{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_26711/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_26711","id":"gutenberg_26711","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26711","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales"],"text":"E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Jeannie Howse, and the Project\nGutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net)\n\n\n\nNote: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n      file which includes the original illustrations.\n      See 26711-h.htm or 26711-h.zip:\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/6/7/1/26711/26711-h/26711-h.htm)\n      or\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/6/7/1/26711/26711-h.zip)\n\n\n      +-----------------------------------------------------------+\n      | Transcriber's Note:                                       |\n      |                                                           |\n      | Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has     |\n      | been preserved.                                           |\n      |                                                           |\n      | Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For     |\n      | a complete list, please see the end of this document.     |\n      |                                                           |\n      +-----------------------------------------------------------+\n\n\n\n\n\nJEWISH FAIRY TALES AND LEGENDS\n\n   [Illustration: \"Where is the door?\" (Page 21)]\n\nJEWISH FAIRY TALES AND LEGENDS\n\nby\n\n\"Aunt Naomi\"\n(GERTRUDE LANDA)\n\n    When Childhood's toys have passed away,\n    May Books become another play.\n    Then may each book a blessing give\n    And bring you pleasure while you live.\n\n             --_Ruth Landa._\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSixteenth Thousand\n\nNew York\nBloch Publishing Co., Inc.\n\"_The Jewish Book Concern_\"\n1943\n\nCopyright, 1919,\nBloch Publishing Company.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThe very cordial welcome given to my earlier volume of \"Jewish Fairy\nTales and Fables\" has prompted me to draw further upon Rabbinic lore\nin the interest, chiefly, of the children. How the wise Rabbis of old\ntook into account the necessities of the little ones, whose minds they\nunderstood so perfectly, is obvious from such legends as those dealing\nwith boyish exploits of the great Biblical characters, Abraham, Moses,\nand David. These I have rewritten from the stories in the Talmud and\nMidrash in a manner suitable for the children of to-day.\n\nI have ventured also beyond the confines of these two wonderful\ncompilations. There is a wealth of delightful imagination in the\nlegends and folk-lore of the Jews of a later period which is almost\nentirely unknown to children. I have drawn also on these sources for\nsome of the stories here presented. My desire is to give boys and\ngirls something Jewish which they may be able to regard as companion\ndelights to the treasury of general fairy-lore and childish romance.\n\n                                                 AUNT NAOMI.\nLONDON, _March, 1919_.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nTHE PALACE OF THE EAGLES                                            15\n\nTHE GIANT OF THE FLOOD                                              27\n\nTHE FAIRY PRINCESS OF ERGETZ                                        35\n\nTHE HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY PALACE                                        67\n\nTHE RED SLIPPER                                                     77\n\nTHE STAR CHILD                                                      87\n\nABI FRESSAH'S FEAST                                                 99\n\nTHE BEGGAR KING                                                    113\n\nTHE QUARREL OF THE CAT AND DOG                                     119\n\nTHE WATER-BABE                                                     127\n\nSINBAD OF THE TALMUD                                               133\n\nTHE OUTCAST PRINCE                                                 151\n\nTHE STORY OF BOSTANAI                                              163\n\nFROM SHEPHERD-BOY TO KING                                          173\n\nTHE MAGIC PALACE                                                   179\n\nTHE SLEEP OF ONE HUNDRED YEARS                                     187\n\nKING FOR THREE DAYS                                                195\n\nTHE PALACE IN THE CLOUDS                                           203\n\nTHE POPE'S GAME OF CHESS                                           213\n\nTHE SLAVE'S FORTUNE                                                225\n\nTHE PARADISE IN THE SEA                                            235\n\nTHE RABBI'S BOGEY-MAN                                              243\n\nTHE FAIRY FROG                                                     251\n\nTHE PRINCESS OF THE TOWER                                          259\n\nKING ALEXANDER'S ADVENTURES                                        277\n   a. THE VISION OF VICTORY                                        277\n   b. THE LAND OF DARKNESS                                         282\n   c. THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD                                     288\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n                                                                  PAGE\n\n\"Where is the door?