
+
+"Which of you broke the idols?" asked the king, angrily.
+
+"I did, because they were rude and would not accept the offering,"
+said Abraham. "How can they be gods if they have no sense?"
+
+"Not altogether a foolish remark," said Nimrod, smiling. "If idols
+please thee not, then worship fire which has the power to consume."
+
+"Fire itself can be quenched by water," replied Abraham.
+
+"Then worship water," returned Nimrod.
+
+"But water is absorbed by the clouds," said the boy.
+
+"And clouds are blown by the wind," said Nimrod.
+
+"Man can withstand the force of the wind," said Abraham.
+
+"So he will talk all day long, this child of the stars," exclaimed
+Haran.
+
+"Child of the stars!" said the chief magician. "Now I understand. O
+king, this must be no other than the child of Terah against whom, at
+his birth, we warned your majesty. The message of the stars has come
+true. He has dared to destroy our gods. Soon he will destroy us."
+
+"Is this, in truth, the child of the stars?" asked Nimrod, of Terah,
+but the latter did not answer.
+
+"It is in truth, your majesty," said Haran. "I have long suspected
+it."
+
+"Then why didst thou not inform me?" exclaimed the king in a rage. "I
+will test this star-child with the power of my god, fire. And thou,
+Haran, for thy neglect, must also suffer. Guards, let them be bound
+and cast into the furnace to which I pray daily. Terah, thou art their
+father. I can forgive thee; thou wilt suffer sufficiently in losing
+both thy sons to my god."
+
+The fire was made so hot that the men who endeavored to cast Abraham
+and Haran into the flames were caught and burned to death. Twelve men
+in all perished before Terah's sons were thrown into the furnace.
+Haran was burned to ashes at once, but to the surprise of the vast
+crowd that stood at a safe distance, Abraham walked unharmed in the
+flames, the fetters which bound him having been consumed.
+
+When King Nimrod saw this, he trembled.
+
+"Come forth, boy," he cried to Abraham, "and I will pardon thee."
+
+"Bid your men take me out," he answered.
+
+All who approached the terrific fire, however, were burned to death,
+and at last when Nimrod said he would bow down before Abraham's God
+the boy came forth unharmed.
+
+All the people bowed down before the boy who told them to rise,
+saying, "Worship not me, but the true God who dwells in Heaven beyond
+the sun and the stars and whose glory is everywhere."
+
+King Nimrod loaded the boy with presents and bade him return home in
+peace.
+
+
+
+
+Abi Fressah's Feast
+
+
+There was not in the whole city of Bagdad a greedier man than Abi
+Fressah, and you may be sure he was not popular. It was not that he
+was rich and refused to give heed to the needs of the poor. He was, in
+truth, a merchant in moderately affluent circumstances, and he did not
+withhold charity from the deserving; but he was a man of enormous
+appetite and did not scruple to descend to trickery to secure an
+invitation to a meal.
+
+So skilful, indeed, did he become in wheedling these favors from his
+friends and from those with whom he traded, that he devoted the major
+portion of each day to feeding and left himself little time to attend
+to his business affairs. Moreover, he grew unpleasantly fat. His face
+was red and bloated with much wine drinking. He was not a nice person
+to look upon at all, and those who had aforetime been his friends came
+to the conclusion that the day had arrived when he should be taught a
+severe lesson.
+
+   [Illustration: He sprang from his stool, spluttering and
+   cursing. (_Page 110_).]
+
+And so it came to pass that when Abi Fressah was standing in the
+bazaar at the hour of the mid-day meal and eagerly scanning the crowd
+to discover some acquaintance whom he could induce to ask him to
+dinner, he saw Ben Maslia, one of the wealthiest and most generous of
+men in Bagdad.
+
+"Ah, my excellent friend," Abi cried, warmly greeting Ben Maslia,
+"'tis almost an eternity since my unworthy eyes were cast upon thy
+pleasant countenance. Peace be on thee and thine unto the end of
+days."
+
+"Also to thee," returned Ben Maslia.
+
+"And whence comest thou? And whither goest thou, oh most hospitable
+friend?" Abi Fressah asked these questions hastily, his beady eyes
+searching the other's face hungrily for a sign upon which he could
+seize to invite himself to a meal. "It is the hour of the mid-day
+meal. Goest thou, perchance, to thy pious home?"
+
+"Thither go I," said Ben Maslia.
+
+"My path lies in the same direction," said Abi Fressah. "It will be
+pleasant to walk together. Come," and he grasped Ben Maslia by the
+arm.
+
+"It is kind of thee, friend Abi Fressah," rejoined the other, "but I
+have built me a new abode on the other side of the city."
+
+Abi Fressah's face fell for a moment, but he was clever enough to take
+advantage of the news.
+
+"A new dwelling erected by the wealthy Ben Maslia," he said,
+winningly, "must be a building of magnificence, worth seeing."
+
+"Indeed it is as thou sayest," cried the other enthusiastically, and
+forthwith he launched into a lavish description of his residence.
+
+Abi Fressah grew impatient when Ben Maslia began to describe each room
+in detail, his hunger increased when, in glowing words, his friend
+painted the gorgeous dining-room, and his mouth watered at the
+information that the cellars were stocked with a thousand bottles of
+wine.
+
+"Blessings on thee and thy wine-cellar and thy house," murmured Abi
+Fressah, when he could get in a word. "I have no business of
+consequence to transact this afternoon. I could not pay thee a better
+compliment than to spend it examining thy treasures."
+
+"Of a certainty thou couldst not," assented the other, to his great
+glee.
+
+"Then let us proceed," said Abi Fressah.
+
+So they set out, Ben Maslia still continuing his glowing account of
+his wonderful house.
+
+"It must be as spacious as a palace," put in Abi Fressah.
+
+"Thou speakest truth," agreed Ben Maslia. "I will illustrate to thee
+the vast expanse of my new residence."
+
+He stopped in his walk, measured one hundred paces in the street, and
+intimated that this represented the width of the central courtyard.
+
+Abi Fressah was overwhelmed with surprise, but he was growing
+momentarily hungrier, and it was with difficulty he could restrain his
+impatience.
+
+"Yes, yes," he said, "I would fain gaze upon the outer door of thy
+dwelling."
+
+"Such an outer door," said Ben Maslia, "hast thou never seen. Its
+width...." and again he began to measure the street to indicate its
+dimensions.
+
+"And further," he added, calmly, either failing to notice, or
+deliberately overlooking Abi Fressah's growing distress, "its shape
+and design are...!" and he dragged the other through several streets
+until he found a door to which he could point as being not altogether
+unlike his own.
+
+"But I weary thee," he said, suddenly, as if regretful of the time he
+had wasted.
+
+"Nay, nay, not at all," Abi Fressah assured him, although he was
+inwardly fuming at the delay. "Thy descriptions delight me
+immeasurably. Thou hast not yet unfolded to me the wonders of thy
+dining-room."
+
+Thereupon Ben Maslia took up the tale of the dining-room and its
+furniture, and he dragged his companion half a mile out of their path
+to show him the furniture emporium where he had purchased the tables
+and the couches. Then he retraced his steps to point out a building
+from which he had borrowed certain ideas of decoration.
+
+Abi Fressah's fat body was unused to such exertion. He perspired
+freely, his legs tottered beneath him, and his tongue was parched. He
+was really very uncomfortable, and the pangs of hunger from which he
+suffered were not lessened when Ben Maslia stopped outside a
+restaurant to speak to a friend who was just going in.
+
+The conversation was prolonged, and all the time Abi Fressah's nose
+was tickled by the smell of the cooking. He endured agonies,
+especially when the friend invited Ben Maslia to dine with him, and
+Ben Maslia, after a few moment's hesitation, firmly declined.
+
+"I must apologize to thee for this delay," said Ben Maslia, when at
+length he left his friend, "but the matter was urgent. I will make up
+to thee by the magnificence of the feast."
+
+Abi Fressah thanked him cordially for his consideration, but his pain
+was intense when Ben Maslia insisted on giving him fullest particulars
+of all the dishes he would enjoy.
+
+"Yes, yes," Abi kept saying, but Ben Maslia stayed his interruptions.
+
+"Thy dwelling is far from the center of the city," Abi Fressah managed
+to say at last.
+
+"That is a virtue," commented Ben Maslia, and he followed it up with
+the advice given to him by a renowned physician that a house was
+healthiest when it stood alone, away from the busy haunts of men. To
+all this and more, Abi Fressah was compelled to listen. His whole fat
+body ached with weariness, he was tortured by a raging thirst, and he
+fancied he felt himself growing thinner--so fearfully hungry was he.
+
+The sun was sinking when at last they reached the house, and Abi
+Fressah was afraid for a moment that his host would enlarge upon its
+architecture. To his relief, however, they entered straightway, and
+Ben Maslia said to him, "Thou must be fatigued after thy walk. Rest
+awhile."
+
+Abi Fressah was truly grateful, and taking off his shoes he stretched
+himself on a comfortable couch. He dozed for a while, but was awakened
+by the noise of clattering dishes and the smell of savory cooking. He
+almost forgot his unpleasant afternoon in the prospect of the coming
+feast, but Ben Maslia came not. Abi Fressah soon felt angry. He could
+not restrain himself from banging a big brass gong to summon a
+servant. But although he banged several times, no servant answered the
+call. Abi Fressah nearly shed tears in his despair.
+
+Suddenly Ben Maslia appeared before him.
+
+"I thought I would give thee ample rest," he said suavely. "Come, we
+must perform our ablutions."
+
+Abi Fressah would have preferred to have dispensed with this ceremony,
+but he could not offend his host by declining to conform to the custom
+of the period. Ben Maslia led the way to the bath-chamber, and there
+they spent quite an hour. Then, thoroughly refreshed, the host said,
+"Now I will show thee the wonders and beauties of my domain."
+
+Abi Fressah was almost stupified with hunger, but he had to permit
+himself to be led through each room and to hear again the praises that
+had already been poured into his ears all the afternoon. Only the
+smell of the cooking fortified his spirit and enabled him to undergo
+the ordeal. He seemed to wake up from a stupor when his host opened a
+door and exclaimed, "This is the feasting-chamber."
+
+A scene of splendor burst upon the eyes of Abi Fressah. He rubbed his
+hands in glee and was ready to forget and forgive the discomforts of
+the past few hours. The dining-room presented a magnificent
+appearance, with its gorgeous hangings, its many lamps, and its marble
+floor. But these things Abi Fressah scarcely noted. His gaze was
+promptly directed on the table.
+
+It was spread with the most sumptuous repast that ever he had seen.
+There were dishes upon dishes of tasty sweetmeats, huge platters of
+luscious fruits, many bottles of wine, and covered bowls from which
+arose the most appetizing aroma. Abi Fressah's mouth began to twitch
+and his eyes glowed. He moved forward to a seat.
+
+"Good friend," said his host, "let me first introduce to your notice
+my staff of servants."
+
+He clapped his hands, and immediately, in quite startling fashion, a
+dozen servants stepped from behind the hangings which had hidden them
+and bowed before their master. With a dozen attendants to wait upon
+him, Abi Fressah saw that he was going to enjoy a meal worthy of the
+occasion. He looked upon the slaves with satisfaction.
+
+"Note, my worthy Abi Fressah," said Ben Maslia, "that this is no
+ordinary retinue of servants. Each one comes from a different part of
+the known world. Rosh, the big man there, head of them all, is the
+only native of Bagdad. He has an interesting history. He has been in
+my service since his birth. His father was likewise in the service of
+my sainted father, and his grandfather.... But let that suffice. I
+would not imprison thy appetite longer. Sheni--that is the second
+servant, the big black Nubian there--bring hither the first dish."
+
+Sheni took up one of the dishes from the table and placed himself by
+the side of his master.
+
+"Stands he not well?" asked Ben Maslia, in admiring tones. "He is a
+descendant of kings. In ancient days his ancestors sat on a throne and
+ruled over a huge territory beyond the deserts of Africa. I obtained
+him during my journey in that country. And on that occasion I
+discovered this beautiful rug in a shop in Cairo."
+
+Saying which, Ben Maslia rose from his seat and fingered lovingly one
+of the hangings of the room. Abi Fressah did not rise. He was trying
+to keep his temper. The dish which Sheni held so tantalizingly under
+his very nose made him mad with hunger and desire.
+
+But Ben Maslia took no heed. He began to dilate upon the virtues of
+another piece of tapestry.
+
+"This," he said, "I bought in the famous bazaar of Damascus. It is
+hundreds of years old. And in that city, too, I became possessed of my
+third servant, Shelishi there, a true-born son of the Holy Land and
+the keeper of my camels. Our meeting was an adventure...."
+
+Abi Fressah was not listening. This was beyond endurance. He felt that
+soon he would collapse in a faint on the floor. And still Ben Maslia
+droned on. There was a servant from China and also a cunningly wrought
+vase from that land; a brown page boy in a red turban from India from
+which land his host had also brought the lamp standing in the center
+of the table and some of the flowers which adorned the room.
+
+"You would not guess," he was saying, "that many of these blooms are
+not natural. They are artificial but mixed so skilfully with the real
+that even experts would be deluded."
+
+By this time Abi Fressah was beyond the power of speech. Two or three
+times, he tried to speak but could not. He was really too weak. Never
+in his life before had he been so hungry, so tortured. It was some
+time, however, before Ben Maslia noticed his plight.
+
+"Art thou ill?" he exclaimed. "That grieves me. But, fortunately, I
+have in the house an experienced apothecary who can apply leeches and
+relieve thee of foul blood."
+
+"No, no," pleaded the unhappy Abi Fressah, finding his tongue at this
+dismal prospect.
+
+"Perchance a glass of rare cordial will revive thee," said Ben Maslia,
+taking one of the bottles from the table.
+
+Abi Fressah managed to gasp the word "Yes," and Rosh held a goblet
+into which Ben Maslia poured a rich, red fluid.
+
+"Drink this," he said kindly, holding the cup to his guest's lip.
+
+"At last," thought Abi Fressah, as he opened his mouth.
+
+The next moment he sprang from his stool with astonishing agility,
+spluttering and cursing. The liquid was bitter in the extreme, the
+taste it left in his mouth most horrid.
+
+"Now I know I have been hoodwinked," he screamed in rage, and he
+dashed toward the outer door.
+
+"Stay, stay--what ails thee?" cried Ben Maslia.
+
+"Stop, stop," echoed the servants, as Abi Fressah commenced to run.
+
+The cry was taken up in the street by those who saw a fat man panting
+along in the darkness, pursued by a number of servants.
+
+"Stop thief!" was the cry of one man in his excitement. The town
+guards heard, and without any ado they seized Abi Fressah and hauled
+him off to the jail. In vain he begged for mercy and struggled for
+freedom.
+
+"If thou wilt not behave, we shall use force," the guards said, and
+they beat him with staves.
+
+At the jail, Abi Fressah was flung into a cell, and there, on a bed of
+straw on the ground, he spent a horrible, sleepless night. He ached in
+every bone in his body, he was bruised all over, and his hunger was
+such that he felt he had never eaten in his life. His reflections were
+sad, as you may well imagine, and they led him to a vow that never
+again would he seek the hospitality of his friends. He realized at
+last that he had made himself obnoxious and had been cleverly and
+deservedly well punished.
+
+Even yet his sufferings were not at an end, for next morning, when he
+was released and sent for his physician, the latter prescribed a diet
+of gruel and barley water for a whole week!
+
+   [Illustration: He found a beautiful youth, clad in a deer skin,
+   lying on the ground. (_Page 115_).]
+
+
+
+
+The Beggar King
+
+
+Proud King Hagag sat on his throne in state, and the high priest,
+standing by his side, read from the Holy Book, as was his daily
+custom. He read these words: "For riches are not for ever: and doth
+the crown endure to every generation?"
+
+"Cease!" cried the king. "Who wrote those words?"
+
+"They are the words of the Holy Book," answered the high priest.
+
+"Give me the book," commanded the king.
+
+With trembling hands the high priest placed it before his majesty.
+King Hagag gazed earnestly at the words that had been read, and he
+frowned. Raising his hand, he tore the page from the book and threw it
+to the ground.
+
+"I, Hagag, am king," he said, "and all such passages that offend me
+shall be torn out."
+
+He flung the volume angrily from him while the high priest and all his
+courtiers looked on in astonishment.
+
+"I have heard enough for today," he said. "Too long have I delayed my
+hunting expedition. Let the horses be got ready."
+
+He descended from the throne, stalked haughtily past the trembling
+figure of the high priest, and went forth to the hunt. Soon he was
+riding furiously across an open plain toward a forest where a wild
+stag had been seen. A trumpet sounded the signal that the deer had
+been driven from its hiding place, and the king urged his horse
+forward to be the first in the chase. His majesty's steed was the
+swiftest in the land. Quickly it carried him out of sight of his
+nobles and attendants. But the deer was surprisingly fleet and the
+king could not catch up with it. Coming to a river, the animal plunged
+in and swam across. Scrambling up the opposite bank its antlers caught
+in the branch of a tree, and the king, arriving at the river, gave a
+cry of joy.
+
+"Now I have thee," he said. Springing from his horse and divesting
+himself of his clothing he swam across with naught but a sword.
+
+As he reached the opposite bank, however, the deer freed itself from
+the tree and plunged into a thicket. The king, with his sword in his
+hand, followed quickly, but no deer could he see. Instead, he found,
+lying on the ground beyond the thicket, a beautiful youth clad in a
+deer-skin. He was panting as if after a long run. The king stood still
+in surprise and the youth sprang to his feet.
+
+"I am the deer," he said. "I am a genii and I have lured thee to this
+spot, proud king, to teach thee a lesson for thy words this morning."
+
+Before King Hagag could recover from his surprise the youth ran back
+to the river and swam across. Quickly he dressed himself in the king's
+clothes and mounted the horse just as the other hunters came up. They
+thought the genii was King Hagag and they halted before him.
+
+"Let us return," said the genii. "The deer has crossed the river and
+has escaped."
+
+King Hagag from the thicket on the opposite side watched them ride
+away and then flung himself on the ground and wept bitterly. There he
+lay until a wood-cutter found him.
+
+"What do you here?" asked the man.
+
+"I am King Hagag," returned the monarch.
+
+"Thou art a fool," said the wood-cutter. "Thou art a lazy
+good-for-naught to talk so. Come, carry my bundle of sticks and I will
+give thee food and an old garment."
+
+In vain the king protested. The wood-cutter only laughed the more,
+and at last, losing patience, he beat him and drove him away. Tired
+and hungry, and clad only in the rags which the wood-cutter had given
+him, King Hagag reached the palace late at night.
+
+"I am King Hagag," he said to the guards, but roughly they bade him
+begone, and after spending a wretched night in the streets of the
+city, his majesty, next morning, was glad to accept some bread and
+milk offered to him by a poor old woman who took pity on him. He stood
+at a street corner not knowing what to do. Little children teased him;
+others took him for a beggar and offered him money. Later in the day
+he saw the genii ride through the streets on his horse. All the people
+bowed down before him and cried, "Long live the king!"
+
+"Woe is me," cried Hagag, in his wretchedness. "I am punished for my
+sin in scoffing at the words of the Holy Book."
+
+He saw that it would be useless for him to go to the palace again, and
+he went into the fields and tried to earn his bread as a laborer. He
+was not used to work, however, and but for the kindness of the very
+poorest he would have died of starvation. He wandered miserably from
+place to place until he fell in with some blind beggars who had been
+deserted by their guide. Joyfully he accepted their offer to take the
+guide's place.
+
+Months rolled by, and one morning the royal heralds went forth and
+announced that "Good King Hagag" would give a feast a week from that
+day to all the beggars in the land.
+
+From far and near came beggars in hundreds, to partake of the king's
+bounty, and Hagag stood among them, with his blind companions, in the
+courtyard of the palace waiting for his majesty to appear. He knew the
+place well, and he hung his head and wept.
+
+"His majesty will speak to each one of you who are his guests today,"
+cried a herald, and one by one they passed into the palace and stood
+before the throne. When it came to Hagag's turn, he trembled so much
+that he had to be supported by the guards.
+
+The genii on the throne and Hagag looked long at each other.
+
+"Art thou, too, a beggar?" said the genii.
+
+"Nay, gracious majesty," answered Hagag with bent head. "I have sinned
+grievously and have been punished. I am but the servant of a troop of
+blind beggars to whom I act as guide."
+
+The genii king signed to his courtiers that he desired to be left
+alone with Hagag. Then he said:
+
+"Hagag, I know thee. I see that thou hast repented. It is well. Now
+canst thou resume thy rightful place."
+
+"Gracious majesty," said Hagag, "I have learned humility and wisdom.
+The throne is not for me. The blind beggars need me. Let me remain in
+their service."
+
+"It cannot be," said the genii. "I see that thou art truly penitent.
+Thy lesson is learned and my task is done. I will see that the blind
+beggars lack not."
+
+With his own hands he placed the royal robes on Hagag and himself
+donned those of the beggar. When the courtiers returned they saw no
+difference. King Hagag sat on the throne again, and nowhere in the
+whole world was there a monarch who ruled more wisely or showed more
+kindness and sympathy to all his subjects.
+
+
+
+
+The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog
+
+
+In the childhood of the world, when Adam named all the animals and
+ruled over them, the dog and the cat were the greatest good friends.
+They were inseparable chums in their recreations, faithful partners in
+their transactions, and devoted comrades in all their adventures,
+their pleasures and their sorrows. They lived together, shared each
+other's food and confided their secrets to none but themselves. It
+seemed that no possible difference would ever arise to cause trouble
+between them.
+
+Then winter came. It was a new experience to them to feel the cold
+wind cutting through their skins and making them shiver. The dismal
+prospect of the leafless trees and the hard cold ground weighed
+heavily upon their hearts, and, worse still, there was less food. The
+scarcity grew serious, and hunger plunged them into unhappiness and
+despair. Doggie became melancholy, while Pussie grew peevish, then
+petulant, and finally developed a horrid temper.
+
+"We can't go on like this," moaned the cat. "I think we had better
+dissolve partnership. We can't find enough to share when we are
+together, but separately we ought each to discover sufficient forage
+in our hunting."
+
+"I think I can help you, because I am the stronger," said the dog.
+
+Pussie did not contradict, but she thought the dog a bit of a fool and
+too good-natured. She knew herself to be sly and intended to rely on
+that quality for her future sustenance. Doggie was deeply hurt at
+Pussie's desire to end their happy compact, but he said quietly, "Of
+course, if you insist on parting, I will agree."