\"                                    _Frontispiece_\n\nOg, riding gaily on the unicorn behind the Ark, was quite happy     26\n\nA strange crowd of demons of all shapes and sizes poured into\nthe synagogue with threatening gestures                             36\n\nHe could not see what Sarah saw--a figure, a spirit, clutching\na big stick                                                         68\n\n\"The big fellow here got angry, beat the others and smashed\nthem to bits\"                                                       88\n\nHe sprang from his stool, spluttering and cursing                  100\n\nHe found a beautiful youth, clad in a deer skin, lying on the\nground                                                             112\n\nWith a cry, he put his fingers in his mouth to ease the pain\nand burned his tongue                                              126\n\nThey saw the land rise up like a huge mountain and a tremendous\nstream of water gush forth                                         134\n\nHe looked up and beheld the most beautiful woman his eyes had\never seen                                                          150\n\nAs the Shah raised his sword an old man stepped from behind the\ntree                                                               162\n\nBehind him a fierce roar indicated that the lion was in pursuit    172\n\nThe gates opened from within and the Arab stood before them        178\n\nThe sun was shining on a noble city of pinnacles and minarets      188\n\nHe heard a cry of alarm and saw a huge stone fall on the\nsoldier riding behind him                                          194\n\nThe four youths mounted the eagles which flew aloft to the\nextremity of their cords                                           202\n\n\"Thou canst only be my long lost son Elkanan!\"                     214\n\nHe crouched on his throne and imagined he saw angels and demons\nand fairies                                                        234\n\nThe monster was battering down the door of the synagogue           244\n\nHanina and his wife followed the giant frog                        252\n\nThe giant bird did not seem to notice its burden at all            258\n\nThen the door slowly opened and a figure in white stood in the\nentry                                                              276\n\n\n\n\nJEWISH FAIRY TALES AND LEGENDS\n\nThe Palace of the Eagles\n\n\nEast of the Land of the Rising Sun there dwelled a king who spent all\nhis days and half his nights in pleasure. His kingdom was on the edge\nof the world, according to the knowledge of those times, and almost\nentirely surrounded by the sea. Nobody seemed to care what lay beyond\nthe barrier of rocks that shut off the land from the rest of the\nworld. For the matter of that, nobody appeared to trouble much about\nanything in that kingdom.\n\nMost of the people followed the example of the king and led idle,\ncareless lives, giving no thought to the future. The king regarded the\ntask of governing his subjects as a big nuisance; he did not care to\nbe worried with proposals concerning the welfare of the masses, and\ndocuments brought to him by his advisors for signature were never\nread. For aught he knew they may have referred to the school\nregulations of the moon, instead of the laws of trading and such like\npublic matters.\n\n\"Don't bother me,\" was his usual remark. \"You are my advisors and\nofficers of state. Deal with affairs as you think best.\"\n\nAnd off he would go to his beloved hunting which was his favorite\npastime.\n\nThe land was fertile, and nobody had ever entertained an idea that bad\nweather might some year affect the crops and cause a scarcity of\ngrain. They took no precautions to lay in stocks of wheat, and so when\none summer there was a great lack of rain and the fields were parched,\nthe winter that followed was marked by suffering. The kingdom was\nfaced by famine, and the people did not like it. They did not know\nwhat to do, and when they appealed to the king, he could not help\nthem. Indeed, he could not understand the difficulty. He passed it off\nvery lightly.