+
+"It is agreed then," purred Pussie.
+
+"Where will you go?" asked Doggie.
+
+"To the house of Adam," promptly replied the cat, who had evidently
+made up her mind. "There are mice there. Adam will be grateful if I
+clear them away. I shall have food to eat."
+
+"Very well," assented the dog. "I will wander further afield."
+
+Then the cat said solemnly: "We must each take an oath never to cross
+the other's path. That is the proper way to terminate a business
+agreement. The serpent says so, and he is the wisest of all animals."
+
+They put their right fore-paws together and gravely repeated an oath
+never to interfere with each other by going to the same place. Then
+they parted. Doggie trotted off sorrowfully with his head hanging
+down. Once he looked back, but Puss did not do so. She scampered off
+as fast as she could to the house of Adam.
+
+"Father Adam," she cried, "I have come to be your slave. You are
+troubled with mice in the house. I can rid you of them, and I want
+nothing else for my services."
+
+"Thou art welcome," said Father Adam, stroking Pussie's warm fur.
+
+Puss rubbed her head against his feet, purred contentedly, and ran off
+to look for mice. She found plenty and soon grew fat and comfortable.
+Adam treated her kindly, and she soon forgot all about her former
+comrade.
+
+Poor Doggie did not fare so well. Indeed, he had a rough time. He
+wandered aimlessly about over the frozen ground and could not find the
+slightest scrap of food. After three days, weary, paw-sore and
+dispirited, he came to a wolf's lair and begged for shelter. The wolf
+took pity on him, gave him some scraps of food, and permitted him to
+sleep in the lair. Doggie was most thankful, and sleeping with his
+ears on the alert, he heard stealthy footsteps in the night. He told
+the wolf.
+
+"Drive the intruders away," said his host in a surly tone.
+
+Doggie went out obediently to do so. But the marauders were wild
+animals and they nearly killed him. He was lucky to escape with his
+life. After bathing his wounds at a pool in the early morning he
+wandered all day long, but again could find nothing. Toward night,
+when he could scarcely drag his famished and wounded body along, he
+saw a monkey in a tree.
+
+"Kind monkey," he pleaded, "give me shelter for the night. I am
+exhausted and starving."
+
+"Go away, go away, go away," chattered the monkey, jumping and
+swinging swiftly from branch to branch, moving his lips quickly and
+opening and shutting his eyes comically. Doggie hesitated, and, to
+frighten him away, the monkey pulled cocoanuts from the tree and
+pelted him.
+
+Poor Doggie crawled miserably away.
+
+"What shall I do?" he moaned.
+
+Hearing the bleating of some sheep, he made his way to them and asked
+them to take compassion on him.
+
+"We will," they replied, "if you will keep watch over us and tell us
+when the wolf comes."
+
+Doggie agreed willingly, and, after he had devoured some food, he
+stretched himself to sleep like a faithful watch-dog, with one eye
+open.
+
+In the middle of the night he heard the wolves approaching, and,
+anxious to serve the sheep who had treated him kindly, he sprang to
+his feet and began to bark loudly. This aroused the sheep, who awoke
+and started to run in all directions. Some of them ran right into the
+pack of wolves and were killed and eaten. Poor Doggie was nearly
+heart-broken.
+
+"It is my fault, my fault," he wailed. "I barked too soon. Oh, what an
+unhappy creature I am. I shall keep away from all animals now."
+
+Once again he set off on his travels. Whenever he met an animal he ran
+off in the opposite direction. He had to make his journey by the
+loneliest paths and the most unfrequented routes, and the difficulty
+of finding food grew steadily greater. At last he grew so weak and
+thin that he hardly had strength to crawl and he had several narrow
+escapes from falling a prey to ferocious beasts.
+
+One night he came to a house and begged a morsel of food. It was
+given, and during the night he woke the man and warned him that wild
+animals were making a raid. The man jumped up, seized his bow and
+arrow and drove the thieves away. Then he patted Doggie.
+
+"Good dog," he said. "You are a wise animal. Stay with me always. You
+will find Father Adam kind."
+
+"Father Adam!" cried Doggie, in alarm. "I must not stay here."
+
+"Nonsense. I say you must," answered Adam, and Doggie was compelled to
+obey.
+
+In the morning, Pussie learned that the dog had joined the household
+and she complained to Adam.
+
+"The dog has violated the oath he swore not to come to the place where
+I am," she said.
+
+"He did not know you were here," said Adam, desirous of maintaining
+peace. "He is very useful. I want him to remain. He won't hurt you.
+There is ample room for both."
+
+"No, there isn't," said Puss spitefully, arching up her back and
+getting cross. "He broke his oath. He is a wicked creature. You dare
+not overlook his offense."
+
+Poor Doggie stood dejectedly apart, with his tail between his legs.
+
+"I didn't know it was Adam's house, and I was so hungry and miserable
+and tired," he said.
+
+But Pussie would not be pacified. She thrust out her ugly claws and
+tried to scratch her former partner. The dog kept out of her way as
+much as possible, but she quarrelled with him at every opportunity,
+and at last he determined to tolerate her conduct no longer.
+
+"I must leave you, Father Adam," he said. "Pussie is making my life
+unbearable."
+
+"But I want you," said Adam.
+
+"I'm sorry," said Doggie, firmly, "but it is really impossible for me
+to continue in your service. I've got another situation at the house
+of Seth. He wants me, too."
+
+"Won't you make friends with Pussie?" asked Adam.
+
+"With pleasure, if she will let me, but she won't."
+
+"You blame each other," said Adam, losing patience. "I can't make you
+out. You look like quarrelling for ever."
+
+Adam's words have proved true. Ever since that time the cat and dog
+have failed to agree, and Pussie will never consent to be friendly
+again with Doggie.
+
+   [Illustration: With a cry, he put his fingers in his mouth to
+   ease the pain and burned his tongue. (_Page 131_).]
+
+
+
+
+The Water-Babe
+
+
+Floating in a basket on the River Nile, Princess Bathia, the daughter
+of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, found a tiny little water-babe. Princess
+Bathia was a widow and had no children, and she was so delighted that
+she took the child home to the palace and brought it up as her own.
+She called the babe Moses.
+
+He was a pretty little boy, full of fun and frolic as he grew up, and
+he became a favorite with everybody in the palace. Even the cruel King
+Pharaoh, who had ordered that all the Hebrew boy babes should be
+drowned, loved to play with him. His ministers of state and magicians,
+however, frowned when they saw Moses, as soon as he could toddle and
+talk, making a play-mate of the king. They warned Pharaoh that it was
+dangerous to give a strange child such privileges, but Princess Bathia
+only laughed at them. So did her mother, the queen, and King Pharaoh
+took no notice.
+
+When Moses was three years old, Princess Bathia gave a birthday party
+in his honor. It was really a big banquet and was attended by the king
+and queen and all the courtiers. Moses was seated at the head of the
+table and his eyes opened very wide with wonderment at everything he
+saw. It seemed such a ridiculous lot of solemn fuss to him. He would
+rather have played on the floor, or climbed on to the table, but of
+course they would not allow him.
+
+"What does all this mean?" he asked of the king who was seated next to
+him. "Tell me," and he playfully pulled King Pharaoh's beard.
+
+The courtiers looked on horrified, and Bilam, the chief magician,
+cried out, "Beware, O king, this is not play."
+
+"Heed not these words, my father," said the princess. "Bilam is ever
+warning thee. If thou wert to take notice of all that he says, thou
+wouldst not have a moment's peace. Take our little babe on thy knee
+and play with him."
+
+To please the princess, King Pharaoh did so, and Moses amused himself
+by playing with the glittering jewels on his majesty's robes. Then he
+looked up and stared hard at the king's head.
+
+"What is that?" he asked, pointing.
+
+"That is the royal crown," answered Pharaoh.
+
+"No it is not; it is only a funny hat," replied Moses.
+
+"Beware," chimed in Bilam, solemnly.
+
+"Let me put the hat on," said Moses, reaching up his little hands, and
+before they could stop him, he had taken the crown from the king's
+head and had put it on his own.
+
+Princess Bathia and the queen laughed merrily, but Bilam looked very
+grave.
+
+"Your majesty," he said, in a voice trembling with passion, "this is
+not the foolish play of a babe. This child, remember, is not as other
+children. Came he not from the river? There is meaning in his action.
+Already does he seek to rob thee of thy royal crown. 'Tis a portent of
+evil."
+
+Pharaoh thoughtfully stroked his beard.
+
+"What sayeth Reuel?" he asked, turning to his second chief magician.
+
+"I say the child is but a babe and that this action means nothing,"
+answered Reuel.
+
+The queen and the princess agreed with Reuel, who was their favorite,
+but Bilam would not allow the matter to pass lightly.
+
+"I, Bilam, am chief of thy counselors," he said, "and deeply learned
+in the mysteries of signs and portents. There is a meaning in all
+things. Remember, O King, this child is of the Hebrews, and escaped
+thy decree. This play of his hath a meaning. Should he be permitted to
+grow up, he will rebel against thee and seek to destroy thy rule. Let
+him be judged, O king."
+
+"Thy words are wise," said Pharaoh, who was himself annoyed with
+Moses, and he ordered three judges to try the child for his offence.
+
+Moses thought it was a new game and he clapped his hands gleefully
+when they took him to the court of justice and stood him in front of
+the judges. He heard Reuel plead on his behalf, but he did not
+understand it.
+
+"I say he is but a babe and does things without meaning," Reuel
+exclaimed. "Put him to the test, and see if he knows the difference
+between fire and gold. Place before him a dish of fire and a dish of
+jewels and gold. If he grasps the jewels, it will prove that he is no
+ordinary child; if he places his hand to the fire, then shall we be
+assured he is merely a foolish babe."
+
+"So be it," said Bilam, "and if he grasps the jewels let his
+punishment be instant death."
+
+Pharaoh and the judges agreed, and two dishes, one containing burning
+coals and the other gold and precious stones were brought in and
+placed before Moses. Everybody looked on keenly as Moses stared at
+the dishes. Princess Bathia made signs to him, but Bilam ordered her
+to cease and it was Reuel who comforted her and dried her tears.
+
+"Take my magic staff," he said, handing to her a stick that seemed to
+be made of one large precious stone. "This was given to Adam when he
+left the Garden of Eden and has been handed down to me through Enoch
+and Noah, through Abraham and Jacob unto Joseph who left it in my
+keeping. Take the staff and Moses will obey whatsoever be thy wish."
+
+The princess took the staff and pressed it to her lips.
+
+"I wish," she said, "that my little water-babe shall seize the burning
+coals."
+
+Moses thrust his fingers into the fire and pulled out a glowing coal.
+With a cry, he put his fingers in his mouth to ease the pain and
+burned his tongue with the coal. Ever afterward he lisped.
+
+The princess snatched Moses and pressed him tightly to her bosom.
+
+"Give me the magic stick," she said to Reuel, "so that I may guard and
+protect the child."
+
+"Canst thou read this word?" asked Reuel, pointing to a word engraved
+on the staff.
+
+"No," said the princess.
+
+"Then it cannot be thine," answered Reuel. "Whosoever reads this name
+can understand all things, even the thoughts of animals and birds.
+Fear not for Moses. In years to come this staff shall be his."
+
+And so it came to pass. Years afterward, when Moses was a man and fled
+from Egypt, he married a daughter of Reuel who became a Hebrew and
+took the name of Jethro. Reuel planted the staff in his garden and
+Moses saw it. He read the magic word, and touching the staff it came
+out of the ground into his hands. With this staff Moses performed the
+wonderful things in Egypt when he delivered the children of Israel
+from bondage, as is related in the Bible.
+
+
+
+
+Sinbad of the Talmud
+
+
+"Rabba, Rabba, silly, silly Rabba, have you caught another whale
+to-day?"
+
+With this strange cry a number of children followed an elderly man
+through the streets of a town in the East. Their parents looked on in
+amusement and some of them called after the man as the little ones
+did. Rabba, however, took no notice, but walked straight on with a
+faraway look in his eyes, as if his thoughts were elsewhere.
+Presently, on turning the corner of a street, he nearly ran into an
+Arab coming in the opposite direction. As soon as the children saw the
+Arab they turned and fled.
+
+"Ali Rabba is coming," they cried to one another in warning, and as
+fast as their legs would carry them they made off to their homes.
+
+The Arab shook his fist threateningly after the children. Then he
+turned to the man whom they had followed.
+
+"It is a shame," he said, hotly, "that the impudent ragamuffins of
+the town should be allowed to cast words of disrespect in the public
+streets at my sainted master, Rabba bar Chana, the man of profound
+learning and the famous traveller--"
+
+   [Illustration: They saw the land rise up like a huge mountain
+   and a tremendous stream of water gush forth. (_Page 138_).]
+
+"Be gentle, good Ali," interrupted Rabba. "Remember they are little
+more than babes and have not full understanding. And how can they be
+respectful when their parents, who should have wisdom and faith,
+accept not our stories of the many adventures we have had? Yesterday,
+I told them of the day when our ship had been surrounded by five
+thousand whales, each a mile long, and they jeered and cried
+'Impossible!'"
+
+"Impossible!" echoed Ali, in a rage. "Was I not there with thee, my
+master? Did I not count every single whale myself? Who dares to doubt
+my word? Have I not, for years, been thy faithful guide on thy
+marvelous journeys? Bah! What know these town fools, whose lives are
+no wider than the narrow streets in which they dwell, of the wonders
+of the vast world beyond the seas? Fools, ignorant fools, every one of
+them, my good master. Why stay you here with them and brook their
+insults and their sneers? Let us journey forth again this very day. A
+good ship waits in the harbor."
+
+Ali's voice grew louder as his rage became stronger and a crowd was
+collecting. Rabba hurried him away and together they made for the
+harbor. There they were soon engaged in earnest conversation with the
+captain of a vessel that had come from a distant land.
+
+"I shall be glad to have two such famous travelers on my ship," said
+the captain. "I have heard of your adventures, and in my country 'tis
+said that only those meet with wonders who dare to seek them and
+believe in them. I, too, would see the wonders of the world, and
+gladly will I give you passage on my ship."
+
+Next day Rabba and Ali stood on the deck of the vessel as the sail was
+hoisted, and it moved slowly from the harbor to the accompaniment of
+cheering and some laughter from a crowd on shore.
+
+"Silly Rabba and Ali Rabba, don't forget to bring back the moon," they
+cried. "Find out where it goes when it is not here."
+
+Soon the land was out of sight, and scudding before favorable breezes
+the ship made good progress. In ten days it had reached a sea in which
+no vessel had ever sailed before. Ali said he could tell this because
+the fishes behaved queerly. They poked their heads out of the water
+to gaze at the ship and then darted swiftly out of sight again. It was
+quite plain that they had never before seen a ship, and they evidently
+mistook it for some strange sea monster. Every day the fishes grew
+larger, but no land was sighted until another five days had passed.
+Then a desert island appeared straight ahead, and the captain steered
+toward it. A few blades of grass grew here and there, and Rabba
+determined to land and explore the island.
+
+Accompanied by his faithful Ali, he entered a small boat and was rowed
+to the shore. They found a few vegetables growing that they had never
+seen before, and so, collecting twigs from the short, stumpy bushes,
+they made a fire to cook them. While the vegetables were cooking they
+looked around.
+
+"It seems a vast land," said Rabba, "and yet over there, about three
+or four miles away, I think I see water."
+
+"I think so, too," said Ali. "This must be the width of the land, but
+in the other directions I can see no end. But hark! What sound is
+that?"
+
+"'Tis like the rumbling of an earthquake," said Rabba, "and I am sure
+I felt the ground move. Indeed, it seems to me as if it is heaving up
+and down, like a living thing."
+
+A shout from the boat caused them to look in that direction, and they
+saw their comrades pointing wildly and calling upon them to come back.
+Looking in the direction indicated, they saw the land rise up like a
+huge mountain and a tremendous stream of water gush forth.
+
+"This is not land; this is a whale," cried Rabba, in alarm. "Our fire
+has wakened it from slumber. Let us hasten to the ship before the
+monster plunges and drowns us."
+
+They hurried back to the boat and boarded the ship just as the whale
+began to move. It sank below the waves to quench the fire on its back,
+but it rose again, and then the vessel found itself in a new danger.
+It was lying between the body of the monster and one of its fins.
+
+"Let me take command," said Ali. "I know best how to act in times of
+danger like this. We must avoid being struck by the fin, or we shall
+be destroyed. We must find which way the monster is moving and go in
+the opposite direction; otherwise we shall be wrecked when we come to
+the place where the fin joins the body."
+
+There was no sleep for the crew that night. Everyone watched
+carefully, for the least false move may have meant instant disaster.
+Luckily the whale began to move on the surface of the sea against the
+wind, so that the ship, traveling in the opposite direction, had the
+wind behind it. Swiftly flew the ship before the breeze, but the fin
+seemed to have no end, although the whale was traveling fast, too.
+Three days and three nights the ship continued before it came to the
+end of the fin. Then everyone on board breathed more freely.
+
+"That was a lucky escape," said the captain to Rabba.
+
+"Speak not too soon," replied the latter. "I have fears yet. We must
+hasten to get completely away from this monster, but the wind does not
+favor any alteration of our course."
+
+Even as he spoke there was a great commotion in the water, and the
+whale began to move backward at so fearful a speed that they could
+scarcely see it. The water was violently agitated and the ship was
+tossed about as if it were a mere cork. A whole day this lasted. Then
+the motion grew slower as the head of the whale came past the ship.
+
+"See," cried Ali, excitedly. "A small fish has stuck in the nostril of
+the monster. That is the cause of this commotion. The monster will
+surely be killed."
+
+The agitation of the water now died down, and it was seen that the
+whale was beginning to turn over.
+
+"The monster is dead," said Rabba. "It will float on the waves like a
+vast desert land and will be a danger to ships."
+
+For several days the vessel was compelled to follow the dead whale.
+Whenever an attempt was made to move away, the current or the wind
+changed and the carcass of the monster followed the ship. The captain
+did not like this at all, for it was dangerous in the extreme. He was
+afraid that the dead whale would strike the vessel and wreck it.
+
+At last land was sighted. Not even Rabba and Ali could recognize the
+country. They said they had never seen it before. Beautiful cities
+dotted the shore, but to everybody's alarm, the body of the whale
+began to float toward the land.
+
+To make matters worse, a storm arose, and the monster rose and fell
+with each motion of the angry waves.
+
+"The cities will be destroyed if the whale strikes them," cried Rabba,
+"and it is impossible for us to warn the people."
+
+Nearer and nearer the whale was driven, while the captain of the ship
+did his utmost to keep away so as not to be struck by the backwash.
+
+At length, with a tremendous crash, the monster was flung by the
+waves, which had increased to a great height, against the shore. Above
+the shrieking of the wind could be heard the noise of falling
+buildings and the wild cries of the people. A huge wave caught the
+ship and carried it a mile out to sea and then whirled it back again
+at a speed that made the crew hold their breath in awe.
+
+It seemed certain that the vessel would be dashed to pieces on the
+land, and the crew, with cries of warning and alarm, made haste to
+lash themselves to the masts. The mighty wave swept over the land,
+over the ruins of the towns, carrying the ship with it, and finally
+deposited it among the trees of a dense forest a mile from the shore.
+
+"At least we are safe for the present," said Rabba, when he had
+recovered from the shock and the surprise. "We are more fortunate than
+the poor people who have been overwhelmed by this strange disaster."
+
+"I should like to know how I am going to get my ship back to the sea,"
+said the captain. "I never heard of such a predicament before."
+
+Rabba merely shrugged his shoulders, and with Ali he walked to the
+shore. An extraordinary sight met their gaze. Thousands of people
+were rushing madly to the forests. Everywhere was ruin and
+desolation. All the towns along the coast, sixty in number they
+learned afterward, had been destroyed by the stranding of the monster
+and the tidal wave that followed, and what had not been leveled and
+swept out to sea had been carried inland to the forests and beyond.
+All along the coast, as far as the eye could see, lay the body of the
+whale like a mountain range, and hundreds of people ran up and down,
+weeping bitterly and wringing their hands.
+
+Rabba gathered as many of them as he could together and addressed
+them.
+
+"Good people," he said, "ye are the victims of a terrible calamity
+that has robbed you at one cruel blow of your homes, and many of you
+of your families. But ye that have survived have duties to yourselves
+and to the future. In this hour of grief, despair not. There lies the
+fearful monster that has been your destruction. It shall also be your
+salvation. Its body can supply you all with food. What you cannot eat,
+you can salt and store for the future. Thousands of casks of oil can
+be obtained from its blubber, and with this ye can trade. Then, too,
+its bones are valuable."
+
+The people thanked Rabba for his good advice, and immediately they
+set about doing what he bade them. They told him this was a bewitched
+land, the country of Kishef, abounding with terrible monsters both on
+land and in the sea, and ruled over by a malignant jinn, named Hormuz,
+who gave them no peace. They asked Rabba to try and kill this sprite
+who said that only a stranger to the land could do him harm, and so
+Rabba and his faithful Ali, mounted on horses, set forth on their
+adventures.
+
+"I think I know this country," said Ali. "I believe I landed once on
+the other shore. We cannot be far from the wilderness in which the
+Israelites wandered."
+
+For several days they journeyed through forests and across plains and
+nothing happened. At last they came to a broad, high wall which barred
+their progress. They could find no opening through which to pass, and
+while they were wondering what to do, a strange figure suddenly
+appeared on the wall. One of his legs was longer than the other, and
+his arms were also of different length. His ears and eyes were also
+unequal, and he hopped and bounded along the wall at amazing speed.
+
+"My name is Hormuz," he cried. "Who are ye?"
+
+"Strangers," called Rabba, and as soon as he heard the word, the
+sprite darted swiftly off along the top of the wall. But although the
+horses ran at topmost speed, they could not overtake him, and he
+quickly disappeared. Where he was lost to sight, however, there was a
+hole in the wall, and through this Rabba and Ali just managed to take
+their horses. A vast wilderness lay before them.
+
+Ali picked up two clods of earth and smelt them.
+
+"As I thought," he said, "this is the wilderness of the Israelites.
+Come, I will show thee strange sights."
+
+Before nightfall, they came to a place where the bodies of a large
+number of men lay strewn on the ground.
+
+"These men must have been giants," said Rabba, as Ali, with his spear
+uplifted, rode under the raised knee of one of the bodies. "These must
+be the bodies of the Ephraimites who left Egypt before the rest of the
+children of Israel and were slain."
+
+He cut off a portion of a garment that still covered one of the
+bodies, but when he tried to move he could not. He seemed to be rooted
+to the spot. Nor could his horse move.
+
+"Oh, oh," cried Ali, "my horse has lost its power to move. Thou must
+have taken something from the dead. Return it, good master, or we
+shall be held fast here until we perish."
+
+Rabba returned the piece of garment, and they were able to move again.
+They hurried from the place and came to a chasm in the ground from
+which smoke was rising.
+
+"This is the pit in which Korah and his children were swallowed," said
+Ali.
+
+"That must have been a wonderful sight," said Rabba. "I have heard
+that the pit became like a funnel and that the air all about eddied
+and sucked in everything that belonged to Korah. Even the things that
+people had borrowed from him, such as dishes, rolled along the ground
+from a distance and into the pit. Come, let us hasten away."
+
+They continued their journey for many days, but could not see the
+demon again. One day the desert ended and they came to the sea. They
+encamped for the night, and when morning broke Rabba was surprised to
+find that the basket, in which they kept their provisions, had
+disappeared.
+
+"I think I can explain," said Ali. "No thieves have been here, but
+this is the end of the world, the edge of the earth. Here, once in
+every twenty-four hours, the sky and the earth in their revolution,
+scrape together. The sky must have caught up your basket and carried
+it away. It will be returned at the same hour tomorrow morning."
+
+Rabba awoke next morning before the sunrise and saw his basket
+floating down to earth on a cloud. Both he and Ali were overjoyed when
+they recovered it, for they were very hungry. While they were eating,
+the sky grew dark, and looking up they saw what appeared to be a great
+cloud above their heads. Out of the sea a mighty tree seemed suddenly
+to have grown. They moved cautiously forward to investigate.
+
+"Take heed," cried a voice of thunder. "I am a bird standing in the
+water. It is so deep, with such swift currents, that seven years ago
+an axe fell in and has not yet reached the bottom."
+
+Rabba and Ali crouched on the ground in great fear, until at last
+Rabba called: "Mighty bird, we seek your help. We are anxious to find
+the wicked jinn, Hormuz, and slay him so that people shall be free."
+
+"Follow me," answered the bird, and like a spreading cloud it flew
+along the coast. Rabba and Ali followed on their horses.
+
+"Look," cried Ali, suddenly, pointing out to sea.
+
+A huge snake and dragon were fighting, and at last the sea-serpent,
+which was almost as big as the whale that had destroyed the towns,
+swallowed the dragon. No sooner had it done so, however, than the
+giant bird swooped down and gobbled up the snake.
+
+"That was a good fat worm for breakfast," called the bird. "Now I
+shall rest."
+
+It flew toward a gigantic tree which now appeared. So tall was it that
+its upper branches were lost in the clouds. The bird perched on a
+branch of the tree.
+
+"Proceed along the coast until you come to two bridges," said the
+bird. "There you will find Hormuz. Give him two cups of wine to drink,
+then you can slay him. But be sure you take the diamond from his cap.
+I, the ziz, give you this warning."
+
+Rabba thanked the bird for its information, and with Ali continued on
+his journey. After three days they came to a river crossed by two
+bridges, and with one foot on each stood Hormuz.
+
+As soon as he saw them he began to run, but Rabba called after him,
+"We bring thee an offering of good wine," and he promptly returned.
+Rabba filled the two cups which he had from a leathern bottle, and
+Hormuz took a cup in each hand, smacking his lips as he did so.
+
+"See," he said, and he tossed the wine into the air, and the wine from
+the right hand cup fell into the left hand cup and that from the left
+hand cup into the right and not a drop was spilt. Then he swallowed
+them both at one gulp.
+
+Almost immediately he fell down in a stupor, and Rabba stabbed him
+again and again with his spear. Yet, when he seemed quite dead, he
+jumped up again.
+
+"The diamond," cried Rabba, excitedly, and Ali snatched it from the
+cap of Hormuz. Then the demon fell dead.
+
+"We can return now," said Rabba, and they set out at once, taking the
+body with them. They halted only to take food, and the first time they
+did so a funny thing happened. Ali had killed an animal and Rabba had
+caught some fish, and, while these were cooking, Rabba took the jinn's
+diamond from his pocket and examined it. At once the fish and the
+animal came to life again, jumped out of the cooking pot and made off.
+
+"This is a magic diamond," said Rabba, "that has the power to bring
+dead things to life. We keep it covered when we wish to eat."
+
+They did so, and after long journeying they came in sight of the great
+wall and at last reached the place from which they had started. They
+had been away twelve months in all, and the people were heartily glad
+to see them, especially when they heard that Hormuz had been killed
+and saw his body. They had worked hard on the carcass of the huge
+whale and were rebuilding the sixty towns and villages that had been
+destroyed, with the bones of the monster, using the skin as coverings
+for their tents.
+
+With the help of the magic diamond, Rabba called the ziz, and it took
+the ship which had been carried into the forest in its beak and flew
+with it to the sea. Gathering their old comrades, Rabba and Ali set
+sail for home.
+
+All the inhabitants stood on shore and cheered as long as the ship was
+in sight. They were sorry that Rabba was gone, but they felt certain
+now that Hormuz was dead, that nevermore would they be troubled by
+monsters which brought them such terrible disasters.
+
+   [Illustration: He looked up and beheld the most beautiful woman
+   his eyes had ever seen. (_Page 157_).]
+
+
+
+
+The Outcast Prince
+
+
+There lived a king who had an only son, on whom he doted. No one, not
+even his oldest tutor, was permitted to utter a word of correction to
+the prince whenever he did anything wrong, and so he grew up
+completely spoiled. He had many faults, but the worst features of his
+character were that he was proud, arrogant and cruel. Naturally, too,
+he was selfish and disobedient. When he was called to his lessons, he
+refused, saying, "I am a prince. Before many years I shall be your
+king. I have no need to learn what common people must know. Enough for
+me that I shall occupy the throne and shall rule. My will alone shall
+prevail. Says not the law of the land, 'The king can do no wrong'?"
+
+Handsome and haughty, even as a youth, he made the king's subjects
+fear him by his imperious manner. His appearance in the streets was
+the signal for everyone to run into his house, bar the doors, and peer
+nervously through the casements. He was a reckless rider, and woe
+betide the unfortunate persons who happened to be in his way. Sparing
+neither man, woman, nor child, he callously rode over them, or lashed
+out vindictively with the long whip he always carried, laughing when
+anyone screamed with pain.
+
+So outrageous did his public conduct become that the people determined
+to suffer in silence no longer. They denounced the prince in public,
+they petitioned the king himself to restrain his son, and his majesty
+could not disregard the complaints. At first he was merely annoyed,
+then he was indignant, but when he saw that the people were thoroughly
+aroused and threatened revolt, he deemed it wise to inquire into the
+charges against his son.
+
+A commission of three judges was appointed to investigate. They made
+fullest inquiry and finally laid a document before the king
+summarizing what they did not hesitate to declare the "infamous
+actions of His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince."
+
+The king's sense of justice and righteousness at once overcame his
+foolish pride.
+
+"My people stand justified in their attitude which at first I thought
+only disrespectful to my royal person," he said. "I owe them an
+apology and recompense. I shall atone. And my son shall atone, too.
+He shall not escape punishment."
+
+He summoned his son to appear before him, and the prince entered the
+royal justice chamber with the air of a braggart, smiling
+contemptuously at the learned judges who were seated to right and left
+of his majesty, and defiantly cracking his whip.
+
+"Knowest thou why thou hast been bidden to stand before the judges of
+the land?" asked the king.
+
+"I know not and I care not," was the haughty answer. "The foolish
+chatter of the mob interests me not."
+
+The king frowned. He had not seen the prince behave in this fashion
+before. In the presence of his father, he had always been respectful.
+
+"Thou hast disgraced thy honored name and thy mother's sacred memory,
+foolish prince," exclaimed the monarch angrily. "Thou hast humiliated
+thyself and me before the people."
+
+Still the prince tried to laugh off the matter as a joke, but he
+quickly discovered that the king was in no mood for trifling. Standing
+grave and erect, his majesty pronounced sentence in a loud and firm
+voice.
+
+"Know all men," he said, while all the judges, counselors, officers of
+state and representatives of the people stood awed to silence, "that
+it having been proved on indisputable evidence that the prince, my
+son, hath grievously transgressed against the righteous laws of this
+land and against the people, my subjects, on whom he hath heaped
+insult, I have taken counsel with my advisers, the ministers of state,
+and it is my royal will and pleasure to pronounce sentence. Wherefore,
+I declare that my son, the prince, shall be cast forth into the world,
+penniless, and shall not return until he shall have learned how to
+Count Five. And be it further known that none may minister unto his
+wants should he crave assistance by declaring he is my son, the
+prince."
+
+The prince stood astounded. What did the mysterious sentence mean?
+None could tell him. The only answer to his inquiries was a shrug of
+the shoulders, for nobody would speak to him.
+
+In the dead of night, with only the stars gazing down on the strange
+scene, the prince, clad in the cast-off garments of a common laborer,
+with his golden curls cut off and not a solitary coin in his pocket,
+was conducted outside the palace grounds and left alone in the road.
+
+He was too much dazed to weep. He told himself this was some horrible
+dream from which he would waken in the morning, to find himself in his
+own beautiful room, lying on his gilded bed under the richly
+embroidered silken coverlet.
+
+When dawn broke, however, he found himself hungry, tired, and his body
+painfully stiff, under a hedge. He knew now it was no dream but a
+reality. He was alone and friendless, with no means of earning his
+food. He understood then what hardships the poor were compelled to
+undergo, and he began to realize how he had made them suffer, and how,
+in turn, he was now to pay a heavy price for his brutal treatment of
+the people.
+
+All that day he wandered aimlessly, until, foot-sore and exhausted, he
+sank down at the door of a wayside cottage and begged for food and
+shelter. These were given to him, and next day he was set to work in
+the fields. But his hands were not used to labor, and he was sent
+adrift, his fellow workers jeering at him. With a heavy heart, and his
+pride humbled, he set forth again to learn the mystery of how to Count
+Five.
+
+Long days and endless nights, through the heat of the summer, through
+the snows of winter, the autumnal rains and cold blasts of early
+spring, he wandered.
+
+A whole year passed away, and he had learned nothing. In truth, he had
+almost forgotten why he was aimlessly drifting from place to place,
+farther and farther from his home.
+
+Hunger and thirst were more often than not his daily portion, and the
+cold earth by night was frequently his couch. Time seemed to drag
+along without meaning, and oft-times for a week he heard not the sound
+of a human voice.
+
+He was a beggar, generally accepting gratefully what was given to him,
+sometimes with harsh words, often with kindly expressions. When he
+could, he worked, doing anything for small coins, for a rabbi, who had
+taken compassion on him, had said, "Do any honest work, however
+repugnant it may at first seem, rather than say haughtily, 'I am the
+son of a rich father.'"
+
+For a moment he wondered whether the rabbi had guessed his secret, but
+the learned man said to him he was but repeating a maxim from the
+Talmud.
+
+Exactly a year from the date of his sentence, as well as he could keep
+count, the prince found himself in a strange land on the outskirts of
+a great city. There he fell in with a beggar who hailed him as a
+brother.
+
+"Come with me," said the beggar. "I know the lore of our fraternity
+as few do. I know where to obtain the best food and shelter for
+naught. Here, in this city, a beautiful and noble princess has
+established a place where all wayfarers may rest and refresh. None are
+turned away. I will take you thither."
+
+The beggar was as good as his word, and the prince enjoyed the best
+meal and the most comfortable shelter since he had been an outcast.
+Overcome with emotion at the thoughts which were conjured up, he
+retired into a corner and wept. Suddenly he heard a voice of
+entrancing sweetness say, "Why do you weep?"
+
+He looked up and beheld the most beautiful woman his eyes had ever
+seen. Instinctively, he rose and bowed low, but made no answer.
+
+"The princess speaks. It is your duty to answer," said another voice,
+that of an attendant.
+
+A princess! Of course, none but a princess could be so fair. And what
+a sympathetic voice she possessed. As a prince, he remembered, he had
+spoken harshly as a rule, and had never visited any of the charitable
+institutions.
+
+"You must have a history," said the princess, kindly. "Tell it to me.
+If it is to be kept a secret, you may place confidence in me. I shall
+not betray you."
+
+The prince was on the point of telling her everything but he hesitated
+and said:
+
+"Alas! I am an unhappy, wandering beggar, as you see, O most gracious
+princess. But pity me not. I am not worthy of your kind thoughts. A
+year ago I dwelt in a--a beautiful house. I was the only son of
+a--rich merchant, and my father lavished all his love and wealth on
+me. But I was wicked. I was unkind to people, and I was cast forth and
+ordered not to return until I had learned to Count Five. I have not
+yet learned. I am doomed to a wretched life. That is the whole of my
+history."
+
+"Strange," murmured the princess. "I will help thee if I can."
+
+Next day she came again to the shelter, and with her was the rabbi who
+had given the prince good counsel. The rabbi made no sign that he had
+seen the stranger before.
+
+"This sage of the Jews is a wise man and will teach thee," said the
+princess, and, at her bidding, the prince repeated what he had said
+the previous night.
+
+"It is a simple lesson," said the rabbi, "so absurdly simple,
+unfortunately, that proud people overlook it. Tell me, my son," he
+added. "Hast thou experienced hunger?"
+
+"That I have," returned the prince, sadly.
+
+"Then canst thou count One. Dost thou know what it is to feel cold?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"Two canst thou count. Tell me, further, dost thou know what kindness
+of heart is?"
+
+"That have I received from the poorest and also from the gracious
+princess."
+
+"Thou hast proceeded far in thy lesson," said the rabbi. "Thou canst
+now count Three. Hast thou ever felt gratitude?"
+
+"Indeed I have, often during this past year, and now most
+particularly."
+
+"Four is now the toll of thy count," said the rabbi. "Tell me, my son,
+hast thou learned the greatest lesson of all? Dost thou feel humble in
+spirit?"
+
+With tears in his eyes, the prince answered, "I do, most sincerely."
+
+"Then hast thou truly learned to Count Five. Return to thy father. He
+must be a wise and just man to impose on thee this lesson. He will
+assuredly forgive thee. Go, with my blessing," and the rabbi raised
+his hands above the young man's head and uttered a benediction.
+
+"Take also my good wishes," said the princess, and she offered him her
+hand to kiss.
+
+"Gracious princess," he said, "it is not meet that a beggar in rags
+should speak what is in his heart. But I shall return, and if thou
+deemest me worthy, perchance thou wilt grant a request that I shall
+make."
+
+"Perchance," replied the princess, with a laugh.
+
+The prince made haste to return to his father's palace and related all
+his adventures. The old man listened quietly, then he clasped his son
+in his arms, forgave him, and proudly proclaimed him prince before all
+the people again. He was a changed man, and nevermore guilty of a
+cruel action.
+
+Before many months had passed, he returned to the city where he had
+seen the princess, with a long retinue of attendants, all bearing
+presents.
+
+"Gracious princess," he said, when he had been granted an audience. "I
+said I would return."
+
+"Indeed! I know thee not."
+
+The prince told her of their former meeting and she seemed highly
+pleased.
+
+"Now," he said, "put the crown on thy work which restored to me the
+manhood I had foolishly cast away by my conduct. I would make thee my
+bride, and with thee ever my guide and counselor, I shall be the most
+faithful of kings, and thou a queen of goodness and beauty and wisdom
+such as the world has not yet seen."
+
+The princess did not give her answer immediately, but in due course
+she did; and once again, the prince returned home, this time happier
+than ever. Sitting by his side in the chariot of state, was the
+princess, radiant in smiles, for the people welcomed her heartily,
+strewing flowers in her path. And ever afterward there was happiness
+throughout the land.
+
+   [Illustration: As the Shah raised his sword an old man stepped
+   from behind the tree. (_Page 166_).]
+
+
+
+
+The Story of Bostanai
+
+
+In the days of long ago, when Persia was a famous and beautiful land,
+with innumerable rose gardens that perfumed the whole country and
+gorgeous palaces, there lived a king, named Hormuz. He was a cruel
+monarch, this Shah of Persia. He tyrannized over his people and never
+allowed them to live in peace. Above all, he hated the Jews.
+
+"These descendants of Abraham," he said to his grand vizier, "never
+know when they are beaten. How many times it has been reported to me
+that they have been wiped out of existence, or driven from the land, I
+know not. Yet nothing, it seems, can crush their spirit. Tell me, why
+is this?"
+
+"It is because they have a firm faith in their future," answered the
+vizier.
+
+"What mean you by those words?" demanded the king, angrily.
+
+"I speak only of what I have heard from their wise men," the vizier
+replied, hastily. "They hold the belief that they will be restored as
+a united people to their own land."
+
+"Under their own king?" interrupted Hormuz.
+
+"Under a descendant of the royal House of David," the vizier answered,
+solemnly.
+
+The king stamped his foot with rage.
+
+"How dare they think of any other Shah but me," he exclaimed, for his
+one idea of ruling over people was that he had every right to be cruel
+to them. Then he said suddenly, "Think you that if there were no more
+people who could trace their ancestry to this--this David, their faith
+would be shattered?"
+
+"Peradventure, it may be so."
+
+"It shall be so," cried the king. "There shall be no remnants of this
+House of David."
+
+He summoned his executioners, and when they were lined up before him,
+he surveyed the evil-looking band with a cunning gleam in his eye.
+
+"Unto you," he said, in a rasping voice, "I hand over all the
+descendants of the House of David to be found among the Jews in the
+whole of the realm of Persia. Slay them instantly. See to it that not
+a single one--man, woman, or child--is left alive. Woe betide you, and
+you my counselors"--this with a meaning glance at the grand
+vizier--"if my commands are not carried out to the letter. To your
+duties. Ye are dismissed from the presence."
+
+Waving them away, he indulged his fancy in thoughts of the coming
+executions, chuckling the while.
+
+From day to day he received reports that his commands were being
+carried out. The land was filled with weeping, for the cruel butchery
+was worse than war. None could defend themselves. Mere suspicion was
+enough for the executioners. They wasted no time with doubts, but slew
+all who were said to belong to the House of David. The Shah looked
+over the list each night and chuckled. At last he was informed that
+all had been slaughtered.
+
+"'Tis well, 'tis well," he said, rubbing his hands, gleefully, "I
+shall sleep in peace tonight."
+
+He slept in a bower in a rose garden, and nowhere in the world are the
+roses so magnificent and so sweet-scented as in Persia.
+
+"I shall have pleasant dreams," he muttered, but instead he had a
+nightmare that frightened him terribly.
+
+He dreamed that he was walking in his rose garden, but instead of
+deriving pleasure from the beautiful trees, he was only angered.
+
+"Are there no white, or yellow, or pink roses?" he asked, but received
+no answer. "All red, deep, deep red," he muttered, in his troubled
+manner.
+
+"Tell me," he demanded fiercely, stopping before a tree heavily laden
+with flowers, "why are you so red today?"
+
+And the roses spoke and replied, "Because of the innocent blood that
+has been shed. It is royal blood that has drenched the ground, and
+none but crimson roses shall bloom this year in Persia."
+
+"Bah!" screamed the enraged Shah and, drawing his scimitar, he began
+hacking right and left among the flowers. The beautiful blooms fell to
+the ground in great showers until the garden was so littered with the
+red petals that it seemed flooded with a pool of blood. At last only
+one tree remained, and as the Shah raised his sword to cut it down, an
+old man stepped from behind it and confronted the king.
+
+"Who art thou, and whence camest thou?" the monarch asked fiercely.
+
+No answer did the old man make. Gazing sternly into the eyes of the
+Shah, he raised his hand suddenly and unexpectedly, and struck the
+king such a violent blow that he fell sprawling to the ground. He lay
+half-stunned among the red petals, looking up at the old man.
+
+"Art thou not satisfied with the destruction thou hast wrought?" the
+old man asked. "Must thou take the life of the last rose tree?"
+
+The old man stooped to pick up the scimitar which had fallen from the
+king's grasp.
+
+"No, no," screamed Hormuz, fearing that he was to be slain. He
+scrambled to his knees and with clasped hands pleaded to the old man.
+"Take not my life," he begged. "Spare me, and I shall spare the last
+tree and cherish it tenderly."
+
+"So be it," said the old man, holding the sword above his head. It
+dropped to the ground, and looking up, Hormuz saw that the stranger
+had vanished.
+
+The Shah awoke. His body trembled with fear, his head was wracked by a
+burning pain. He looked round shudderingly to see if the angry old man
+still stood above him with the threatening sword. Then he sent for his
+wizards.
+
+"Expound to me my horrid dream," he said.
+
+Their interpretations, however, did not please him.
+
+"Ye are fools," he cried. "Make search and find me a man of wisdom who
+understands these mysteries. Seek a sage among the Jews."
+
+The royal servants hastened to do the king's bidding. Full well they
+knew that when Hormuz was in a rage, lives were quickly forfeit.
+
+They seized the aged rabbi of the city and brought him before the
+Shah.
+
+"Canst thou interpret dreams?" asked the king, abruptly, dispensing
+with the usual ceremonies.
+
+"I can explain the meaning of certain things," returned the rabbi.
+
+"Then fail not to unravel the mystery of my dream," said Hormuz, and
+he related it. "The secret I must know," he concluded, "or----." But
+he stopped. He was afraid to add the usual threat of death that
+morning.
+
+"'Tis a simple dream," said the rabbi, slowly. "The things of which
+men--and even kings are but men--dream in their sleep are connected
+with the deeds performed by day. Thy garden represents the House of
+David which thou hast sought to destroy. The old man was King David
+himself, and thou hast promised to cherish and nurture his one
+remaining descendant."
+
+The Shah listened in silence. Then, with a flash in his eye he said,
+"But all the descendants of this King David were slain."
+
+"All but one," said the rabbi. "There is a boy babe, born on the day
+the executions ceased."
+
+"Where is he?" asked Hormuz.
+
+"Your vow...." the rabbi began, nervously, for he did not wish to hand
+over this child to death.