\n\n\"I am a mighty hunter,\" he said. \"I can always kill enough beasts to\nprovide a sufficiency of food.\"\n\nBut the drought had withered away the grass and the trees, and the\nshortage of such food had greatly reduced the number of animals. The\nking found the forests empty of deer and birds. Still he failed to\nrealize the gravity of the situation and what he considered an\nexceedingly bright idea struck him.\n\n\"I will explore the unknown territory beyond the barrier of rocky\nhills,\" he said. \"Surely there will I find a land of plenty. And, at\nleast\" he added, \"it will be a pleasant adventure with good hunting.\"\n\nA great expedition was therefore arranged, and the king and his\nhunting companions set forth to find a path over the rocks. This was\nnot at all difficult, and on the third day, a pass was discovered\namong the crags and peaks that formed the summit of the barrier, and\nthe king saw the region beyond.\n\nIt seemed a vast and beautiful land, stretching away as far as the eye\ncould see in a forest of huge trees. Carefully, the hunters descended\nthe other side of the rock barrier and entered the unknown land.\n\nIt seemed uninhabited. Nor was there any sign of beast or bird of any\nkind. No sound disturbed the stillness of the forest, no tracks were\nvisible. As well as the hunters could make out, no foot had ever\ntrodden the region before. Even nature seemed at rest. The trees were\nall old, their trunks gnarled into fantastic shapes, their leaves\nyellow and sere as if growth had stopped ages ago.\n\nAltogether the march through the forest was rather eerie, and the\nhunters proceeded in single file, which added to the impressiveness of\nthe strange experience. The novelty, however, made it pleasant to the\nking, and he kept on his way for four days.\n\nThen the forest ended abruptly, and the explorers came to a vast open\nplain, a desert, through which a wide river flowed. Far beyond rose a\nmountain capped by rocks of regular shape. At any rate, they appeared\nto be rocks, but the distance was too great to enable anyone to speak\nwith certainty.\n\n\"Water,\" said the vizier, \"is a sign of life.\"\n\nSo the king decided to continue as far as the mountain. A ford was\ndiscovered in the river, and once on the other side it was possible to\nmake out the rocks crowning the mountain. They looked too regular to\nbe mere rocks, and on approaching nearer the king was sure that a huge\nbuilding must be at the top of the mountain. When they arrived quite\nclose, there was no doubt about it. Either a town, or a palace, stood\non the summit, and it was decided to make the ascent next day.\n\nDuring the night no sound was heard, but to everybody's surprise a\ndistinct path up the mountain was noticed in the morning. It was so\novergrown with weeds and moss and straggling creepers that it was\nobvious it had not been used for a long time. The ascent was\naccordingly difficult, but half way up the first sign of life, noticed\nsince the expedition began, made itself visible.\n\nIt was an eagle. Suddenly it flew down from the mountain top and\ncircled above the hunters, screaming, but making no attempt to attack.\n\nAt length the summit was gained. It was a flat plateau of great\nexpanse, almost the whole of which was covered by an enormous building\nof massive walls and stupendous towers.\n\n\"This is the palace of a great monarch,\" said the king.\n\nBut no entrance of any kind could be seen. The rest of the day was\nspent in wandering round, but nowhere was a door, or window, or\nopening visible. It was decided to make a more serious effort next\nmorning to gain entry.\n\nHowever, it seemed a greater puzzle than ever. At length, one of the\nmost venturesome of the party discovered an eagle's nest on one of the\nsmallest towers, and with great difficulty he secured the bird and\nbrought it down to the king. His majesty bade one of his wise men,\nMuflog, learned in bird languages, to speak to it. He did so.\n\nIn a harsh croaking voice, the eagle replied, \"I am but a young bird,\nonly seven centuries old. I know naught. On a tower higher than that\non which I dwell, is the eyrie of my father. He may be able to give\nyou information.\"\n\nMore he would not say. The only thing to do was to climb the higher\ntower and question the father eagle. This was done, and the bird\nanswered:\n\n\"On a tower still higher dwells my father, and on yet a higher tower\nmy grandfather, who is two thousand years old. He may know something.\nI know nothing.\"\n\nAfter considerable difficulty the topmost tower was reached and the\nvenerable bird discovered. He seemed asleep and was only awakened\nafter much coaxing. Then he surveyed the hunters warily.