+
+"My promise shall be faithfully carried out," interrupted the monarch.
+
+"The boy is in my house," said the rabbi. "His mother, who escaped the
+massacre, died when he was born."
+
+"Bring him hither," commanded Hormuz. "Fear not."
+
+From his finger he drew a ring and handed it to the learned man.
+
+"This is my bond," he said. "The possession of this ensures thy
+safety."
+
+The child was brought to the palace, and the Shah looked at him with
+intent gaze.
+
+"He shall be brought up as a prince," said the king. "Servants,
+attendants and slaves shall he have in great number to minister unto
+all his needs. He shall be treated with the utmost kindness. And
+because of my dream in the garden, I name him Bostanai."
+
+The Shah did this because "bostan" is the Persian word for rose
+garden.
+
+He touched the child with his jeweled scepter and all present bowed
+low before the babe and showed him the respect and devotion due to a
+prince.
+
+Hormuz, however, was too cruel to be quite satisfied. He feared to
+harm the boy, but he wanted some proof that Bostanai was really a
+descendant of King David. The child grew up into a handsome, clever
+youth, and Hormuz, partly out of fear, but partly because he had
+really grown to love the boy, kept him constantly by his side.
+
+One day, while sitting in the bower in the garden, he watched the boy
+among the roses. The day was hot and a drowsiness came over the king.
+He had not slept in that bower since the night of his fateful dream,
+and he was not happy about doing so now. But he did not lack courage,
+and he called the boy to him.
+
+"Bostanai," he said, "stand guard by the door, and move not while I
+sleep."
+
+Hormuz slept soundly and peacefully for some time, and when he awoke
+he saw the lad standing motionless where he had placed himself.
+
+"Bostanai," he called, and when the boy turned, he was startled to see
+blood trickling from a wound on his face.
+
+"What is that?" he asked, anxiously.
+
+"The sting of a wasp," Bostanai replied.
+
+"Is it not painful?"
+
+For answer, the boy only smiled.
+
+"How did it happen?" asked the king.
+
+"The wasp stung me while I stood guard."
+
+"But couldst thou not brush it away?"
+
+"No," replied the boy, proudly. "King David was my ancestor, and in
+the presence of a king I must stand motionless until bidden to make
+any movement."
+
+Then, before the king could catch him, he swooned from loss of blood,
+and fell to the ground. He soon recovered, however, and the Shah's
+doubts were set at rest.
+
+"I know now thou art truly of the House of David," he said, "for none
+other could have shown such fortitude."
+
+Bostanai became the Shah's favorite, and when he grew up he was made
+the ruler of a province. He lived happily, and through him the Jews of
+the land also lived in prosperity and peace.
+
+   [Illustration: Behind him a fierce roar indicated that the lion
+   was in pursuit. (_Page 176_).]
+
+
+
+
+From Shepherd-Boy to King
+
+
+On a desolate plain, a little shepherd-boy stood alone. His day's work
+was over and he had wandered through field and forest listening to the
+twittering of the birds and the soft sound of the summer breezes as
+they gently swayed the branches of the trees. He seemed to understand
+what the birds were saying, and the murmuring of the brook that wound
+its way through the forest was like a message of Nature to him. Sweet
+sounds were always in his ears, his heart was ever singing, for the
+shepherd-boy was a poet. At times he would turn around sharply,
+thinking he had heard some one calling. One day he was quite startled.
+
+"David, David," he thought he heard a voice calling, "thou shalt be
+King of Israel."
+
+But he could see nothing, except the trees and the flowers, and so he
+left the forest and stood in the desolate plain. In the distance he
+saw a very high hill and as he approached nearer he noticed on the
+summit a tall tree, without branches or leaves. With great difficulty
+he climbed the hill. It was quite smooth, bare of vegetation and
+without rocks, and little David noticed that it gave forth none of
+those sweet sounds like music that came from other hills.
+
+The summit gained, he looked at the tree in wonderment. It was not of
+wood, but of horn.
+
+"'Tis strange," said the boy. "This must be a magic mountain. No tree,
+or flower, or shrub, can grow in this barren earth."
+
+He tried to dig a clod of earth out of the ground, but could not do
+so, even with his knife, for the ground was as hard as if covered with
+tough hide.
+
+David was greatly puzzled, but, being a boy of courage, he did not
+begin to run down the mountain.
+
+"I wonder what will happen if I stay here," he said, and he seated
+himself at the foot of the mysterious horn that grew at the summit and
+looked about him.
+
+Then he noticed a most peculiar thing. The ground was rising and
+falling in places as if moved by some power beneath. Listening
+intently, he also heard a curious rumbling noise, and then a
+loud-sounding swish. At the same time he saw something rising from
+the other end of the mountain and whirl through the air.
+
+"That is just like a tail," exclaimed David in surprise.
+
+The next minute he had to cling with all his might to the horn, for
+the whole mountain was moving. It was rising, and soon David was quite
+near the clouds. The earth was a great distance away, and, judging by
+a tremendous shadow cast by the sun, David could see that he was
+clinging to the horn of a gigantic animal.
+
+"I know what it is now," he said. "This is not a mountain, but a
+unicorn. The monster must have been lying asleep when I mistook it for
+a hill."
+
+David began to puzzle his brain as to a means of getting down from his
+perilous perch.
+
+"I must wait," he said, "until the animal feeds. He will surely lower
+his head to the ground then and I will slip off."
+
+But a new terror awaited him. The roar of a lion was heard in the
+distance, and David found that he could understand it.
+
+"Bow to me, for I am king of the beasts," the lion roared.
+
+The lion, however, was so small compared with the unicorn that David
+could scarcely see it. The unicorn, as soon as it heard the command,
+began to lower its head, and soon David was enabled to slip to the
+ground. To his alarm he found himself just in front of the lion. The
+king of the beasts stood before him with blazing eyes, lashing its
+sides with his tail. David lost not a moment. Drawing his knife from
+his belt, the brave boy advanced boldly toward the lion.
+
+Just then a sound attracted the attention of both the boy and the
+beast. It was a deer.
+
+"I will save thee, boy," it cried. "Mount my back and trust to my
+speed."
+
+Before the lion could recover from its surprise, David had sprung on
+to the back of the deer which started to run at lightning speed. David
+clung tightly to its back. Behind him a fierce roar indicated that the
+lion was in pursuit. Across the desolate plain and through the forest
+the chase continued, and when David came within sight of human
+habitations again, the deer stopped.
+
+"Thou art safe now," the deer said to him. "Thou art to become king,
+and my command was to save thee. Fear not, I will lead the lion
+astray."
+
+David thanked the deer that had so gallantly saved his life, and as
+soon as he had slid from its back it dashed off again, faster than
+ever with the lion still in pursuit. Soon both were out of sight.
+
+David sang light-heartedly as he returned to his humble home and years
+afterward, when he was king of Israel and remembered his escape, he
+put the words of his song into one of his Psalms.
+
+   [Illustration: The gates opened from within and the Arab stood
+   before them. (_P. 185_).]
+
+
+
+
+The Magic Palace
+
+
+Ibrahim, the most learned and pious man of the city, whom everybody
+held in esteem, fell on troubled days. To none did he speak of his
+sufferings, for he was proud and would have been compelled to refuse
+the help which he knew would have been offered to him. His noble wife
+and five faithful sons suffered in silence, but Ibrahim was sorely
+troubled when he saw their clothes wearing away to rags and their
+bodies wasting with hunger.
+
+One day Ibrahim was seated in front of the Holy Book, but he saw not
+the words on its pages. His eyes were dimmed with tears and his
+thoughts were far away. He was day-dreaming of a region where hunger
+and thirst and lack of clothes and shelter were unknown. He sighed
+heavily and his wife heard.
+
+"My dear husband," she said to him gently, "we are starving. You must
+go forth to seek work for the sake of our five little sons."
+
+"Yes, yes," he replied, sadly, "and for you, too, my devoted wife,
+but"--and he pointed to his tattered garments--"how can I go out in
+these? Who will employ a man so miserably clad?"
+
+"I will ask our kind neighbors to lend you some raiment," said his
+wife, and although he made some demur at first, she did so and was
+successful in obtaining the loan of a cloak which completely covered
+Ibrahim and restored to him his dignified appearance.
+
+His good wife cheered him with brave words. He took his staff and set
+out with head erect and his heart filled with a great hope. All people
+saluted the learned Ibrahim, for it was not often he was seen abroad
+in the busy streets of the city. He returned their greetings with
+kindly smiles, but halted not in his walk. He had no wish to make any
+claims upon his fellow citizens, who would no doubt have gladly
+assisted him. He desired to go among strangers and work so that he
+should not be beholden to anyone.
+
+Beyond the city gates, where the palm trees grew and the camels
+trudged lazily toward the distant desert, he was suddenly accosted by
+a stranger dressed as an Arab.
+
+"O learned and holy man of the city," he said, "command me, for I am
+thy slave." At the same time he made a low bow before Ibrahim.
+
+"My slave!" returned Ibrahim, in surprise. "You mock me, stranger. I
+am wretchedly poor. I seek but the opportunity to sell myself, even as
+a slave, to any man who will provide food and clothing for my wife and
+children."
+
+"Sell not thyself," said the Arab. "Offer me for sale instead. I am a
+marvelous builder. Behold these plans and models, specimens of my
+skill and handiwork."
+
+From beneath the folds of his ample robes, the Arab produced a scroll
+and a box and held them out to Ibrahim. The latter took them,
+wonderingly. On the scroll were traced designs of stately buildings.
+Within the box was an exquisite model of a palace, a marvelous piece
+of work, perfect in detail and workmanship. Ibrahim examined it with
+great care.
+
+"I have never seen anything so beautiful," he admitted. "It is wrought
+and fashioned with exceeding good taste. It is in itself a work of
+art. You must indeed be a wondrous craftsman. Whence come you?"
+
+"What matters that?" replied the Arab. "I am thy slave. Is there not
+in this city some rich merchant or nobleman who needs the services of
+such talents as I possess? Seek him out and dispose of me to him. To
+thee he will give ear; to me he will not listen."
+
+Ibrahim pondered over this strange request for a while.
+
+"Agreed!" he said, at length.
+
+Together they returned to the city. There Ibrahim made inquiries in
+the bazaar where the wealthy traders met to discuss their affairs, and
+soon learned of a rich dealer in precious stones, a man of a multitude
+of charitable deeds, who was anxious to erect an imposing residence.
+He called upon the jeweler.
+
+"Noble sir," he said, "I hear that it is thy intention to erect a
+palace the like of which this city has not yet seen, an edifice that
+will be an everlasting joy to its possessor, a delight to all who gaze
+upon it, and which will bring renown to this city."
+
+"That is so," said the merchant. "You have interpreted the desire of
+my heart as if you had read its secret. I would fain dedicate to the
+uses of the ruler of this city a palace that will shed luster on his
+name."
+
+"It is well," returned Ibrahim. "I have brought thee an architect and
+builder of genius. Examine his plans and designs. If they please thee,
+as assuredly they will, purchase the man from me, for he is my slave."
+
+The jeweler could not understand the plans on the scroll, but on the
+model in the box he feasted his eyes for several minutes in speechless
+amazement.
+
+"It is indeed remarkable," he said at last. "I will give thee eighty
+thousand gold pieces for thy slave, who must build for me just such a
+palace."
+
+Ibrahim immediately informed the Arab, who at once consented to
+perform the task, and then the pious man hastened home to his wife and
+children with the good news and the money, which made him rich for the
+rest of his days.
+
+To the Arab the jeweler said, "Thou wilt regain thy liberty if thou
+wilt succeed in thy undertaking. Begin at once. I will forthwith
+engage the workmen."
+
+"I need no workmen," was the Arab's singular reply. "Take me to the
+land whereon I must build, and to-morrow thy palace shall be
+complete."
+
+"Tomorrow!"
+
+"Even as I say," answered the Arab.
+
+The sun was setting in golden glory when they reached the ground, and
+pointing to the sky the Arab said: "Tomorrow, when the great orb of
+light rises above the distant hills, its rays will strike the minarets
+and domes and towers of thy palace, noble sir. Leave me now. I must
+pray."
+
+In perfect bewilderment, the merchant left the stranger. From a
+distance he watched the man devoutly praying. He had made up his mind
+to watch all the night; but when the moon rose, deep sleep overcame
+him and he dreamed. He dreamed that he saw myriads of men swarming
+about strange machines and scaffolding which grew higher and higher,
+hiding a vast structure.
+
+Ibrahim dreamed, too, but in his vision one figure, that of the Arab,
+stood out above all other things. Ibrahim scanned the features of the
+stranger closely; he followed, as it were, the man's every movement.
+He noticed how all the workmen and particularly the supervisors did
+the stranger great honor, showing him the deference due to one of the
+highest position. And with grave and dignified mien, the Arab
+responded kindly. From the heavens a bright light shone upon the
+scene, the radiance being softest wherever the Arab stood.
+
+In his dream, it so appeared to Ibrahim, he rose from his bed, went
+out into the night, and approached the palace magically rising from
+the waste ground beyond the city. Nearer and nearer his footsteps took
+him, until he stood beside the Arab again. One of the chief workmen
+approached and addressed the stranger--by name!
+
+Then it was Ibrahim understood--and he awoke. The sun was streaming in
+through the lattice of his bedroom. He sprang from his bed and looked
+out upon a magnificent spectacle. Beyond the city the sun's rays were
+reflected by a dazzling array of gilded cupolas and glittering spires,
+the towers of the palace of marble that he had seen builded in his
+dream. Instantly he went out and made haste to the palace to assure
+himself that his dream was really over. Ibrahim and the jeweler
+arrived before the gates at the same moment. They stood speechless
+with amazement and admiration before the model of the Arab grown to
+immense proportions.
+
+Almost at the same moment, the gates, ornamented with beaten gold,
+opened from within and the Arab stood before them. Ibrahim bent low
+his head.
+
+The Arab addressed the merchant.
+
+"Have I fulfilled my promise and earned my freedom?" he asked.
+
+"Verily thou hast," answered the merchant.
+
+"Then farewell, and may blessings rest on thee and the good Ibrahim
+and on all your works."
+
+Thus spoke the Arab, raising his hands in benediction. Then he
+disappeared within the golden doors.
+
+The jeweler and Ibrahim followed quickly, but though they hastened
+through the halls and corridors of many colored marbles, in and out of
+rooms lighted by windows of clearest crystal, and up and down
+staircases of burnished metal, they could find no one. Emerging into
+the open again, they saw a huge crowd standing in wonderment before
+the gates.
+
+"Tell me," said the jeweler, "who was the builder of this magic
+palace."
+
+"Elijah, the Prophet," said Ibrahim, "the benefactor of mankind, who
+revisits the earth to assist in their distress those deemed worthy.
+Blessed am I, and blessed art thou for thy good deeds, for we have
+been truly honored."
+
+To show his gratitude, the merchant gave a banquet in his palace to
+all the people in the city and scattered gold and silver pieces among
+the crowds that thronged the streets.
+
+
+
+
+The Sleep of One Hundred Years
+
+
+It was at the time of the destruction of the First Temple. The cruel
+war had laid Jerusalem desolate, and terrible was the suffering of the
+people.
+
+Rabbi Onias, mounted on a camel, was sorrowfully making his way toward
+the unhappy city. He had traveled many days and was weary from lack of
+sleep and faint with hunger, yet he would not touch the basket of
+dates he had with him, nor would he drink from the water in a leather
+bottle attached to the saddle.
+
+"Perchance," he said, "I shall meet some one who needs them more than
+I."
+
+But everywhere the land was deserted. One day, nearing the end of the
+journey, he saw a man planting a carob tree at the foot of a hill.
+
+"The Chaldeans," said the man, "have destroyed my beautiful vineyards
+and all my crops, but I must sow and plant anew, so that the land may
+live again."
+
+   [Illustration: The sun was shining on a noble city of pinnacles
+   and minarets. (_P. 191_).]
+
+Onias passed sorrowfully on and at the top of the hill he stopped.
+Before him lay Jerusalem, not the once beautiful city with its
+hundreds of domes and minarets that caught the first rays of the sun
+each morning, but a vast heap of ruins and charred buildings. Onias
+threw himself on the ground and wept bitterly. No human being could he
+see, and the sun was setting over what looked like a city of the dead.
+
+"Woe, woe," he cried. "Zion, my beautiful Zion, is no more. Can it
+ever rise again? Not in a hundred years can its glory be renewed."
+
+The sun sank lower as he continued to gaze upon the ruined city, and
+darkness gathered over the scene. Utterly exhausted, Onias, laying his
+head upon his camel on the ground, fell into a deep sleep.
+
+The silver moon shone serenely through the night and paled with the
+dawn, and the sun cast its bright rays on the sleeping rabbi. Darkness
+spread its mantle of night once more, and again the sun rose, and
+still Onias slept. Days passed into weeks, the weeks merged into
+months, and the months rolled on until years went by; but Rabbi Onias
+did not waken.
+
+Seeds, blown by the winds and brought by the birds, dropped around
+him, took root and grew into shrubs, and soon a thick hedge
+surrounded him and screened him from all who passed. A date that had
+fallen from his basket, took root also, and in time there rose a
+beautiful palm tree which cast a shade over the sleeping figure.
+
+And thus a hundred years rolled by.
+
+Suddenly, Onias moved, stretched himself and yawned. He was awake
+again. He looked around confused.
+
+"Strange," he muttered. "Did I not fall asleep on a hill overlooking
+Jerusalem last night? How comes it now that I am hemmed in by a
+thicket and am lying in the shade of this noble date palm?"
+
+With great difficulty he rose to his feet.
+
+"Oh, how my bones do ache!" he cried. "I must have overslept myself.
+And where is my camel?"
+
+Puzzled, he put his hand to his beard. Then he gave a cry of anguish.
+
+"What is this? My beard is snow-white and so long that it almost
+reaches to the ground."
+
+He sank down again, but the mound on which he sat was but a heap of
+rubbish and collapsed under his weight. Beneath it were bones. Hastily
+clearing away the rubbish, he saw the skeleton of a camel.
+
+"This surely must be my camel," he said. "Can I have slept so long?
+The saddle-bags have rotted, too. But what is this?" and he picked up
+the basket of dates and the water-bottle. The dates and the water were
+quite fresh.
+
+"This must be some miracle," he said. "This must be a sign for me to
+continue my journey. But, alas, that Jerusalem should be destroyed!"
+
+He looked around and was more puzzled than ever. When he had fallen
+asleep the hill had been bare of vegetation. Now it was covered with
+carob trees.
+
+"I think I remember a man planting a carob tree yesterday," he said.
+"But was it yesterday?"
+
+He turned in the other direction and gave a cry of astonishment. The
+sun was shining on a noble city of glittering pinnacles and minarets,
+and around it were smiling fields and vineyards.
+
+"Jerusalem still lives," he exclaimed. "Of a truth I have been
+dreaming--dreaming that it was destroyed. Praise be to God that it was
+but a dream."
+
+With all speed he made his way across the plain to the city. People
+looked at him strangely and pointed him out to one another, and the
+children ran after him and called him names he did not understand.
+But he took no notice. Near the outskirts of the city he paused.
+
+"Canst thou tell me, father," he said to an old man, "which is the
+house of Onias, the rabbi?"
+
+"'Tis thy wit, or thy lack of it, that makes thee call me father,"
+replied the man. "I must be but a child compared with thee."
+
+Others gathered around and stared hard at Onias.
+
+"Didst thou speak of Rabbi Onias?" asked one. "I know of one who says
+that was the name of his grandfather. I will bring him."
+
+He hastened away and soon returned with an aged man of about eighty.
+
+"Who art thou?" Onias asked.
+
+"Onias is my name," was the reply. "I am called so in honor of my
+sainted grandfather, Rabbi Onias, who disappeared mysteriously one
+hundred years ago, after the destruction of the First Temple."
+
+"A hundred years," murmured Onias. "Can I have slept so long?"
+
+"By thy appearance, it would seem so," replied the other Onias. "The
+Temple has been rebuilt since then."
+
+"Then it was not a dream," said the old man.
+
+They led him gently indoors, but everything was strange to him. The
+customs, the manners, the habits of the people, their dress, their
+talk, was all different, and every time he spoke they laughed.
+
+"Thou seemest like a creature from another world," they said. "Thou
+speakest only of the things that have long passed away."
+
+One day he called his grandson.
+
+"Lead me," he said, "to the place of my long sleep. Perchance I will
+sleep again. I am not of this world, my child. I am alone, a stranger
+here, and would fain leave ye."
+
+Taking the dates and the bottle of water which still remained fresh,
+he made his way to where he had slept for a hundred years, and there
+his prayer for peace was answered. He slept again, but not in this
+world will he awaken.
+
+   [Illustration: He heard a cry of alarm and saw a huge stone
+   fall on the soldier riding behind him. (_Page 201_).]
+
+
+
+
+King for Three Days
+
+
+Godfrey de Bouillon was a famous warrior, a daring general and bold
+leader of men, who gained victories in several countries. And so, in
+the year 1095, when the first Crusade came to be arranged, he was
+entrusted with the command of one of the armies and led it across
+Europe in the historic march to the Holy Land.
+
+Like many a great soldier of his period, Godfrey was a cruel man, and,
+above all, he hated the Jews.
+
+"In this, our Holy War," he said to his men, "we shall slay all the
+children of Israel wherever we shall fall in with them. I shall not
+rest content until I have exterminated the Jews."
+
+True to his inhuman oath, Godfrey and his soldiers massacred large
+numbers of Jews. They did this without pity or mercy, saying: "We are
+performing a sacred duty, for we have the blessings of the priests on
+our enterprise."
+
+Godfrey felt sure he would be victorious, but he also wanted to
+obtain the blessing of a rabbi. It was a curious desire, but in those
+days such things were not considered at all strange, and so Godfrey de
+Bouillon sent for the learned Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, better known by
+his world-famed name of Rashi.
+
+Rashi, one of the wisest sages of the Jews, came to Godfrey, and the
+two men stood facing each other.
+
+"Thou hast heard of my undertaking to capture Jerusalem," said
+Godfrey, haughtily. "I demand thy blessing on my venture."
+
+"Blessings are not in the gift of man; they are bestowed by Heaven--on
+worthy objects," answered Rashi.
+
+"Trifle not with words," retorted the warrior, "or they may cost thee
+dear. A holy man can invoke a blessing."
+
+But Rashi was not afraid. He was becoming an old man then, but he was
+as brave as the swaggering soldier, and he faced Godfrey
+unflinchingly.
+
+"I can make no claim on the God of Israel on behalf of one who has
+sworn to destroy all the descendants of His chosen people," he said.
+
+"So, ho!" exclaimed Godfrey, "you defy me."
+
+But he stopped his angry words abruptly. He had no wish to quarrel
+with any holy man, for that might make him nervous. And nervousness,
+then, was misunderstood as superstition. Besides, the rabbi might
+curse him.
+
+"If you will not bless," he said, "perhaps you will deign to raise the
+veil of the future for me. You wise men of the Jews are seers and can
+foretell events--so they say. A hundred thousand chariots filled with
+soldiers brave, determined and strong, are at my command. Tell me,
+shall I succeed, or fail?"
+
+"Thou wilt do both." Rashi replied.
+
+"What mean you?" demanded Godfrey, angrily.
+
+"This. Jerusalem will fall to thee. So it is ordained, and thou wilt
+become its king."
+
+"Ha, ha! So you deem it wisest to pronounce a blessing after all,"
+interrupted Godfrey. "I am content."
+
+"I have not spoken all," said the rabbi, gravely. "Three days wilt
+thou rule and no more."
+
+Godfrey turned pale.
+
+"Shall I return?" he asked, slowly.
+
+"Not with thy multitude of chariots. Thy vast army will have dwindled
+to three horses and three men when thou reachest this city."
+
+"Enough," cried Godfrey. "If you think to affright me with these
+ominous words, you fail in your intent. And hearken, Rabbi of the
+Jews, your words shall be remembered. Should they prove incorrect in
+the minutest detail--if I am King of Jerusalem for four days, or
+return with four horsemen--you shall pay the penalty of a false
+prophet and shall be consigned to the flames. Do you understand? You
+shall be put to death."
+
+"I understand well," returned Rashi, quite unmoved, "it is a sentence
+which you and your kind love to pronounce with or without the sanction
+of those whom you call your holy men. It is not I who fear, Godfrey de
+Bouillon. I seek not to peer into the future to assure my own safety."
+
+With these words they parted, the rabbi returning to his prayers and
+to his studies which have enriched the learning of the Jews, while
+Godfrey proceeded to lay a trail of innocent Jewish blood along the
+banks of the Rhine in his march to Palestine.
+
+History has set on record the events of the Crusade. Godfrey, after
+many battles, laid siege to the Holy City, captured it, and drove the
+Jews into one of the synagogues and burned them alive. Eight days
+afterward, his soldiers raised him on their shields and proclaimed him
+king.
+
+Godfrey was delighted, but two days later he thought the matter over
+carefully and decided that he could not live in Jerusalem always. So
+next day he called together his captains and said:
+
+"You have done me great honor. But I must return to Europe, and it
+would be more befitting that I should be styled Duke of Jerusalem and
+Guardian of the Holy City than its sovereign."
+
+That night, however, he suddenly remembered the prediction of Rashi.
+
+"For three days I have been King of Jerusalem," he muttered. "The
+rabbi of the Jews spoke truth."
+
+He could not help wondering whether the rest of the prophecy would be
+fulfilled, and he became moody. He was joyful when he gained a
+victory, but there came also disasters, and he was plunged into
+despondency. The reverses affected the buoyancy of his troops, disease
+decimated their ranks, and desertions further depleted their numbers.
+Slowly but surely his mighty army dwindled away to a mere handful of
+dissatisfied men and decrepit horses.
+
+It was a ragged and wretched procession that he led back across
+Europe, and daily his retinue grew smaller. Men and horses dropped
+from sheer fatigue helpless by the wayside, and were left there to
+die, with the hungry vultures perched on trees, patiently waiting for
+the last flicker of life to depart before they set to work to pick the
+bones of all flesh.
+
+Godfrey de Bouillon had gained his victory, but at what cost?
+Thousands of men, women and children had been murdered, thousands of
+his soldiers had fallen in battle, and now hundreds of others had
+dropped out of the ranks to end their last hours on the ghastly road
+that led from Jerusalem back to western Europe. Do you wonder that
+Godfrey was unhappy, and that he thought every moment of the words of
+Rashi?
+
+At length he reached the city of Worms where Rashi dwelt. With him
+were four men, mounted on horses.
+
+"It is well," he said, with as much cheerfulness as he could muster,
+as he surveyed the remnants of his once proud army. "The rabbi has
+failed."
+
+Godfrey bade his men fall into line behind him and he proudly rode
+through the gate of the city. As he did so, he heard a cry of alarm.
+He turned hastily and saw a huge stone falling from the city's gate.
+It dropped on the soldier riding just behind him, killing both man and
+horse.
+
+"You have spoken truth; would that I had taken heed of your words," he
+said to the rabbi. "I am a broken man. You will assuredly achieve
+great fame in Israel."
+
+And so it has come to pass. Should you, by chance, ever visit the city
+of Brussels, the capital of Belgium, fail not to look upon the statue
+of Godfrey de Bouillon, with his sword proudly raised. It stands in
+the Place Royale but a few minutes' walk from the synagogue. Should
+you ever be in the ancient city of Worms that stands on the Rhine, do
+as other visitors, Jews and Gentiles--enter the synagogue that was
+built many centuries ago, and you will see the room where Rashi
+studied and the stone seat on which he sat. And not far from the
+synagogue you will see the ancient gate of the city, named in honor of
+Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, the Rashi Gate. Perhaps it is the very one
+under which Godfrey de Bouillon passed into the city with his three
+mounted companions, as the legend tells.
+
+   [Illustration: The four youths mounted the eagles which flew
+   aloft to the extremity of their cords. (_Page 211_).]
+
+
+
+
+The Palace in the Clouds
+
+
+Ikkor, the Jewish vizier of the king of Assyria, was the wisest man in
+the land, but he was not happy. He was the greatest favorite of the
+king who heaped honors upon him, and the idol of the people who bowed
+before him in the streets and cast themselves on the ground at his
+feet to kiss the hem of his garment. Always he had a kindly word and a
+smile for those who sought his advice and guidance, but his eyes were
+ever sad, and tears would trickle down his cheeks as he watched the
+little children at play in the streets.
+
+His fame as a man of wisdom was known far beyond the borders of
+Assyria, and rulers feared to give offense to the king who had Ikkor
+as the chief of his counselors to assist in the affairs of state. But
+Ikkor would oft sit alone in his beautiful palace and sigh heavily. No
+sound of children's laughter was ever heard in the palace of Ikkor,
+and that was the cause of his sorrow. Ikkor was a pious man and
+deeply learned in the Holy Law; and he had prayed long and devoutly
+and had listened unto the advice of magicians that he might be blessed
+with but one son, or even a daughter, to carry down his name and
+renown. But the years passed and no child was born to him.
+
+Every year, on the advice of the king, he married another wife, and
+now he had in his harem thirty wives, all childless. He determined to
+take unto himself no more wives, and one night he dreamed a dream in
+which a spirit appeared to him and said:
+
+"Ikkor, thou wilt die full of years and honor, but childless.
+Therefore, take Nadan, the son of thy widowed sister and let him be a
+son to thee."
+
+Nadan was a handsome youth of fifteen, and Ikkor related his dream to
+the boy's mother who permitted him to take Nadan to his palace and
+there bring him up as his own son. The sadness faded from the vizier's
+eyes as he watched the lad at his games and his lessons, and Ikkor
+himself imparted wisdom to Nadan. But, first to his surprise, and then
+to his grief, Nadan was not thankful for the riches and love lavished
+upon him. He neglected his lessons and grew proud, haughty and
+arrogant. He treated the servants of the household harshly and did not
+obey the wise maxims of Ikkor.
+
+The vizier, however, was hopeful that he would reform and gain wisdom
+with years, and he took him to the palace of the king and appointed
+him an officer of the royal guard. For Ikkor's sake, the king made
+Nadan one of his favorites, and all in the land looked upon the young
+man as the successor of Ikkor and the future vizier. This only served
+to make Nadan still more arrogant, and a wicked idea entered his head
+to gain further favor with the king and supplant Ikkor at once.
+
+"O King, live for ever!" he said one day, when Ikkor was absent in a
+distant part of the land; "it grieves me to have to utter words of
+warning against Ikkor, the wise, the father who has adopted me. But he
+conspires to destroy thee."
+
+The king laughed at this suggestion, but he became serious when Nadan
+promised to give him proof in three days. Nadan then set to work and
+wrote two letters. One was addressed to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and
+read as follows:
+
+"Pharaoh, son of the Sun and mighty ruler on earth, live for ever!
+Thou wouldst reign over Assyria. Give ear then to my words and on the
+tenth day of the next month come with thy troops to the Eagle Plain
+beyond the city, and I, Ikkor, the grand vizier, will deliver thine
+enemy, the King of Assyria, into thy hands."
+
+To this letter he forged Ikkor's name; then he took it to the king.
+
+"I have found this," he said, "and have brought it to thee. It shows
+thee that Ikkor would deliver this country to thine enemy."
+
+The king was very angry and would have sent for Ikkor at once, but
+Nadan counseled patience.
+
+"Wait until the tenth of next month, the day of the annual review, and
+thou wilt see what will surprise thee still more," he said.
+
+Then he wrote the second letter. This was to Ikkor and was forged with
+the king's name and sealed with the king's seal which he obtained. It
+bade Ikkor on the tenth of the next month to assemble the troops on
+the Eagle Plain to show how numerous they were to the foreign envoys
+and to pretend to attack the king, so as to demonstrate how well they
+were drilled.
+
+The vizier returned the day before the review, and while the king
+stood with Nadan and the foreign envoys, Ikkor and the troops, acting
+on their instructions, made a pretense of attacking his majesty.
+
+"Do you not see?" said Nadan. "The king of Egypt not being here, Ikkor
+threatens thee," and he immediately gave orders to the royal
+trumpeters to sound "Halt!"
+
+Ikkor was brought before the king and confronted with the letter to
+Pharaoh.
+
+"Explain this, if thou canst," exclaimed the king, angrily. "I have
+trusted thee and loaded thee with riches and honors and thou wouldst
+betray me. Is not this thy signature, and is not thy seal appended?"
+
+Ikkor was too much astounded to reply, and Nadan whispered to the king
+that this proved his guilt.
+
+"Lead him to the execution," cried the king, "and let his head be
+severed from his body and cast one hundred ells away."
+
+Falling on his knees, Ikkor pleaded that at least he should be granted
+the privilege of being executed within his own house so that he might
+be buried there.
+
+This request was granted, and Nabu Samak, the executioner, led Ikkor a
+prisoner to his palace. Nabu Samak was a great friend to Ikkor and it
+grieved him to have to carry out the king's order.
+
+"Ikkor," he said, "I am certain that thou art innocent, and I would
+save thee. Hearken unto me. In the prison is a wretched highwayman who
+has committed murder and who deserves death. His beard and hair are
+like thine, and at a little distance he can easily be mistaken for
+thee. Him will I behead and his head will I show to the crowd, whilst
+thou canst hide and live in secret."
+
+Ikkor thanked his friend and the plan was carried out. The robber's
+head was exhibited to the crowd from the roof of the house and the
+people wept because they thought it was the head of the good Ikkor.
+Meanwhile, the vizier descended into a cellar deep beneath his palace
+and was there fed, while his adopted son, Nadan, was appointed chief
+of the king's counselors in his stead.
+
+Now, when Pharaoh, king of Egypt, heard that Ikkor, the wise, had been
+executed, he determined to make war upon Assyria. Therefore, he
+dispatched a letter to the king, asking him to send an architect to
+design and build a palace in the clouds.
+
+"If this thou doest," he wrote, "I, Pharaoh, son of the Sun, will pay
+thee tribute; if thou failest, thou must pay me tribute."
+
+The king of Assyria was perplexed when he received this letter which
+had to be answered in three months. Nadan could not advise him what to
+do, and he bitterly regretted that Ikkor, the man of wisdom, was no
+longer by his side to advise him.
+
+"I would give one-fourth of my kingdom to bring Ikkor to life again,"
+he exclaimed.
+
+Hearing these words, Nabu Samak, the executioner, fell on his knees
+and confessed that Ikkor was alive.
+
+"Bring him hither at once," cried the king.
+
+Ikkor could scarcely credit the truth when his friend came to him in
+the cellar with the news, and the people wept tears of joy and pity
+when the old vizier was led through the streets. He presented a most
+extraordinary spectacle.
+
+For twelve months he had been immured in the cellar and his beard had
+grown down to the ground, his hair descended below his shoulders and
+his finger nails were several inches long. The king wept, too, when he
+saw his old vizier.
+
+"Ikkor," he said, "for months have I felt that thou wert innocent, and
+I have missed thy wise counsels. Help me in my difficulty and thou
+shalt be pardoned."
+
+"Your majesty," said Ikkor, "I desire nothing more than to serve thee.
+I am innocent. Time will prove me guiltless."
+
+When he saw Pharaoh's demand, he smiled.
+
+"'Tis easy," he said. "I will go to Egypt and outwit Pharaoh."
+
+He gave orders that four of the tame eagles in the gardens of the
+palace should be brought to him with cords five hundred ells long
+attached to their claws. Then he selected four youths, lithe of
+figure, and trained them to sit on the backs of the eagles and soar
+aloft. This done, he set out for Egypt with a big caravan and a long
+retinue of slaves.
+
+"What is thy name?" asked Pharaoh, when he presented himself.
+
+"My name is Akbam, and I am but the lowest of my king's advisers."
+
+"Does thy master then think my demand so simple?" asked Pharaoh.
+
+Ikkor bowed to indicate that this was so, and Pharaoh was much annoyed
+and puzzled.
+
+"Perform thy task and at once," he commanded.
+
+At a sign from Ikkor, the four youths mounted the eagles which flew
+aloft to the extremity of their cords. The birds remained in the air
+two hundred ells apart, as they had been trained, and the lads held
+cords in the form of a square.
+
+"That is the plan of the palace in the clouds," said Ikkor, pointing
+aloft. "Bid your men carry up bricks and mortar. The task is so simple
+that the boys will build."
+
+Pharaoh frowned. He had not expected to be thus outwitted, but he
+would not immediately acknowledge this.
+
+"In this land," he said, sarcastically, "we use no mortar. We sew the
+stones together. Canst thou do this?"
+
+"Easily," replied Ikkor, "if your wise men can make me a thread of
+sand."
+
+"And canst thou weave a thread of sand?" asked Pharaoh.
+
+"I can," responded Ikkor.
+
+Noting the direction of the sun, he bored a tiny hole in the wall, and
+a thin sunbeam gleamed through. Then, taking a few grains of sand he
+blew them through the hole and in the sunbeam they seemed like a
+thread.
+
+"Take it, quickly," he cried, but of course nobody could do this.
+
+Pharaoh looked long and earnestly at Ikkor.
+
+"Truly, thou art a man of wisdom," he said. "If he were not dead I
+should say thou wert Ikkor, the wise."
+
+"I am Ikkor," answered the vizier, and he told the story of his
+escape.
+
+"I will prove thy innocence," exclaimed Pharaoh. "I will write a
+letter to your royal master."
+
+Not only did he do so, but he gave Ikkor many valuable presents and
+the vizier returned to Assyria, resumed his place by the king's side,
+and became a greater favorite than before. Nadan was banished and was
+never heard of again.
+
+
+
+
+The Pope's Game of Chess
+
+
+Nearly a thousand years ago in the town of Mayence, on the bank of the
+Rhine, there dwelt a pious Jew of the name of Simon ben Isaac. Of a
+most charitable disposition, learned and ever ready to assist the poor
+with money and wise counsel, he was reverenced by all, and it was
+believed he was a direct descendant of King David. Everybody was proud
+to do him honor.
+
+Simon ben Isaac had one little son, a bright boy of the name of
+Elkanan, who he intended should be trained as a rabbi. Little Elkanan
+was very diligent in his studies and gave early promise of developing
+into an exceptionally clever student. Even the servants in the
+household loved him for his keen intelligence. One of them, indeed,
+was unduly interested in him.
+
+She was the Sabbath-fire woman who only came into the house on the
+Sabbath day to attend to the fires, because, as you know, the Jewish
+servants could not perform this duty. The Sabbath-fire woman was a
+devoted Catholic and she spoke of Elkanan to a priest. The latter was
+considerably impressed.
+
+   [Illustration: "Thou canst only be my long lost son Elkanan!"
+   (_Page 224_).]
+
+"What a pity," he remarked, "that so talented a boy should be a Jew.
+If he were a Christian, now," he added, winningly, "he could enter the
+Holy Church and become famous."
+
+The Sabbath-fire woman knew exactly what the priest meant.
+
+"Do you think he could rise to be a bishop?" she asked.
+
+"He might rise even higher--to be the Pope himself," replied the
+priest.
+
+"It would be a great thing to give a bishop to the Church, would it
+not?" said the woman.
+
+"It is a great thing to give anyone to the Church of Rome," the priest
+assured her.
+
+Then they spoke in whispers. The woman appeared a little troubled, but
+the priest promised her that all would be well, that she would be
+rewarded, and that nobody would dare to accuse her of doing anything
+wrong.
+
+Convinced that she was performing a righteous action, she agreed to do
+what the priest suggested.
+
+Accordingly, the following Friday night when the household of Simon
+ben Isaac was wrapped in slumber, she crept stealthily and silently
+into the boy's bedroom. Taking him gently in her arms, she stole
+silently out of the house and carried him to the priest who was
+waiting. Elkanan was well wrapped up in blankets, and so cautiously
+did the woman move that he did not waken.
+
+The priest said not a word. He just nodded to the woman, and then
+placed Elkanan in a carriage which he had in waiting.
+
+Elkanan slept peacefully, totally unaware of his adventure, and when
+he opened his eyes he thought he must be dreaming. He was not in his
+own room, but a much smaller one which seemed to be jolting and
+moving, like a carriage, and opposite to him was a priest.
+
+"Where am I?" he asked in alarm.
+
+"Lie still, Andreas," was the reply.
+
+"But my name is not Andreas," he answered. "That is not a Jewish name.
+I am Elkanan, the son of Simon."
+
+To his amazement, however, the priest looked at him pityingly and
+shook his head.
+
+"You have had a nasty accident," he said, "and it has affected your
+head. You must not speak."
+
+Not another word would he say in response to all the boy's eager
+queries. He simply ignored Elkanan who puzzled his head over the
+matter until he really began to feel ill and to wonder whether he was
+Elkanan after all. Tired out, he fell asleep again, and next time he
+awoke he was lying on a bed in a bare room. A bell was tolling, and he
+heard a chanting chorus. By his side stood a priest.
+
+Elkanan looked at the priest like one dazed. Before he could utter a
+word, the priest said: "Rise, Andreas, and follow me."
+
+The boy had no alternative but to obey. To his horror he was taken
+into a chapel and made to kneel. The priests sprinkled water on him.
+He did not understand what the service meant, and when it was over he
+began to cry for his father and mother. For days nobody took the
+slightest notice of his continual questionings until a priest, with a
+harsh, cruel face, spoke to him severely one day.
+
+"I perceive, Andreas," he said, "thou hast a stubborn spirit. It shall
+be curbed. Thy father and mother are dead--all the world is dead to
+thee. Thou hast strange notions in thy head. We shall rid thee of
+them."
+
+Elkanan cried so much on hearing these terrible words that he made
+himself seriously ill. How long he was kept in bed he knew not, but
+when he recovered, he found himself a prisoner in a monastery. All the
+priests called him Andreas, they were kind to him, and in time he
+began to doubt himself whether he was Elkanan, the son of Simon, the
+pious Jew of Mayence.
+
+To put an end to the unrest in his mind, he devoted himself earnestly
+to his lessons. His tutors never had so brilliant a pupil, nor so
+intelligent a companion. He was a remarkable chess player.
+
+"Where did you learn?" they asked him.
+
+"My father, Simon ben Isaac, of Mayence, taught me," he replied, with
+a sob in his voice.
+
+"It is well," they replied, having received their instructions what to
+say in answer to such remarks, "thou art blessed from Heaven, Andreas.
+Not only dost thou absorb learning in the hours of daylight, but
+angels and dead sages visit thee in they sleep and impart knowledge
+unto thee."
+
+He could obtain no more satisfactory words from his tutors, and in
+time he made no mention whatever of the past, and his tutors and
+companions refrained from touching upon the subject either. Once or
+twice he formed the idea of endeavoring to escape, but he soon
+discovered the project impossible. He was never allowed to be alone
+for a moment; he was virtually a prisoner, although all men began to
+do him honor because of his amazing knowledge and learning.
+
+In due time, he became a priest and a tutor and was even called to
+Rome and was created a cardinal. He wore a red cap and cloak, people
+kneeled to him and sought his blessing, and all spoke of him as the
+wisest, kindliest and most scholarly man in the Church.
+
+He had not spoken of his boyhood for years, but he never ceased to
+think of those happy days. And although he tried hard, he could not
+believe that it was all a dream. Whenever he played a game of chess,
+which was his one pastime, he seemed to see himself in his old room at
+Mayence, and he sighed. His fellow priests wondered why he did this,
+and he laughingly told them it was because he had no idea how to lose
+a game.
+
+Then a great event happened. The Pope died and Andreas was elected his
+successor. He was placed on a throne, a crown was put upon his head,
+and he was called Holy Father. The power of life and death over
+millions of people in many countries was vested in him; kings,
+princes and nobles visited him in his great palace to do him homage,
+and his fame spread far and wide. But he himself grew more thoughtful
+and silent and sought only to exercise his great powers for the
+people's good.
+
+This, however, did not altogether please some of his counselors.
+
+"The Church needs money," they told him. "We must squeeze it out of
+the Jews."
+
+But Andreas steadfastly refused to countenance any persecutions. Many
+edicts were placed before him for his signature, giving permission to
+bishops in certain districts to threaten the Jews unless they paid
+huge sums of money in tribute, but Andreas declined to assent to any
+one of them.
+
+One day a document was submitted to him from the archbishop of the
+Rhine district, craving permission to drive the Jews from the city of
+Mayence. The Pope's face hardened when he read the iniquitous letter.
+He gave instant orders that the archbishop should be summoned to Rome,
+and to the utter amazement of his cardinals he also commanded them to
+bring before him three leading Jews from Mayence, to state their
+case.