\n\n\"Let me see, let me think,\" he muttered slowly. \"I did hear, when I\nwas a tiny eagle chick, but a few years old--that was long, long\nago--that my great-grandfather had said that his great-grandfather had\ntold him he had heard that long, long, long ago--oh, ever so much\nlonger than that--a king lived in this palace; that he died and left\nit to the eagles; and that in the course of many, many, many thousands\nof years the door had been covered up by the dust brought by the\nwinds.\"\n\n\"Where is the door?\" asked Muflog.\n\nThat was a puzzle the ancient bird could not answer readily. He\nthought and thought and fell asleep and had to be kept being awakened\nuntil at last he remembered.\n\n\"When the sun shines in the morning,\" he croaked, \"its first ray falls\non the door.\"\n\nThen, worn out with all his thinking and talking, he fell asleep\nagain.\n\nThere was no rest for the party that night. They all watched to make\ncertain of seeing the first ray of the rising sun strike the palace.\nWhen it did so, the spot was carefully noted. But no door could be\nseen. Digging was therefore begun and after many hours, an opening was\nfound.\n\nThrough this an entrance was effected into the palace. What a\nwonderful and mysterious place it was, all overgrown with the weeds of\ncenturies! Tangled masses of creepers lay everywhere--over what were\nonce trimly kept pathways, and almost completely hiding the lower\nbuildings. In the crevices of the walls, roots had insinuated\nthemselves, and by their growth had forced the stones apart. It was\nall a terrible scene of desolation. The king's men had to hack a way\nlaboriously through the wilderness of weeds with their swords to the\ncentral building, and when they did so they came to a door on which\nwas an inscription cut deep into the wood. The language was unknown to\nall but Muflog, who deciphered it as follows:\n\n    \"We, the Dwellers in this Palace, lived for many years in\n    Comfort and Luxury. Then Hunger came. We had made no\n    preparation. We had amassed jewels in abundance but not Corn. We\n    ground Pearls and Rubies to fine flour, but could make no Bread.\n    Wherefore we die, bequeathing this Palace to the eagles who will\n    devour our bodies and build their eyries on our towers.\"\n\nA dread silence fell on the whole party when Muflog read these strange\nwords, and the king turned pale. This warning from the dead past was\nmaking the adventure far from enjoyable. Some of the party suggested\nthe immediate abandonment of the expedition and the prompt return\nhome. They feared hidden dangers now. But the king remained resolute.\n\n\"I must investigate this to the end,\" he said in a firm voice. \"Those\nwho are seized by fear may return. I will go on, if needs be, alone.\"\n\nEncouraged by these words, the hunters decided to remain with the\nking. One of them began to batter at the door, but the king was\nanxious to preserve the inscription, and after more cutting away of\nweeds, the key was seen to be sticking in the keyhole. Unlocking the\ndoor, however, was no light task, for ages of rust had accumulated.\nWhen finally this was accomplished the door creaked heavily on its\nhinges and a musty smell came from the dank corridor that was\nrevealed.\n\nThe explorers walked ankle-deep in dust through a maze of rooms until\nthey came to a big central hall of statues. So artistically fashioned\nwere they that they seemed lifelike in their attitudes, and for a\nmoment all held their breath. This hall was dustless, and Muflog\npointed out that it was an airtight chamber. Evidently it had been\nspecifically devised to preserve the statues.\n\n\"These must be the effigies of kings,\" said his majesty, and on\nreading the inscriptions, Muflog said that was so.\n\nAt the far end of the hall, on a pedestal higher than the others, was\na statue bigger than the rest. In addition to the name there was an\ninscription on the pedestal. Muflog read it amid an awed stillness:\n\n    \"I am the last of the kings--yea, the last of men, and with my\n    own hands have completed this work. I ruled over a thousand\n    cities, rode on a thousand horses, and received the homage of a\n    thousand vassal princes; but when Famine came I was powerless.\n    Ye who may read this, take heed of the fate that has overwhelmed\n    this land. Take but one word of counsel from the last of the\n    mortals; prepare thy meal while the daylight lasts * * *\"\n\nThe words broke off: the rest was undecipherable.\n\n\"Enough,\" cried the king, and his voice was not steady. \"This has\nindeed been good hunting. I have learned, in my folly and pursuit of\npleasure, what I had failed to see for myself. Let us return and act\nupon the counsel of this king who has met the end that will surely be\nour own should we forget his warning.\"\n\nLooking out across the plain they had traversed, his majesty seemed to\nsee a vision of prosperous cities and smiling fertile fields. In\nimagination, he saw caravans laden with merchandise journeying across\nthe intervening spaces. Then, as darker thoughts followed, a cloud\nappeared to settle over the whole land. The cities crumbled and\ndisappeared, the eagles swooped down and took possession of that which\nman had failed to appreciate and hold; and after the eagles the dust\nof the ages settled slowly, piling itself up year by year until\neverything was covered and only the desert was visible.\n\nScarcely a word was spoken as the king and his hunters made their way\nback to the land East of the Rising Sun. In all, they had been away\nforty days when they re-crossed the barrier of rocks. They were\njoyously welcomed.\n\n\"What have you brought,\" asked the populace. \"In a little while we\nshall be starving.\"\n\n\"Ye shall not starve,\" said the king. \"I have brought wisdom from the\nPalace of the Eagles. From the fate and sufferings of others I have\nlearned a lesson--my duty.\"\n\nAt once he set to work to organize the proper distribution of the food\nsupply and the cultivation of the land. He wasted no more time on\nfoolish pleasures, and in due course the land East of the Rising Sun\nenjoyed happiness and prosperity and even established fruitful\ncolonies in the plain overlooked by the Palace of the Eagles.\n\n   [Illustration: Og, riding gaily on the unicorn behind the Ark,\n   was quite happy. (_Page 30_).]\n\n\n\n\nThe Giant of the Flood\n\n\nJust before the world was drowned all the animals gathered in front of\nthe Ark and Father Noah carefully inspected them.\n\n\"All ye that lie down shall enter and be saved from the deluge that is\nabout to destroy the world,\" he said. \"Ye that stand cannot enter.\"\n\nThen the various creatures began to march forward into the Ark. Father\nNoah watched them closely. He seemed troubled.\n\n\"I wonder,\" he said to himself, \"how I shall obtain a unicorn, and how\nI shall get it into the Ark.\"\n\n\"I can bring thee a unicorn, Father Noah,\" he heard in a voice of\nthunder, and turning round he saw the giant, Og. \"But thou must agree\nto save me, too, from the flood.\"\n\n\"Begone,\" cried Noah. \"Thou art a demon, not a human being. I can have\nno dealings with thee.\"\n\n\"Pity me,\" whined the giant. \"See how my figure is shrinking. Once I\nwas so tall that I could drink water from the clouds and toast fish at\nthe sun. I fear not that I shall be drowned, but that all the food\nwill be destroyed and that I shall perish of hunger.\"\n\nNoah, however, only smiled; but he grew serious again when Og brought\na unicorn. It was as big as a mountain, although the giant said it was\nthe smallest he could find. It lay down in front of the Ark and Noah\nsaw by that action that he must save it. For some time he was puzzled\nwhat to do, but at last a bright idea struck him. He attached the huge\nbeast to the Ark by a rope fastened to its horn so that it could swim\nalongside and be fed.\n\nOg seated himself on a mountain near at hand and watched the rain\npouring down. Faster and faster it fell in torrents until the rivers\noverflowed and the waters began to rise rapidly on the land and sweep\nall things away. Father Noah stood gloomily before the door of the Ark\nuntil the water reached his neck. Then it swept him inside. The door\nclosed with a bang, and the Ark rose gallantly on the flood and began\nto move along. The unicorn swam alongside, and as it passed Og, the\ngiant jumped on to its back.\n\n\"See, Father Noah,\" he cried, with a huge chuckle, \"you will have to\nsave me after all. I will snatch all the food you put through the\nwindow for the unicorn.\"\n\nNoah saw that it was useless to argue with Og, who might, indeed, sink\nthe Ark with his tremendous strength.\n\n\"I will make a bargain with thee,\" he shouted from a window. \"I will\nfeed thee, but thou must promise to be a servant to my descendants.\"\n\nOg was very hungry, so he accepted the conditions and devoured his\nfirst breakfast.\n\nThe rain continued to fall in great big sheets that shut out the light\nof day. Inside the Ark, however, all was bright and cheerful, for Noah\nhad collected the most precious of the stones of the earth and had\nused them for the windows. Their radiance illumined the whole of the\nthree stories in the Ark. Some of the animals were troublesome and\nNoah got no sleep at all. The lion had a bad attack of fever. In a\ncorner a bird slept the whole of the time. This was the phoenix.\n\n\"Wake up,\" said Noah, one day. \"It is feeding time.\"\n\n\"Thank you,\" returned the bird. \"I saw thou wert busy, Father Noah,\nso I would not trouble thee.\"\n\n\"Thou art a good bird,\" said Noah, much touched, \"therefore thou shalt\nnever die.