+
+"It shall not be said," he declared, "that the Pope issued a decree of
+punishment without giving the people condemned an opportunity of
+defending themselves."
+
+When the news reached Mayence there was great wailing and sorrow among
+the Jews, for, alas! bitter experience had taught them to expect no
+mercy from Rome. Delegates were selected, and when they arrived at the
+Vatican they were asked for their names. These were given and
+communicated to the Pope.
+
+"The delegates of the Jews of the city of Mayence," announced a
+secretary, "humbly crave audience of Your Holiness."
+
+"Their names?" demanded the Pope.
+
+"Simon ben Isaac, Abraham ben Moses, and Issachar, the priest."
+
+"Let them enter," said the Pope, in a quiet, firm voice. He had heard
+but one name; his plan had proved successful, for he had counted upon
+Simon being one of the chosen delegates.
+
+The three men entered the audience chamber and stood expectant before
+the Pope. His Holiness appeared to be lost in deep thought. Suddenly
+he aroused himself from his reverie and looked keenly at the aged
+leader of the party.
+
+"Simon of Mayence, stand forth," he said, "and give voice to thy plea.
+We give thee attention."
+
+The old man approached a few paces nearer, and in simple, but eloquent
+language, pleaded that the Jews should be permitted to remain
+unmolested in Mayence in which city their community had been long
+established.
+
+"Thy prayer" said the Pope, when he had finished, "shall have full
+consideration, and my answer shall be made known to thee without
+delay. Now tell me, Simon of Mayence, something of thyself and thy
+co-delegates. Who are ye in the city?"
+
+Simon gave the information.
+
+"Have ye come hither alone?" asked the Pope. "Or have ye been escorted
+by members of your families--your sons?"
+
+The Pope's voice was scarcely steady, but none noticed.
+
+"I have no son," said Simon, with a weary sigh.
+
+"Hast thou never been blessed with offspring?"
+
+Simon looked sharply at the Pope before answering. Then, with bowed
+head and broken voice, he said: "God blessed me with one son, but he
+was stolen from me in childhood. That has been the sorrow of my life."
+
+The old man's voice was choked with sobs.
+
+"I have heard," said the Pope, after a while, "that thou art famed as
+a chess-player. I, too, am credited with some skill in the game. I
+would fain pit it against thine. Hearken! If thou prove the victor in
+the game, then shall thy appeal prevail."
+
+"I consent," said the old man, proudly. "It is many years since I have
+sustained defeat."
+
+It was arranged that the game should be played that evening.
+Naturally, the strange contest aroused the keenest interest. The game
+was followed closely by the papal secretaries and the Jewish
+delegates. It was a wonderful trial of subtle play. The two players
+seemed about evenly matched. First one and then the other made a
+daring move which appeared to place his opponent in difficulties, but
+each time disaster was ingeniously evaded. A draw seemed the likeliest
+result until, suddenly, the Pope made a brilliant move which startled
+the onlookers. It was considered impossible now for Simon to avoid
+defeat.
+
+No one was more astounded at the Pope's move than the old Jew. He rose
+tremblingly from his chair, gazed with piercing eyes into the face of
+the Pope and said huskily, "Where didst thou learn that move? I taught
+it to but one other."
+
+"Who?" demanded the Pope, eagerly.
+
+"I will tell thee alone," said Simon.
+
+The Pope made a sign, and the others left the room in great surprise.
+
+Then Simon exclaimed excitedly, "Unless thou art the devil himself,
+thou canst only be my long lost son, Elkanan."
+
+"Father!" cried the Pope, and the old man clasped him in his arms.
+
+When the others re-entered the room, the Pope said quietly, "We have
+decided to call the game a draw, and in thankfulness for the rare
+pleasure of a game of chess with so skilled a player as Simon of
+Mayence, I grant the prayer of the delegates of that city. It is my
+will that the Jews shall live in peace."
+
+Shortly afterward, a new Pope was elected. Various rumors gained
+currency. One was that Andreas had thrown himself into the flames;
+another that he had mysteriously disappeared. And at the same time a
+stranger arrived in Mayence and was welcomed by Simon joyfully as his
+son, Elkanan.
+
+
+
+
+The Slave's Fortune
+
+
+Ahmed was the only child of the wealthiest merchant in Damascus. His
+father devoted his days to doing everything possible to anticipate his
+wishes. The boy returned his father's love with interest, and the two
+lived together in the utmost happiness. They were seldom apart, the
+father curtailing his business journeys so that he could hastily
+return to Damascus, and finally restricting his affairs to those which
+he could perform in his own home.
+
+For safety's sake, Ahmed, whenever he was out of his father's sight,
+was attended, by a big negro slave, Pedro, an imposing looking person,
+richly attired as befitted his station and duties. Pedro was a
+faithful servant, and he and Ahmed were the firmest friends.
+
+When Ahmed grew up to be a youth, his father decided to send him to
+Jerusalem to be educated. He did so reluctantly, knowing, however,
+that it was the wisest course to adopt. Gently he broke the news to
+Ahmed, for he knew the latter would dislike to leave home. Ahmed was
+truly sorry to have to be parted from his father, but he kept back his
+tears and said bravely:
+
+"It is thy wish, father, therefore I question it not. I know that thou
+desirest only my welfare."
+
+"Well spoken, my son," said his father.
+
+"May I take Pedro with me?" asked Ahmed.
+
+"Nay, that would not be seemly," answered his father, gently. "It
+would make thee appear anxious to display thy wealth. Such ostentation
+will induce people to regard thee and thy father as foolish persons,
+possessed of more wealth than is good for the exercise of wisdom.
+Also, my son, thy future teaching must be not confined to the learning
+that wise men can impart unto thee. Thou art going to the great city
+to learn the ways of the world, to train thyself in self-reliance, and
+to prepare thyself for all the duties of manhood."
+
+The youth was somewhat disappointed to hear this. It was the first
+occasion, as far as his memory served him, that his father had failed
+to grant his wish; but he was nevertheless flattered by the prospect
+of quickly becoming a man, and he answered, "I bow to thy wisdom, my
+father."
+
+He left for Jerusalem, after bidding the merchant an affectionate
+farewell, and in the Holy City he applied himself diligently to his
+studies. He delighted his teachers with his cheerful attention to his
+lessons, and discovered a new source of happiness in learning things
+for himself from observation. Also, it was a pleasant sensation to
+conduct his own affairs, and in the great city, with its busy narrow
+thoroughfares and its wonderful buildings, he daily grew less
+homesick. Regularly he received letters by messengers from his father,
+and dutifully he returned, by the same means, long epistles, setting
+out all the big and little things that made up his life.
+
+A year passed, and one day the usual message that Ahmed expected came
+to him in a strange hand-writing.
+
+He opened it hastily, with a foreboding of evil and alarm. The writer
+of the letter was one of the merchant's closest friends. He said:
+
+"O worthy son of a most worthy father, greeting to thee, and may God
+give thee strength to hear the terrible and sad tidings which it is my
+sorrowful duty to convey unto thee. Know then that it hath pleased
+God in his wisdom to call from this earth thy saintly father, to sit
+with the righteous ones in Heaven. Here in the city of Damascus there
+is great weeping, for thy honored father was the most upright of men,
+a friend to all in distress, a man whose bounteous charity to the poor
+and unfortunate was unsurpassed. But our grief, deep and heartfelt as
+it is, cannot be compared to thine. We have all lost a wise counselor,
+a trusty friend, a guide in all things. But thou hast lost more. Thou
+hast lost a father. Thou art his only son, and on thee his duties will
+now devolve. Know then thy profound grief we share with thee. We
+tender to thee our sincere sympathy, and eagerly do we await thy
+coming. Thou hast a noble position to occupy and a tradition to
+continue. We, thy father's friends and thine, O Ahmed, will assist
+thee."
+
+The young man was dumbfounded when he gathered the purport of the
+letter. For some moments he spoke not, but sat on the ground, weeping
+silently. Then, remembering his father's admonitions, he promptly took
+up the task of settling his affairs in Jerusalem prior to his
+departure for Damascus.
+
+"I will take with me," he said, "the good rabbi who has been my
+religious instructor, for I am not fully prepared to undertake all the
+duties that will fall to my lot and need some strengthening counsel."
+
+On arrival at Damascus he was greeted by a large concourse of people
+who expressed their sympathy with him and spoke in terms of highest
+praise of his father's benevolence.
+
+After the funeral, Ahmed called the leading townspeople together to
+hear his father's will read, for he was certain that many gifts to
+charities would be announced. Such was the case, and there were
+subdued murmurs of applause when the amounts were read forth.
+
+Then suddenly the friend who had written to the young man and was
+reading the will, paused.
+
+"I fear there must be a mistake," he said, in a whisper to Ahmed.
+
+"Go on," urged the assembled people, and the man read in a strange
+voice:
+
+"And now, having as I hope, faithfully performed my duty to the poor,
+I bequeath the rest of my possessions unto my devoted negro slave,
+Pedro."
+
+"Pedro!" cried the astonished crowd.
+
+They looked at the massive figure of the black attendant, but he stood
+motionless and impassive, betraying no sign whatsoever of joy or
+surprise.
+
+Ahmed could not conceal his bewilderment.
+
+"Is naught left unto me?" he managed to ask.
+
+"Yes," returned his friend, and amid a sudden silence, he continued to
+read: "This bequest is subject to the following proviso: that one
+thing be given to my son before the division of my property, the same
+to be selected by him within twenty-four hours of the reading of this
+will unto him."
+
+The crowd melted away with mutterings of sympathy mingled with
+astonishment, but out of earshot of Ahmed, all said the merchant must
+have been mad to draw up so absurd a testament. Ahmed himself could
+hardly realize the great blow that had befallen him. He consulted with
+his father's friend and the rabbi, but, although they re-read the
+document many times, they could find no fault or flaw in it.
+
+"Legally, this is correct and in perfect order and cannot be altered,"
+said the friend.
+
+"My father must have made a foolish mistake and must have misplaced
+the two words 'son' and 'slave,'" said Ahmed, bitterly.
+
+"That does not so appear," said the rabbi; "thy father was a scholar
+and wise man. Speak not hastily, and above all act not rashly without
+thought. I would counsel thee to sleep over this matter, and in the
+morning we shall solve this puzzle."
+
+Ahmed, who was exhausted with grief and rage and surprise, soon fell
+into a deep sleep, and when he awoke the rabbi was reciting his
+morning prayers.
+
+"It is a beautiful day," he said, when he had finished. "The sun
+shines on thy happiness, Ahmed."
+
+Ahmed was too depressed to make any comment, nor was he completely
+satisfied when the rabbi assured him all would be well.
+
+"I have pondered deeply and long over thy father's words," he said. "I
+sat up through the night until the dawn, and I have been impelled to
+the conclusion that thy father was truly a wise man."
+
+Ahmed interrupted with a gesture of disapproval. The rabbi took no
+notice but proceeded quietly: "Thy father must have feared that in thy
+absence after his death and pending thy possible delay in returning
+hither, slaves and others might rob thee of thy inheritance. Pedro, I
+have discovered, knew of the terms of the will. By informing him and
+making his strange will, thy father, O fortunate Ahmed, made sure of
+thy inheritance unto thee."
+
+"I understand not," muttered Ahmed.
+
+"It is perfectly clear," said the rabbi. "As soon as thou art ready,
+thou shalt make thy choice of one thing. Do as I bid thee, and thou
+shalt see thy father's wisdom."
+
+Ahmed had no option but to agree. He could find no solution himself,
+and wretched though he felt, reason told him that his father loved him
+and that the rabbi was renowned for shrewdness.
+
+The townspeople gathered early to hear Ahmed make his choice of one
+thing--and one only--from his father's possessions. Ahmed looked less
+troubled than they expected, the rabbi wore his most benign
+expression, and Pedro stationed himself in his usual place at the
+door, statuesque, obedient, and expressionless as ever.
+
+Ahmed held up his hand to obtain silence.
+
+"Acting under the terms of my father's will," he said, solemnly, "at
+this moment when all, before division, belongs to his estate, I choose
+but one of my father's possessions--Pedro, the black slave."
+
+Then everybody saw the wisdom of the strange will, for with Pedro,
+Ahmed became possessed of his father's vast wealth.
+
+To Pedro, who still stood motionless, Ahmed said, "And thou, my good
+friend, shalt have thy freedom and possessions sufficient to keep thee
+in comfort for the rest of thy days."
+
+"I desire naught but to serve thee," Pedro answered, "I wish to remain
+the faithful attendant of one who will follow nobly in the footsteps
+of thy father."
+
+So everybody was satisfied.
+
+   [Illustration: He crouched on his throne and imagined he saw
+   angels and demons and fairies. (_Page 241_).]
+
+
+
+
+The Paradise in the Sea
+
+
+Hiram, king of Tyre, was a foolish old man. He lived so long and grew
+to such a venerable age that he absurdly imagined he would never die.
+The idea gained strength daily in his mind and thus he mused:
+
+"David, king of the Jews, I knew, and afterward his son, the wise King
+Solomon. But wise as he was, Solomon had to appeal to me for
+assistance in building his wondrous Temple, and it was only with the
+aid of the skilled workmen I sent to him that he successfully
+accomplished the erection of that structure. David, the sweet singer
+in Israel, who, as a mere boy slew the giant Goliath, has passed away.
+I still live. It must be that I shall never die. Men die. Gods live
+for ever. I must be a god, and why not?"
+
+He put that question to the chief of his counselors, who, however, was
+much too wise to answer it. Now the counselors of the king had never
+yet failed to answer his queries, and so Hiram felt sure he had at
+last puzzled them by a question beyond the power of mortal man to
+answer. That was another proof, he told himself, that he was different
+from other men and kings--that, in short, he was a god.
+
+"I must be, I must be," he muttered to himself, and he repeated this
+to himself so regularly that he came to the conclusion it was true.
+
+"It is not I, but the voice of the Spirit of God that is in me that
+speaks," he said to himself, and he thought this remark so clever that
+he regarded it as still further proof. It is so easy to delude one's
+self.
+
+Then he decided to make the great secret known to the people, and the
+doddering old man thought if he would do this in an unusual way, his
+subjects would have no doubts. He did not make a proclamation
+commanding everybody to believe in him as a god; he whispered the
+secret first to his chief counselor and instructed him to tell it to
+one person daily and to order all who were informed to do likewise. In
+this way the news soon spread to the remotest corners of the country,
+for if you work out a little sum you will discover that if you take
+the figure one and double it thus: two, four, eight, sixteen, and so
+on, it will run into millions.
+
+In spite of this, nothing happened. Hiram, now quite idiotic,
+commanded the people to worship him. Some obeyed, fearing that if they
+refused they would be punished, or even put to death. Others declared
+there was no evidence that the king was a god. This came to the
+knowledge of Hiram and troubled him sorely.
+
+"What proof do the unbelievers require?" he asked of his counselors.
+
+They hesitated to reply, but presently the vizier, a shrewd old man
+with a long beard, said quietly, "I have heard people say a god must
+have a heaven from which to hurl lightning and thunderbolts, and a
+paradise in which to dwell."
+
+"I shall have a heaven and a paradise," said Hiram, after a few
+moments' silence, adding to himself: "If Solomon could build a
+marvelous temple by the help of my workmen, surely I can devise a
+paradise."
+
+He spent so much thought over this that it seemed to become easier
+each day. Besides, it would be so nice to live in a paradise all to
+himself. At first he decided to build a great big palace of gold, with
+windows of precious stones. There would be a high tower on which the
+throne would be placed so far above the people that they must be
+impressed with the fact that he was God.
+
+Then it occurred to him this would not do. A palace, however vast and
+beautiful, would only be a building, not a paradise. Day and night he
+pondered and worried until his head ached badly. Then one day, while
+watching a ship on the sea, an extraordinary idea came into his head.
+
+"I will build a palace which will seem to hang above the water on
+nothing!" he said to himself, chuckling. "None but a god could
+conceive such a brilliant idea."
+
+Hiram set about his ingenious plan at once. He sent trusted envoys far
+and wide for skilled divers. Only those who did not know the language
+of the country were selected. Hiram himself gave them their orders and
+they worked only at night, so that none should see or know of their
+work. Their task was to fasten four huge pillars to the bottom of the
+sea. Their work completed, the divers were well paid and sent away.
+
+Next, a different gang of workmen was brought from a strange land.
+They constructed a platform on the pillars in the sea. Then a third
+lot of artisans began to erect a wonderful edifice on the platform.
+They, too, only worked at night, but the building could no longer be
+concealed. It was showing itself above the sea. The people were
+therefore told, by royal proclamation, in these words:
+
+    I, Hiram of Tyre, the King, and of all the People,
+
+  GOD OMNIPOTENT,
+
+    Hereby make known to you that it has become my pleasure to
+    reveal unto you my
+
+  PARADISE
+
+    which hitherto I have concealed in the clouds. Ye who are worthy
+    shall behold it
+
+  TODAY!
+
+Of all the clever things he had done, Hiram believed the composition
+of that proclamation the cleverest.
+
+"Those who do not see, will think themselves unworthy," he said, "and
+will tremble in fear of my wrath. They will see a little more each day
+and will think themselves growing worthy. And they will believe; they
+must, when they see it all. Besides, they will look upward, toward the
+clouds, to see the paradise descending. They will never think of
+looking below to see it rising."
+
+And so it happened. The people could not help but be impressed when
+they saw the amazing structure. It grew daily, apparently of its own
+accord, for no workmen were seen; and most wonderful of all, it seemed
+to rest on nothing in the air!
+
+This was because the first story was of clearest glass, so clear,
+indeed, that the people saw through it and thought they saw nothing.
+On this the other stories were erected, and, of course, they appeared
+to be suspended in space.
+
+There were seven stories to represent seven heavens. The second, the
+one above the glass, was constructed of iron, the third was of lead,
+the fourth of shining brass, the fifth of burnished copper, the sixth
+of glistening silver, and the last story of all, of pure gold.
+
+The whole building was lavishly studded with precious stones, gems and
+jewels of many hues. By day, when the sun shone and was reflected from
+the thousands of jewels and the polished metals, the appearance was
+dazzling; the people could not help but regard as a heaven that which
+they could scarcely look upon without being blinded. In the setting
+sun the uppermost story, with its huge golden dome, glowed like an
+expanse of fire; and by night, the myriad gems twinkled like
+additional stars.
+
+Yet some people would not believe this was a paradise, and so Hiram
+had to set his wits to work again.
+
+"Thunder and lightning I must produce," he said, and this part of his
+ambition he found not at all difficult.
+
+In the second story he kept huge boulders and round heavy stones. When
+these were rolled about the people thought the noise was thunder. By
+means of many revolving windows and reflectors, Hiram could flash a
+light on the town and delude simple people, who were easily impressed
+and frightened, into the belief that they saw lightning.
+
+"When I am seated here above the forces of the storm," said Hiram,
+"the people must surely accept me as God and extol me above all mortal
+kings."
+
+He was foolishly happy on his throne in the clouds, but his counselors
+shook their heads. They knew that such folly would meet with its due
+punishment. They warned Hiram against remaining in his paradise during
+a storm, but he replied, in a rage: "I, the God of the storm, am not
+afraid."
+
+But when the real thunder rolled and the lightning flashed all around
+his paradise, Hiram lost his boastful courage. He saw visions.
+Trembling in every limb, he crouched on his throne and imagined he saw
+angels and demons and fairies dancing round him and jeering at his
+pretensions and his wonderful structure.
+
+The storm grew fiercer, the lightning more vivid, the thunder-crashes
+louder, and Hiram screamed when there was a tremendous noise of
+crashing glass. The first story could not withstand the terrible
+buffeting of the waves. It cracked and crumbled. There was no support
+left for the six heavens above. They could no longer hang in space.
+
+With a mighty crash, that struck terror into the hearts of the
+beholders, the whole structure collapsed in a thousand pieces in the
+sea.
+
+Marvelous to relate, Hiram was not killed or drowned. It seemed a
+miracle that he should be saved, but such was the case; and some
+people thought that proved him to be a god more than his unfortunate
+paradise. But his life was only spared to end in greater misery and
+sorrow. He was dethroned by Nebuchadnezzar and ended his days a
+wretched captive. And all the people knew that Hiram, once the great
+king of Tyre, the friend of King David and King Solomon, was but a
+mortal and a foolish one.
+
+
+
+
+The Rabbi's Bogey-Man
+
+
+Rabbi Lion, of the ancient city of Prague, sat in his study in the
+Ghetto looking very troubled. Through the window he could see the
+River Moldau with the narrow streets of the Jewish quarter clustered
+around the cemetery, which still stands to-day, and where is to be
+seen this famous man's tomb. Beyond the Ghetto rose the towers and
+spires of the city, but just at that moment it was not the cruelty of
+the people to the Jews that occupied the rabbi's thoughts. He was
+unable to find a servant, even one to attend the fire on the Sabbath
+for him.
+
+The truth was that the people were a little afraid of the rabbi. He
+was a very learned man, wise and studious, and a scientist; and
+because he did wonderful things people called him a magician. His
+experiments in chemistry frightened them. Late at nights they saw
+little spurts of blue and red flame shine from his window, and they
+said that demons and witches came at his beck and call. So nobody
+would enter his service.
+
+   [Illustration: The monster was battering down the door of the
+   synagogue. (_Page 249_).]
+
+"If, as they declare, I am truly a magician," he said to himself, "why
+should I not make for myself a servant, one that will tend the fire
+for me on the Sabbath?"
+
+He set to work on his novel idea and in a few weeks had completed his
+mechanical creature, a woman. She looked like a big, strong, laboring
+woman, and the rabbi was greatly pleased with his handiwork.
+
+"Now to endow it with life," he said.
+
+Carefully, in the silence of his mysterious study at midnight, he
+wrote out the Unpronounceable Sacred Name of God on a piece of
+parchment. Then he rolled it up and placed it in the mouth of the
+creature.
+
+Immediately it sprang up and began to move like a living thing. It
+rolled its eyes, waved its arms, and nearly walked through the window.
+In alarm, Rabbi Lion snatched the parchment from its mouth and the
+creature fell helpless to the floor.
+
+"I must be careful," said the rabbi. "It is a wonderful machine with
+its many springs and screws and levers, and will be most useful to me
+as soon as I learn to control it properly."