\"\n\nOne day the rain ceased, the clouds rolled away and the sun shone\nbrilliantly again. How strange the world looked! It was like a vast\nocean. Nothing but water could be seen anywhere, and only one or two\nof the highest mountain tops peeped above the flood. All the world was\ndrowned, and Noah gazed on the desolate scene from one of the windows\nwith tears in his eyes. Og, riding gaily on the unicorn behind the\nArk, was quite happy.\n\n\"Ha, ha!\" he laughed gleefully. \"I shall be able to eat and drink just\nas much as I like now and shall never be troubled by those tiny little\ncreatures, the mortals.\"\n\n\"Be not so sure,\" said Noah. \"Those tiny mortals shall be thy masters\nand shall outlive thee and the whole race of giants and demons.\"\n\nThe giant did not relish this prospect. He knew that whatever Noah\nprophesied would come true, and he was so sad that he ate no food for\ntwo days and began to grow smaller and thinner. He became more and\nmore unhappy as day by day the water subsided and the mountains began\nto appear. At last the Ark rested on Mount Ararat, and Og's long ride\ncame to an end.\n\n\"I will soon leave thee, Father Noah,\" he said. \"I shall wander round\nthe world to see what is left of it.\"\n\n\"Thou canst not go until I permit thee,\" said Noah. \"Hast thou\nforgotten our compact so soon? Thou must be my servant. I have work\nfor thee.\"\n\nGiants are not fond of work, and Og, who was the father of all the\ngiants, was particularly lazy. He cared only to eat and sleep, but he\nknew he was in Noah's power, and he shed bitter tears when he saw the\nland appear again.\n\n\"Stop,\" commanded Noah. \"Dost thou wish to drown the world once more\nwith thy big tears?\"\n\nSo Og sat on a mountain and rocked from side to side, weeping silently\nto himself. He watched the animals leave the Ark and had to do all the\nhard work when Noah's children built houses. Daily he complained that\nhe was shrinking to the size of the mortals, for Noah said there was\nnot too much food.\n\nOne day Noah said to him, \"Come with me, Og. I am going around the\nworld. I am commanded to plant fruit and flowers to make the earth\nbeautiful. I need thy help.\"\n\nFor many days they wandered all over the earth, and Og was compelled\nto carry the heavy bag of seeds. The last thing Noah planted was the\ngrape vine.\n\n\"What is this--food, or drink?\" asked Og.\n\n\"Both,\" replied Noah. \"It can be eaten, or its juice made into wine,\"\nand as he planted it, he blessed the grape. \"Be thou,\" he said, \"a\nplant pleasing to the eye, bear fruit that will be food for the hungry\nand a health-giving drink to the thirsty and sick.\"\n\nOg grunted.\n\n\"I will offer up sacrifice to this wonderful fruit,\" he said. \"May I\nnot do so now that our labors are over?\"\n\nNoah agreed, and the giant brought a sheep, a lion, a pig and a\nmonkey. First, he slaughtered the sheep, then the lion.\n\n\"When a man shall taste but a few drops of the wine,\" he said, \"he\nshall be as harmless as a sheep. When he takes a little more he shall\nbe as strong as a lion.\"\n\nThen Og began to dance around the plant, and he killed the pig and the\nmonkey. Noah was very much surprised.\n\n\"I am giving thy descendants two extra blessings,\" said Og, chuckling.\n\nHe rolled over and over on the ground in great glee and then said:\n\n\"When a man shall drink too much of the juice of the wine, then shall\nhe become a beast like the pig, and if then he still continues to\ndrink, he shall behave foolishly like a monkey.\"\n\nAnd that is why, unto this day, too much wine makes a man silly.\n\nOg himself often drank too much, and many years afterward, when he was\na servant to the patriarch Abraham, the latter scolded him until he\nbecame so frightened that he dropped a tooth. Abraham made an ivory\nchair for himself from this tooth. Afterwards Og became King of\nBashan, but he forgot his compact with Noah and instead of helping the\nIsraelites to obtain Canaan he opposed them.\n\n\"I will kill them all with one blow,\" he declared.\n\nExerting all his enormous strength he uprooted a mountain, and raising\nit high above his head he prepared to drop it on the camp of the\nIsraelites and crush it.\n\nBut a wonderful thing happened. The mountain was full of grasshoppers\nand ants who had bored millions of tiny holes in it. When King Og\nraised the great mass it crumbled in his hands and fell over his head\nand round his neck like a collar. He tried to pull it off, but his\nteeth became entangled in the mass. As he danced about in rage and\npain, Moses, the leader of the Israelites, approached him.\n\nMoses was a tiny man compared with Og. He was only ten ells high, and\nhe carried with him a sword of the same length. With a mighty effort\nhe jumped ten ells into the air, and raising the sword, he managed to\nstrike the giant on the ankle and wound him mortally.