+
+All the people marveled when they saw the rabbi's machine-woman
+running errands and doing many duties, controlled only by his
+thoughts. She could do everything but speak, and Rabbi Lion discovered
+that he must take the Name from her mouth before he went to sleep.
+Otherwise, she might have done mischief.
+
+One cold Sabbath afternoon, the rabbi was preaching in the synagogue
+and the little children stood outside his house looking at the
+machine-woman seated by the window. When they rolled their eyes she
+did, and at last they shouted: "Come and play with us."
+
+She promptly jumped through the window and stood among the boys and
+girls.
+
+"We are cold," said one. "Canst thou make a fire for us?"
+
+The creature was made to obey orders, so she at once collected sticks
+and lit a fire in the street. Then, with the children, she danced
+round the blaze in great glee. She piled on all the sticks and old
+barrels she could find, and soon the fire spread and caught a house.
+The children ran away in fear while the fire blazed so furiously that
+the whole town became alarmed. Before the flames could be
+extinguished, a number of houses had been burned down and much damage
+done. The creature could not be found, and only when the parchment
+with the Name, which could not burn, was discovered amid the ashes,
+was it known that she had been destroyed in the conflagration.
+
+The Council of the city was indignant when it learned of the strange
+occurrence, and Rabbi Lion was summoned to appear before King Rudolf.
+
+"What is this I hear," asked his majesty. "Is it not a sin to make a
+living creature?"
+
+"It had no life but that which the Sacred Name gave it," replied the
+rabbi.
+
+"I understand it not," said the king. "Thou wilt be imprisoned and
+must make another creature, so that I may see it for myself. If it is
+as thou sayest, thy life shall be spared. If not--if, in truth, thou
+profanest God's sacred law and makest a living thing, thou shalt die
+and all thy people shall be expelled from this city."
+
+Rabbi Lion at once set to work, and this time made a man, much bigger
+than the woman that had been burned.
+
+"As your majesty sees," said the rabbi, when his task was completed,
+"it is but a creature of wood and glue with springs at the joints. Now
+observe," and he put the Sacred Name in its mouth.
+
+Slowly the creature rose to its feet and saluted the monarch who was
+so delighted that he cried: "Give him to me, rabbi."
+
+"That cannot be," said Rabbi Lion, solemnly. "The Sacred Name must not
+pass from my possession. Otherwise the creature may do great damage
+again. This time I shall take care and will not use the man on the
+Sabbath."
+
+The king saw the wisdom of this and set the rabbi at liberty and
+allowed him to take the creature to his house. The Jews looked on in
+wonderment when they saw the creature walking along the street by the
+side of Rabbi Lion, but the children ran away in fear, crying: "The
+bogey-man."
+
+The rabbi exercised caution with his bogey-man this time, and every
+Friday, just before Sabbath commenced, he took the name from its mouth
+so as to render it powerless.
+
+It became more wonderful every day, and one evening it startled the
+rabbi from a doze by beginning to speak.
+
+"I want to be a soldier," it said, "and fight for the king. I belong
+to the king. You made me for him."
+
+"Silence," cried Rabbi Lion, and it had to obey. "I like not this,"
+said the rabbi to himself. "This monster must not become my master,
+or it may destroy me and perhaps all the Jews."
+
+He could not help but wonder whether the king was right and that it
+must be a sin to create a man. The creature not only spoke, but grew
+surly and disobedient, and yet the rabbi hesitated to break it up, for
+it was most useful to him. It did all his cooking, washing and
+cleaning, and three servants could not have performed the work so
+neatly and quickly.
+
+One Friday afternoon when the rabbi was preparing to go to the
+synagogue, he heard a loud noise in the street.
+
+"Come quickly," the people shouted at his door. "Your bogey-man is
+trying to get into the synagogue."
+
+Rabbi Lion rushed out in a state of alarm. The monster had slipped
+from the house and was battering down the door of the synagogue.
+
+"What art thou doing?" demanded the rabbi, sternly.
+
+"Trying to get into the synagogue to destroy the scrolls of the Holy
+Law," answered the monster. "Then wilt thou have no power over me, and
+I shall make a great army of bogey-men who shall fight for the king
+and kill all the Jews."
+
+"I will kill thee first," exclaimed Rabbi Lion, and springing forward
+he snatched the parchment with the Name so quickly from the creature's
+mouth that it collapsed at his feet a mass of broken springs and
+pieces of wood and glue.
+
+For many years afterward these pieces were shown to visitors in the
+attic of the synagogue when the story was told of the rabbi's
+bogey-man.
+
+
+
+
+The Fairy Frog
+
+
+Once upon a time there lived a man of learning and wealth who had an
+only son, named Hanina. To this son, who was grown up and married, he
+sent a messenger asking that he should immediately come to his father.
+Hanina obeyed, and found both his father and mother lying ill.
+
+"Know, my son," said the old man, "we are about to die. Grieve not,
+for it has been so ordained. We have been companions through life, and
+we are to be privileged to leave this world together. You will mourn
+for us the customary seven days. They will end on the eve of the
+festival of the Passover. On that day go forth into the market place
+and purchase the first thing offered to thee, no matter what it is, or
+what the cost that may be demanded. It will in due course bring thee
+good fortune. Hearken unto my words, my son, and all will be well."
+
+   [Illustration: Hanina and his wife followed the giant frog.
+   (_Page 255_).]
+
+Hanina promised obedience to this strange injunction of his father,
+and events fell out in accordance with the old man's prediction. The
+aged couple died on the same day, were buried together and after the
+week of mourning, on the day preceding the Passover festival, Hanina
+made his way to the market place wondering what adventure was in store
+for him.
+
+He had scarcely entered the market place, where all manner of wares
+were displayed, when an old man approached him, carrying a silver
+casket of curious design.
+
+"Purchase this, my son," he said, "and it will bring thee good
+fortune."
+
+"What does it contain?" asked Hanina.
+
+"That I may not inform thee," was the reply. "Indeed I cannot, for I
+know not. Only the purchaser can open it at the feast which begins the
+Passover."
+
+Naturally, Hanina was impressed by these words. Matters were shaping
+just as his father foretold.
+
+"What is the price?" he asked.
+
+"A thousand gold pieces."
+
+That was an enormous sum, nearly the whole that he possessed, but
+Hanina, remembering his vow, paid the money and took the casket home.
+It was placed upon the table that night when the Passover festival
+began. On being opened it was found to contain a smaller casket. This
+was opened and out sprang a frog.
+
+Hanina's wife was sorely disappointed, but she gave food to the frog
+which devoured everything greedily. So much did the creature eat that
+when the Passover had ended, in eight days it had grown to an enormous
+size. Hanina built a cabinet for his strange possession, but it
+continued to grow and soon required a special shed.
+
+Hanina was seriously puzzled, for the frog ate so ravenously that he
+and his wife had little food for themselves. But they made no
+complaint, although their hardships increased daily. They were
+compelled to dispose of almost everything they possessed to keep the
+frog supplied with food, and at last they were left in a state of
+abject poverty. Then only did the courage of Hanina's wife give way
+and she began to cry.
+
+To her astonishment, the frog, which was now bigger than a man, spoke
+to her.
+
+"Listen to me, wife of the faithful Hanina," it said. "Ye have treated
+me well. Therefore, ask of me what ye will, and I shall carry out your
+wishes."
+
+"Give us food," sobbed the woman.
+
+"It is there," said the frog, and at that very moment there was a
+knock at the door and a huge basket of food was delivered.
+
+Hanina had not yet spoken, and the frog asked him to name his desire.
+
+"A frog that speaks and performs wonders must be wise and learned,"
+said Hanina. "I wish that thou shouldst teach me the lore of men."
+
+The frog agreed, and his method of teaching was exceedingly strange.
+He wrote out the Law and the seventy known languages on strips of
+paper. These he ordered Hanina to swallow. Hanina did so and became
+acquainted with everything, even the language of the beasts and the
+birds. All men regarded him as the most learned sage of his time.
+
+One day the frog spoke again.
+
+"The day has arrived," he said, "when I must repay you for all the
+kindness you have shown me. Your reward shall be great. Come with me
+to the woods and you shall see marvels performed."
+
+Hanina and his wife followed the giant frog to the woods very early
+one morning, and a comical figure it presented as it hobbled along.
+Arrived at the woods, the frog cried out, in its croaking voice:
+
+"Come to me all ye inhabitants of the trees, the caves and streams,
+and do my bidding. Bring precious stones from the depths of the earth
+and roots and herbs."
+
+Then began the queerest procession. Hundreds upon hundreds of birds
+came twittering through the trees; thousands upon thousands of insects
+came crawling from holes in the ground; and all the animals in the
+woods, from the tiniest to the monsters, came in answer to the call of
+the frog. Each group brought some gift and laid it at the feet of
+Hanina and his wife who stood in some alarm. Soon a great pile of
+precious stones and herbs was heaped before them.
+
+"All these belong to you," said the frog, pointing to the jewels. "Of
+equal worth are the herbs and the roots with which ye can cure all
+diseases. Because ye obeyed the wishes of the dying and did not
+question me, ye are now rewarded."
+
+Hanina and his wife thanked the frog and then the former said: "May we
+not know who thou art?"
+
+"Yes," replied the frog. "I am the fairy son of Adam, gifted with the
+power of assuming any form. Farewell."
+
+With these words, the frog began to grow smaller and smaller until it
+was the size of an ordinary frog. Then it hopped into a stream and
+disappeared and all the denizens of the woods returned to their
+haunts.
+
+Hanina and his wife made their way home with their treasures. They
+became famous for their wealth, their wisdom and their charity, and
+lived in happiness with all peoples for many, many years.
+
+   [Illustration: The giant bird did not seem to notice its burden
+   at all. (_Page 274_).]
+
+
+
+
+The Princess of the Tower
+
+
+I
+
+Princess Solima was sick, not exactly ill, but so much out of sorts
+that her father, King Zuliman, was both annoyed and perturbed. The
+princess was as beautiful as a princess of those days should be; her
+long tresses were like threads of gold, her blue eyes rivaled the
+color of the sky on the balmiest summer day; and her smile was as
+radiant as the sunshine itself.
+
+She was learned and clever, too, and her goodness of heart gained for
+her as great a renown as her peerless beauty. Despite all this,
+Princess Solima was not happy. Indeed, she was wretched to
+despondency, and her melancholy weighed heavily upon her father.
+
+"What ails you, my precious daughter?" he asked her a hundred times,
+but she made no answer.
+
+She just sat and silently moped. She did not waste away, which puzzled
+the physicians; she did not grow pale, which surprised her
+attendants; and she did not weep, which astonished herself. But she
+felt as if her heart had grown heavy, as if there was no use in
+anything.
+
+The king squared his shoulders to show his determination and summoned
+his magicians and wizards and sorcerers and commanded them to perform
+their arts and solve the mystery of the illness of Princess Solima. A
+strange crew they were, ranged in a semi-circle before the king. There
+was the renowned astrologer from Egypt, a little man with a humpback;
+the mixer of mysterious potions from China, a long, lank yellow man,
+with tiny eyes; the alchemist from Arabia, a scowling man with his
+face almost concealed by whiskers; there was a Greek and a Persian and
+a Phoenician, each with some special knowledge and fearfully anxious
+to display it. They set to work.
+
+One studied the stars, another concocted a sweet-smelling fluid, a
+third retired to the woods and thought deeply, a fourth made abstruse
+calculations with diagrams and figures, a fifth questioned the
+princess' handmaidens, and a sixth conceived the brilliant notion of
+talking with the princess herself. He was certainly an original
+wizard, and he learned more than all the others.
+
+Then they met in consultation and talked foreign languages and
+pretended very seriously to understand one another. One said the stars
+were in opposition, another said he had gazed into a crystal and had
+seen a glow-worm chasing a hippopotamus which a third interpreted as
+meaning the princess would die if the glow-worm won the race.
+
+"Rubbish!" exclaimed the magician who had spoken to the princess;
+"likewise stuff and nonsense and the equivalent thereof in the seventy
+unknown languages."
+
+That was an impertinent comment on their divinations, and so they
+listened seriously.
+
+"The princess," he said, "is just tired. That is a disease which will
+become popular and fashionable as the world grows older and more
+people amass riches. She is sick of being waited on hand and foot and
+bowed down to and all that sort of thing. She has never been allowed
+to romp as a child, to choose her own companions and the rest of it.
+Therefore, she is bored with all the etcetras. The case is
+comprehensible and comprehensive: it needs the exercise of imagination
+stimulated by prescience, conscience, patience...."
+
+The others yawned and began to collect dictionaries, and fearing that
+they might be tempted to fling them at him after they had found the
+meaning of his big words, he ceased.
+
+"I agree," said the president of the assembly, the oldest wizard,
+"only I diagnose the disease in simpler form. The princess is in
+love."
+
+That set them all jabbering together, and they finally agreed to
+report to the king that the time had arrived when the princess should
+marry, so that she should be able to go away to a new land, amid other
+people and different scenes.
+
+The king agreed reluctantly, for he dearly loved his daughter and
+wished her to remain with him always if possible. Heralds and
+messengers were sent out far and wide, and very soon a procession of
+suitors for the princess' hand began to file past the lady. They were
+princes of all shapes and sizes, of all complexions and colors; some
+were resplendent with jewels, others were followed by retinues of
+slaves bearing gifts; a few entered the competition by proxy--that is,
+they sent somebody else to see the lady first and pronounce judgment
+upon her. These she dismissed summarily, declaring that they were
+disqualified by the rules of fair play.
+
+When all the entrants had been inspected by the king, he said to his
+daughter:
+
+"Pick the one you love the best, Solima dear."
+
+"None," she answered promptly.
+
+"Dear, dear me--that is very awkward. We shall have to return the
+entrance fees--I mean the presents," he said.
+
+That prospect did not seem to worry the princess in the least; nor did
+her father's appeal not to belittle him in the eyes of his fellow
+monarchs have the slightest effect on her.
+
+"At least," he said, growing impatient, "tell me what you do want."
+
+"I will marry any man," she replied, while he wondered gravely what
+else she could have said, "who is not such a fool as to think himself
+the only person in the world who is of consequence."
+
+The king was not without wisdom, and he knew that this remark is
+foolish, or sensible, according to the mood in which it is said, and
+the thoughts behind it.
+
+"You do not regard any one of the princes," the king said gently, "as
+worthy of----"
+
+"Any woman," interrupted his daughter. "Listen, my father, you have
+tried to make me happy always and until recently you have succeeded. I
+wish to obey you in all things, even in the choice of a husband. Would
+you really have me marry any one of these fools? Be not angry. Did
+any one reveal a gleam of wisdom, or common-sense? Were they not all
+just ridiculous fops? Let me enumerate:
+
+"There was Prince Hafiz who talked only of his wars--of the men--aye
+and women and children--his soldiers had butchered. The soldiers
+fought and Prince Hafiz posed before me as a warrior and hero. I will
+not be queen in a land where people cannot live in peace.
+
+"Then there was Prince Aziz who boasted that he spends all his life
+with his horses and dogs and falcons in the hunting field. He knows
+the needs of beasts, but not of men. I will not be the bride of a
+prince who allows his subjects to starve in wretchedness and poverty
+while he enjoys himself with the slaughter of wild beasts.
+
+"Prince Guzman had nothing else to impart to me but his taste in
+jewels and dress. Prince Abdul knew exactly how many bottles of wine
+he drank daily, but he could not tell me how many schools there were
+in his city. Prince Hassan had not the slightest notion how the
+majority of his people lived, whether by trading, or thieving, or
+working, or begging."
+
+King Zuliman listened intently. This was a singular speech for a
+princess, but reason told him this was profoundest wisdom.
+
+"Oh, I am tired," burst out Princess Solima, in tears. "I have no
+desire for life if to be a ruler over men and women and children means
+that you must take no interest in their welfare. My father, hearken. I
+will not be queen in a land where the king thinks the people live only
+to make him great. I shall be proud and happy to reign where the king
+understands that it is his duty to make his people happy and his
+country prosperous and peaceful."
+
+The king left his daughter, and, deeply concerned, sought his wizards.
+
+"My daughter has been born thousands of years before her time," he
+declared, petulantly. "The stars have played a trick on me, and have
+sent me my great-great-great-great ever so much great granddaughter
+out of her turn."
+
+The magicians did not laugh at this: they thought it a wonderfully
+sage remark, and after much mysterious whispering among themselves and
+consultation of old books, and gazing into crystals, they informed the
+king that the stars foretold that Princess Solima would marry a poor
+man!
+
+They flattered themselves on their cleverness in arriving at this
+conclusion, which they deduced from the princess contempt for
+princes.
+
+King Zuliman's patience was exhausted by this time. In a towering
+rage, he told his daughter what the wizards had said, and when she
+merely said, "How nice," he swore he would imprison her in his
+fortress in the sea.
+
+His majesty meant it, too, and at once had the fortress, which stood
+on a tiny island miles from land, luxuriously furnished and fitted up
+for his daughter's reception. Thither she was conveyed secretly one
+night, but to her father's disgust she made no protest.
+
+"I shall be free for a while," she said, "of all the absurd flummery
+of the palace."
+
+
+II.
+
+The people were sad when the princess disappeared. She had been good
+and kind to them, had understood them, and they did not know whether
+she had died, or had deserted them without a word of farewell, though
+that was hardly possible. All that they knew was that the king
+suddenly became morose and sullen. Strangely enough, he began to take
+an interest in the poor. He asked them funny questions--for a king.
+How did they earn money? What was their occupation? Had they any
+pleasures? And what were their thoughts?
+
+Young people laughed, but old men said the king intended to promote
+laws which would do good. Anyway, the king's interest did make his
+subjects happier, and the officers of state became very busy with
+projects and schemes for improving trade, providing work and for
+educating children.
+
+"They do say," remarked one old woman, who kept an apple stall in the
+market place, "that a law will be passed that the sun should shine
+every day, and that it should never rain on the days of the market.
+Ah! that will be good," and she rubbed her hands at the prospect of
+not having to crouch under a leaky awning when the rain came pelting
+down, or over a tiny fire in a brass bowl in the winter, to thaw her
+frozen and benumbed hands.
+
+Even the laborers in the fields, who were mainly dull-witted people
+with no learning whatsoever, heard the news; and they actually
+pondered over it and wondered whether it meant that they would never
+more be hungry and wretchedly clad.
+
+One who thought deeply was a shepherd lad. He loved to bask lazily in
+the sun, to listen to the birds chirruping, and to all the sounds of
+the air and the fields and the forests. He seemed to understand them;
+the murmuring of the brooks on a warm day was like a gentle cradle
+song lulling him to sleep; on a day when the wind howled, its sulky
+growl as it dashed over the stones warned him that floods might come,
+and that he must move his flocks to safer ground.
+
+"I wonder," he mused, "if I shall learn to read the written word and
+even to pen it myself. I could then write the song of the brook and
+the birds, so that others should know it."
+
+And musing thus, he fell asleep. He slept longer than usual, and when
+he awoke, he was alarmed to see that the sun had set. Darkness was
+falling fast, and he had his flock to see safely home. The cows and
+sheep had begun to collect themselves as a matter of habit, and it was
+their noise that woke him. They were already trudging the well-known
+route, and all he had to do in following was to see that none strayed,
+or tumbled into the brook.
+
+All went well until he came in sight of home. Then a huge bird, a ziz,
+bigger than several houses, appeared in the sky and swooped down on
+the cows and sheep.
+
+The shepherd beat the monster off as long as he could with a big
+stick, while the affrighted animals scampered hastily homeward. The
+ziz however, was evidently determined not to be balked of its prey.
+It dug its talons deep into the flanks of an ox that had stampeded in
+the wrong direction and was lagging behind the others.
+
+The poor animal bellowed in pain, and the shepherd, rushing to the
+rescue, seized it by the forelegs as it was being raised from the
+ground. Curling his leg round the slender trunk of a tree, the young
+man began a struggle with the ziz. The mighty bird, its eyes glowing
+like two signal lamps, tried to strike at him with his tremendous
+beak, one stroke of which would have been fatal.
+
+In the fast gathering darkness it missed, fortunately for the
+shepherd, but the thrust of the beak caught the upper part of the tree
+trunk. It snapped under the blow, and the shepherd was compelled to
+release his hold. He still gripped tightly the forelegs of the ox, but
+with naught now to hold it back, the great bird had no difficulty in
+rising into the air. Before he fully grasped what had happened, the
+shepherd found himself high above the trees.
+
+To release his hold would have meant destruction. He held on grimly,
+clutching the legs of the ox with all his might, and even swinging up
+his feet to grip the hind-legs of the animal.
+
+Higher and higher the ziz rose into the air, spreading its vast wings
+majestically, and flying silently and swiftly over the land. It made
+the shepherd giddy to glance down at the ground scurrying rapidly past
+far below him. So he closed his eyes, but opening them again for a
+moment, he was horrified to notice that the bird was now flying over
+the sea on which the moon was shining with silvery radiance. With a
+heavy sigh he gave himself up for lost, and began to consider whether
+it would be better to release his hold and fall down and be drowned,
+rather than be devoured by the gigantic bird.
+
+Before he could make up his mind, the bird stopped, and the shepherd
+was bumped down on something with such violence that for a moment he
+was stunned. Looking around, when he regained his senses, he saw that
+he was on the top of a tower in the sea. Beside him was the carcass of
+the ox. Above them stood the ziz, its eyes glowing like twin fires,
+its beak thrust down to strike.
+
+With a quick movement, the shepherd drew a knife which he carried in
+his girdle, and struck at the opening of the descending beak. The bird
+uttered a shrill cry of pain as the knife pierced its tongue, and in a
+few moments it had disappeared in the air. So swift was its flight
+that almost instantly it was a mere speck in the moonlit sky.
+
+Thoroughly exhausted, the shepherd slept until awakened by the sound
+of a voice. Opening his eyes, he saw that the sun had risen. Above him
+stood a woman of ravishing beauty. He sprang to his feet and bowed
+low.
+
+"Who are you?" asked Princess Solima, for she it was. "And tell me how
+came you here with this carcass of an ox, so distant from the land, so
+high up as this tower in the sea?"
+
+"Of a truth I scarcely know," answered the shepherd. "It may be that I
+am bewitched, or dreaming, for my adventure passes all belief," and he
+related it.
+
+The princess made no comment, but motioned to him that he should
+follow her. He did so and she placed food before him. He was
+ravenously hungry and did full justice to the meal. Then she led him
+to the bath chamber.
+
+"Wash and robe thyself," she said, giving him some clothes, "and then
+I have much to inquire of thee."
+
+The shepherd felt ever so much better when he had bathed, and then
+attired in the strange garments she had given him, he appeared before
+the princess.
+
+She gazed at him so long and searchingly that he blushed in confusion.
+
+"Thou art fair to look upon and of manly stature," said the princess.
+
+The shepherd could only stammer a reply, but after a while he said,
+"Fair lady, who and what thou art I know not. Such beauty as thine is
+the right of princesses only. I am but a poor shepherd."
+
+"And may not a shepherd be handsome?" she asked. "Tell me: who hath
+laid down a law that only royal personages may be fair to behold? I
+have seen princes of vile countenance."
+
+She stopped suddenly, for she did not wish to betray her secret. They
+sat in a little room in the tower, unknown to the many guards down
+below, and, although the shepherd protested, the princess waited on
+him herself, bringing him food, and cushions on which he could rest
+that night.
+
+Next morning they ascended the tower together.
+
+"I come here every morning," said the princess.
+
+"Why?" the shepherd asked.
+
+"To see if my husband cometh," was the answer.
+
+"Who is he?" asked the shepherd.
+
+The princess laughed.
+
+"I know not," she said. "Some mornings when I have stood here and
+grieved at my loneliness, I have felt inclined to make a vow that I
+would marry the first man who came hither."
+
+The shepherd was silent. Then he looked boldly into the princess' eyes
+and said: "Thou hast told me I am the first man who has come to thee.
+I am emboldened to declare my love for thee, a feeling that swept over
+me the moment my eyes beheld thee. Who thou art, what thou art, I know
+not, I care not. Shall we be husband and wife?"
+
+The princess gave him her hand.
+
+"It is ordained," she said, and thus their troth was plighted.
+
+"We cannot remain here forever," said the princess, presently. "Canst
+thou, husband of my heart's choice, devise some means of escape?"
+
+He looked down at the carcass of the ox thoughtfully for a few
+moments.
+
+"I have it," he exclaimed, excitedly. "It is a safe assumption that
+the monster bird that brought me will return for his meal. He can then
+carry us away. If the heavens approve," he said, fervently, "thus it
+shall be."
+
+That very night the ziz returned and feasted on the ox, and while it
+was fully occupied appeasing its hunger, the shepherd managed to
+attach strong ropes to its legs. To this he attached a large basket in
+which he and his bride made themselves comfortable with cushions. Nor
+did they forget to take a store of food.
+
+Toward morning the ziz rose slowly into the air, and the lovers
+clutched each other tightly as the basket spun round and round. The
+giant bird did not seem to notice its burden at all, and after a
+moment it began a swift flight over the sea. After many hours a city
+became visible, and as it was approached the shepherd could note the
+excitement caused by the appearance of the ziz. The bird was getting
+tired, and having at last noticed the weight tied to its feet was
+evidently seeking to get rid of it.
+
+Flying low it dashed the basket against a tower. The occupants feared
+they might be killed, but suddenly the cords snapped, the basket
+rested on the parapet of the tower, and the bird flew swiftly away.
+
+No sooner had the shepherd extricated himself and his bride from the
+basket, than armed guards appeared. At sight of the princess they
+lowered their weapons and fell upon their faces.
+
+"Inform my father I have returned," she said, and they immediately
+rose to do her bidding.
+
+"Know you where you are?" asked the shepherd.
+
+"Yes; this is the king's palace," was the reply.
+
+Soon the king appeared, and with almost hysterical joy he embraced his
+daughter.
+
+"I am happy to see thee again," he cried. "I crave thy pardon for
+immuring thee in the sea fortress. Thou shalt tell me all thy
+adventures."
+
+Then he caught sight of the shepherd.
+
+"Who is this?" he demanded.
+
+"Thy son-in-law, my husband," said the princess, her joy showing in
+her bright eyes.
+
+"What prince art thou?" asked the king.
+
+"A prince among men," answered the princess quickly. "A man without
+riches, who comes from the people and will teach us their needs and
+how to rule them."
+
+The king bowed to the inevitable. He blessed his son-in-law and
+daughter, appointed them to rule over a province, and they settled
+down to make everybody thoroughly happy, contented and prosperous.
+
+   [Illustration: Then the door slowly opened and a figure in
+   white stood in the entry. (_Page 286_).]
+
+
+
+
+King Alexander's Adventures
+
+
+I. THE VISION OF VICTORY
+
+More than two thousand years ago there lived a king in the land of
+Macedon who was a great conqueror, and when his son, Alexander, was
+born, the soothsayers and the priestesses of the temples predicted
+that he would be a greater warrior than his father. Alexander was a
+wonderful boy, and his father, King Philip, was very proud of him when
+he tamed a spirited horse which nobody else could manage. The wisest
+philosophers of the day were Alexander's teachers, and when he was
+only sixteen years of age, Philip left him in charge of the country
+when he went to subdue Byzantium. Alexander was only twenty when he
+ascended the throne, but before then he had suppressed a rebellion and
+had proved himself possessed of exceptional daring and courage.
+
+"I shall conquer the whole world," he said, and although he only
+reigned thirteen years and died at the age of thirty-three, he
+accomplished his ambition. All the countries which were then known had
+to acknowledge his supremacy.
+
+King Alexander was a drunkard and very cruel, but he treated the Jews
+kindly. When they heard he had been victorious over Darius, king of
+Persia, who was their ruler, and that he was marching on Jerusalem,
+they became seriously alarmed. Jadua, the high priest, however,
+counseled the people to welcome Alexander with great ceremony.
+
+All the priests and the Levites donned their most gorgeous robes, the
+populace put on their holiday garb, and the streets of the city were
+gaily decorated with many colored banners and garlands of flowers. The
+night before Alexander arrived at the head of his army, a long
+procession was formed of the priests, the Levites, and the elders of
+the city, each carrying a lighted torch. At the gates of the city they
+awaited the approach of the mighty warrior.
+
+In the early morning, before the sun had risen, Alexander made his
+appearance and was astonished at the magnificent spectacle which met
+his gaze. At the head of the procession stood the high priest in his
+shining white robes, with the jewels of the ephod glittering on his
+breast. To the surprise of his generals, Alexander descended from his
+horse and bowed low before the high priest.
+
+"Like unto an angel dost thou appear to me," he said.
+
+"Let thy coming bring peace," replied Jadua.
+
+Parmenio, the chief of Alexander's generals, had promised the soldiers
+rich store of plunder in Jerusalem, and he approached the king and
+said:
+
+"Wherefore do you honor this priest of the Jews above all men?"
+
+"I will tell thee," answered Alexander. "In dreams have I often seen
+this dignified priest. Ever he bade me be of good courage and always
+did he predict victory for me. Shall I not then pay homage to my
+guardian angel?"
+
+Turning to the priest, he said, "Lead me to your Temple that I may
+offer up thanksgiving to the God of my guardian angel."
+
+It was now daylight, and the priests walked in procession before King
+Alexander past cheering multitudes of people. At the Temple the king
+removed his sandals, but the priests gave him a pair of jeweled
+slippers, fearing that he might slip on the pavement. The king was
+pleased with all that he saw and desired that a statue of himself, or
+a portrait, should be placed in the holy building.
+
+"That may not be," replied the high priest, "but in honor of thy visit
+all the boys born in Jerusalem this year shall be named Alexander."
+
+"It is well," said the king, much pleased; "ask of me what you will,
+and if it be in my power I shall grant it."
+
+"Mighty monarch," said Jadua, "we desire naught but to be permitted to
+serve our God according to our laws. Permit us to practice our
+religious observances free and unhindered. Grant also this privilege
+to the Jews who dwell in all thy dominions, and we shall ever pray for
+thy long life and triumph."
+
+"It is but little that ye ask," replied the king, "and that little is
+easily granted."
+
+The people cheered loudly when they heard the good news, and many Jews
+enrolled themselves in the army.
+
+Alexander stayed some time in Jerusalem, and messengers arrived from
+Canaan to ask him to compel the Jews to restore them their land.
+
+"It is written in the Books of Moses," they said, "that Canaan and its
+boundaries belong to the Canaanites."
+
+Gebiah, a hunchback, undertook to answer.
+
+"It is also written in the Books of Moses," he said, "'Cursed be
+Canaan; a servant shall he be unto his brethren.' The property of a
+slave belongs to his master, therefore Canaan is ours."
+
+Alexander gave the envoys of Canaan three days in which to reply to
+this, but they fled from Jerusalem.
+
+Messengers from Egypt came next, asking for the return of the gold and
+silver taken by the Israelites from the land of Pharaoh.
+
+"What says Gebiah to this?" asked Alexander.
+
+"We shall return the gold and silver," answered the hunchback, "when
+we have been paid for the many, many years of labor of our ancestors
+in Egypt."
+
+"Truly a wise answer," said Alexander, and he gave the Egyptians three
+days to consider it. But they also fled.
+
+When Alexander left Jerusalem he sought the advice of the wise men of
+Israel.
+
+"I desire," he said, "to conquer the land beyond the Mountains of
+Darkness in Africa; it is also my wish to fly above the clouds and
+behold the heavens, and also to descend into the depths of the sea and
+gaze with mine own eyes on the monsters of the deep."
+
+How to accomplish these things he was instructed by the wise men, but
+they warned him never to enter Babylon.
+
+"For shouldst thou ever enter the city of Babylon," they said, "thou
+wilt assuredly die."
+
+King Alexander thanked them for the advice and the warning, and set
+forth on his adventures.
+
+
+II. THE LAND OF DARKNESS AND THE GATE OF PARADISE
+
+After many days King Alexander came to the Mountains of Darkness.
+Acting on the advice of the wise men, he had provided himself with
+asses from the land of Libya, for they have the power of seeing in the
+dark, and also with a cord of great length. Mounted on the asses, he
+and his men plunged into the realms of darkness, unwinding the cord as
+they went, so that they might find their way back with it.
+
+Around them was blackest darkness and a silence that inspired the men
+with awe. The asses, however, picked their way through the tall trees
+that grew so high and so thick that not the least ray of light could
+penetrate. How many days they traveled thus they knew not, for day
+and night were alike. The men slept when they were tired, ate when
+they were hungry and trusted to the asses and the cord.
+
+At last when they emerged into the light they were almost blinded by
+the sun, and it was some time before they could see properly. Then, to
+their great astonishment, they found that there were no men in the
+land, only women, tall and finely proportioned, clothed in skins and
+armed with bows and arrows.
+
+"Who are ye?" asked Alexander.
+
+"We are the Amazons, women who are skilled in war and in the art of
+hunting," they answered.
+
+"Lead me to your queen," commanded Alexander, "and bid her surrender,
+for I am Alexander, the Great, of Macedon, and conqueror of the world.
+I fight not by night, for I scorn to steal victories in the dark, and
+my men are armed with magic spears of gold and silver and are
+therefore invincible."
+
+The queen of the Amazons appeared before him, a beautiful woman, with
+long raven hair.
+
+"Greeting to thee, mighty warrior," she said. "Hast thou come to slay
+women?"
+
+"Perchance it is you who will triumph over me," replied Alexander.
+
+The queen of the Amazons smiled.
+
+"Then shall it be said of thee," she replied, "that thou wert a
+valiant warrior who conquered the world, but was himself conquered by
+women. Is that to be your message to history?"
+
+King Alexander was a man of learning and of wisdom, as well as a great
+soldier, but the words of the queen of the Amazons were such that he
+could not answer. He bowed low before the queen and with a gesture
+indicated that he had naught to say.
+
+"Then it is to be peace," said the queen. "At least, before thy
+return, let me prepare for thee a banquet."
+
+In a hut made of logs and decorated with skins, a rough wooden table
+was placed before Alexander and on it was laid a loaf of gold.
+
+"Do ye eat bread of gold?" asked the king, much surprised.
+
+"Nay," replied the queen. "We are women of simple tastes, but thou art
+a mighty king. If thou didst but wish to eat ordinary bread in this
+land, why didst thou desire to conquer it? Is there no more bread in
+your own land that thou shouldst brave the dangers of the dark
+mountains to eat it here?"
+
+Alexander bowed his head on his breast. Never before had he felt
+ashamed.
+
+"I, Alexander of Macedon," he said, "was a fool until I came to the
+land beyond the Mountains of Darkness and learned wisdom from women."
+
+With all haste he returned through the land of eternal night on his
+Libyan asses. But in the flight the cord was broken. He had to trust
+entirely to the asses, and many long and weary days and nights did he
+journey before he saw the light once more.
+
+Alexander found himself in a new and beautiful land. There were no
+signs of human beings, nor of animals, and a river of the clearest
+water he had ever seen, flowed gently along. It was full of fish which
+the soldiers caught quite easily. But a strange thing happened when,
+after having cut up the fish ready for cooking, they took them to the
+river to clean them. All the fish came to life again; the pieces
+joined together and darted away in the water.
+
+At first Alexander would not believe this, but after he had made an
+experiment himself, he said: "Let all who are wounded bathe in this
+river, for surely it will cure every ill. This must be the River of
+Life which flows from Paradise."
+
+He determined to follow the stream to its source and find the Garden
+of Eden. As he marched along, the valley through which the stream
+flowed, became narrower and narrower, until, at last, only one person
+could pass. Alexander continued his journey on foot with a few of his
+generals walking behind. Mountains, thickly covered with greenest
+verdure, towered up on either side, the silent river narrowed until it
+seemed a mere streak of silver flowing gently along, and there was a
+delicious odor in the air.
+
+At length, where the mountains on either side met, Alexander's path
+was barred by a great wall of rock. From a tiny fissure the River of
+Life trickled forth, and beside it was a door of gold, beautifully
+ornamented. Before this door Alexander paused. Then, drawing his
+sword, he struck the Gate of Paradise with the hilt.
+
+There was no answer, and Alexander knocked a second time. Again there
+was no reply, and a third time Alexander knocked with some impatience.
+
+Then the door slowly opened, and a figure in white stood in the entry.
+In its hand it held a skull, made of gold, with eyes of rubies.
+
+"Who knocks so rudely at the Gate of Paradise?" asked the angel.
+
+"I, Alexander, the Great, of Macedon, the conqueror of the world,"
+answered Alexander, proudly. "I demand admittance to Paradise."
+
+"Hast thou brought peace to the whole world that thou sayest thou art
+its conqueror?" demanded the angel.
+
+Alexander made no answer.
+
+"Only the righteous who bring peace to mankind may enter Paradise
+alive," said the angel, gently.
+
+Alexander hung his head abashed; then, in a voice broken with emotion,
+he begged that at least he should be given a memento of his visit.
+
+The angel handed him the skull, saying: "Take this and ponder o'er its
+meaning."
+
+The angel vanished and the golden door closed.
+
+The skull was so heavy that, with all his great strength, Alexander
+could scarcely carry it. When he placed it in a balance to ascertain
+its weight, he found that it was heavier than all his treasures. None
+of his wise men could explain this mystery and so Alexander sought out
+a Jew among his soldiers, one who had been a student with the rabbis.
+
+Taking a handfull of earth the Jew placed it over the eyes and the
+skull was then as light as air.
+
+"The meaning is plain," said the Jew. "Not until the human eye is
+covered with earth--in the grave--is it satisfied. Not until after
+death can man hope to enter Paradise."
+
+Alexander was anxious to hasten away from that strange region, but
+many of his soldiers declared that they would settle down by the banks
+of the River of Life. Next morning, however, the river had vanished.
+Where all had been beautiful was now only a desolate plain, bounded by
+bare rocky mountains, reaching to the clouds.
+
+With heavy hearts Alexander's men began their march back.
+
+
+III--THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD
+
+One day a strange rumbling noise was heard, and toward evening the
+army halted by the side of a river even more mysterious than the River
+of Life. It was not a river of water, but of sand and stones. It
+flowed along with a roaring sound and every few minutes great stones
+were shot up into the air.
+
+Alexander asked the Jewish soldier if he could explain.
+
+"This," said the Jew, "is the Sambatyon, the river which ceases to
+flow on the Sabbath."
+
+"And what lies beyond?"
+
+"The land of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel," was the answer. "None
+have seen this country."
+
+"Cannot the river then be crossed?" asked Alexander.
+
+"Not by all who wish to cross."
+
+The next day was Friday, and Alexander waited until the evening to see
+what would happen.
+
+An hour before sunset, at the time of the commencement of Sabbath, the
+river ceased to flow. The rumbling died down and the Sambatyon
+appeared like a broad expanse of shining yellow sand.
+
+"To-morrow I shall cross with my army," said Alexander, but next
+morning the Sambatyon was enveloped in dense black clouds.
+
+Alexander could not see a yard in front of him, and when he ventured
+on to the sand, the horses sank into it. Flames were also seen in the
+clouds. After the sun had set and the Sabbath had ended, the clouds
+cleared away, the rumbling began again and the sand flowed once more
+like a river.
+
+Alexander was disappointed for a while, but at last he consoled
+himself with the thought that he had conquered the whole world.
+
+"Now must I carry out my project of ascending above the clouds and
+afterward descending into the sea," he said, and he proceeded to carry
+out the instructions given to him in Jerusalem.
+
+Four huge eagles were caught and chained to a big box. At each end of
+the box was a pole, and on the end of each a brilliant jewel was
+placed. When all was in readiness, Alexander entered the box and
+carefully closed the doors.
+
+"Thus did Nimrod ascend into the sky," he said, "but he was a fool. He
+shot arrows into the air, and when the angels returned them stained
+with blood, he thought he had killed God. I desire only to see the
+heavens, not to conquer them."
+
+He gave the signal, and the heads of the eagles chained to the poles
+were uncovered. The moment they saw the dazzling jewels they tried to
+snatch them, but could not. So they continued to rise higher and
+higher until the box was carried above the clouds. By looking through
+the windows at the top and bottom of the box, Alexander could see how
+high he was. For a long time he saw nothing but clouds, which appeared
+like a vast sea beneath him, but when these cleared away, he saw the
+earth again.
+
+So high was he that the world looked like a ball. Until then he had
+not known the earth was round. The seas enveloping the greater part of
+the globe looked like writhing serpents.
+
+"Now I can understand," he said, "why the wise rabbis say that the
+great fish, the leviathan, surrounds the world with its tail in its
+mouth."
+
+Then he looked above. The sun seemed further away than ever.
+
+"Heaven is not so near as I thought," he said, and seeing himself but
+a tiny speck miles above the earth and still further away from the
+heavens, he grew afraid for the first time in his life. With a stick
+he knocked the jewels from the poles outside the box, and the eagles,
+seeing them no longer, began to descend. Alexander breathed more
+freely when he was safe on the ground again, but he would not tell his
+generals what he had seen.
+
+"Wait until I have descended into the sea," he said.
+
+Under his orders, a diving bell of clear thick glass, bound with iron,
+had been constructed. Alexander entered the bell, all the joints were
+then tightly secured with pitch, and the bell lowered from a ship into
+the ocean by means of chains.
+
+Before he entered, Alexander took the precaution to put on a magic
+ring, which his wife, Roxana, had sent him. This, she said, would
+protect him against the monsters of the deep.
+
+Down, down into the watery deep sank the bell, and for some time
+Alexander could see nothing. When his eyes grew accustomed to the
+strange, greenish light, he noticed multitudes of queer fish darting
+round about the bell. Many were of a shape never conjectured by man,
+some were so tiny that he could scarcely see them, and others so large
+that one of these monsters actually tried to swallow the bell. But
+Alexander showed the magic ring which glowed like a blazing star and
+the monster darted away.
+
+So deep down sank the bell that no light could at last penetrate from
+the sun. Most of the fish, however, were luminous, and Alexander was
+almost dazzled by the changing of the brilliant lights as the denizens
+of the deep swam swiftly around the bell. Shells of wondrous beauty
+did he see, together with pearls of great size. The treasures of the
+deep were revealed to him, and he saw that the riches on land were as
+nothing compared with them. He saw the coral insects at their work of
+building, and of entrancing beauty growing in the oozy bed of the
+ocean.
+
+"I wonder," said Alexander, "if I dare venture forth and take some of
+these beautiful gems back with me. The ring will protect me."
+
+Alexander was one of the bravest men that ever lived, and he
+immediately set about trying to open the bell. In doing so, he rattled
+the chains by which it was lowered, and Robus, the officer in charge,
+took this as a signal to raise the bell.
+
+In his excitement he dropped the chains into the sea, and they fell
+with a big crash on the bell and smashed it to pieces. When Robus saw
+what had happened, he cast himself into the sea in a gallant endeavor
+to rescue his master.
+
+Down below in the glittering depths of the ocean, Alexander saw the
+fish hurrying away in great fear and he heard the rattling of the
+chains as they dropped through the water. He looked up and saw them
+crash on the bell. A terrible, buzzing sound filled his ears, a
+thousand dazzling colors danced before his eyes and made him giddy.
+
+With great presence of mind he remembered his ring, and immediately a
+big fish swam underneath him, raised him from the wreckage of the bell
+and rose swiftly to the surface. Alexander emerged just as Robus dived
+into the sea. At once he showed the fish his ring and it dived and
+brought his gallant officer safe to his side.
+
+"I have seen enough," said Alexander, when he was safe on land, "more
+than mortals should see. I have learned that the earth is for man and
+that the air above and the waters beneath are for the other and more
+wonderful creatures of God."
+
+He made preparations to return to Macedon, but his army was wearied
+with long marching and begged of him to let them rest. Accordingly, he
+halted outside Babylon. Sickness seized him, but he remembered the
+warning of the rabbis and would not enter the city. For days he
+wandered around until his soldiers showed signs of mutiny. Then,
+throwing caution to the winds, Alexander entered Babylon.
+
+At once his illness took a serious turn, and in a few days he died.
+When the Jews heard the news, they mourned him sincerely, for they
+knew that they had lost a good friend. All that remains as a memorial
+of Alexander is the city of Alexandria, which he founded in Egypt. It
+stands to this day.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+    +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+    | Typographical errors corrected in text:                   |
+    |                                                           |
+    | Page 129: 'I, Balam, am' replaced with 'I, Bilam, am'     |
+    | Page 132: 'in his graden' replaced with 'in his garden'   |
+    | Page 217: 'I preceive' replaced with 'I perceive'         |
+    |                                                           |
+    +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JEWISH FAIRY TALES AND LEGENDS***
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