\n\nThus, after many years, did the terrible giant of the flood perish for\nbreaking his word to Father Noah.\n\n\n\n\nThe Fairy Princess of Ergetz\n\n\nI\n\nIn a great and beautiful city that stood by the sea, an old man lay\ndying. Mar Shalmon was his name, and he was the richest man in the\nland. Propped up with pillows on a richly decorated bed in a luxurious\nchamber, he gazed, with tears in his eyes, through the open window at\nthe setting sun. Like a ball of fire it sank lower and lower until it\nalmost seemed to rest on the tranquil waters beyond the harbor.\nSuddenly, Mar Shalmon roused himself.\n\n\"Where is my son, Bar Shalmon?\" he asked in a feeble voice, and his\nhand crept tremblingly along the silken coverlet of the bed as if in\nsearch of something.\n\n\"I am here, my father,\" replied his son who was standing by the side\nof his bed. His eyes were moist with tears, but his voice was steady.\n\n\"My son,\" said the old man, slowly, and with some difficulty, \"I am\nabout to leave this world. My soul will take flight from this frail\nbody when the sun has sunk behind the horizon. I have lived long and\nhave amassed great wealth which will soon be thine. Use it well, as I\nhave taught thee, for thou, my son, art a man of learning, as befits\nour noble Jewish faith. One thing I must ask thee to promise me.\"\n\n   [Illustration: A strange crowd of demons of all shapes and\n   sizes poured into the synagogue with threatening gestures.\n   (_Page 40_).]\n\n\"I will, my father,\" returned Bar Shalmon, sobbing.\n\n\"Nay, weep not, my son,\" said the old man. \"My day is ended; my life\nhas not been ill-spent. I would spare thee the pain that was mine in\nmy early days, when, as a merchant, I garnered my fortune. The sea out\nthere that will soon swallow up the sun is calm now. But beware of it,\nmy son, for it is treacherous. Promise me--nay, swear unto me--that\nnever wilt thou cross it to foreign lands.\"\n\nBar Shalmon placed his hands on those of his father.\n\n\"Solemnly I swear,\" he said, in a broken voice, \"to do thy wish--never\nto journey on the sea, but to remain here in this, my native land.\n'Tis a vow before thee, my father.\"\n\n\"'Tis an oath before heaven,\" said the old man. \"Guard it, keep it,\nand heaven will bless thee. Remember! See, the sun is sinking.\"\n\nMar Shalmon fell back upon his pillows and spoke no more. Bar Shalmon\nstood gazing out of the window until the sun had disappeared, and\nthen, silently sobbing, he left the chamber of death.\n\nThe whole city wept when the sad news was made known, for Mar Shalmon\nwas a man of great charity, and almost all the inhabitants followed\nthe remains to the grave. Then Bar Shalmon, his son, took his father's\nplace of honor in the city, and in him, too, the poor and needy found\na friend whose purse was ever open and whose counsel was ever wisdom.\n\nThus years passed away.\n\nOne day there arrived in the harbor of the city a strange ship from a\ndistant land. Its captain spoke a tongue unknown, and Bar Shalmon,\nbeing a man of profound knowledge, was sent for. He alone in the city\ncould understand the language of the captain. To his astonishment, he\nlearned that the cargo of the vessel was for Mar Shalmon, his father.\n\n\"I am the son of Mar Shalmon,\" he said. \"My father is dead, and all\nhis possessions he left to me.\"\n\n\"Then, verily, art thou the most fortunate mortal, and the richest, on\nearth,\" answered the captain. \"My good ship is filled with a vast\nstore of jewels, precious stones and other treasures. And know you, O\nmost favored son of Mar Shalmon, this cargo is but a small portion of\nthe wealth that is thine in a land across the sea.\"\n\n\"'Tis strange,\" said Bar Shalmon, in surprise; \"my father said nought\nof this to me. I knew that in his younger days he had traded with\ndistant lands, but nothing did he ever say of possessions there. And,\nmoreover, he warned me never to leave this shore.\"\n\nThe captain looked perplexed.\n\n\"I understand it not,\" he said. \"I am but performing my father's\nbidding. He was thy father's servant, and long years did he wait for\nMar Shalmon's return to claim his riches. On his death-bed he bade me\nvow that I would seek his master, or his son, and this have I done.\"\n\nHe produced documents, and there could be no doubt that the vast\nwealth mentioned in them belonged now to Bar Shalmon.\n\n\"Thou art now my master,\" said the captain, \"and must return with me\nto the land across the sea to claim thine inheritance. In another year\nit will be too late, for by the laws of the country it will be\nforfeit.\"\n\n\"I cannot return with thee,\" said Bar Shalmon. \"I have a vow before\nheaven never to voyage on the sea.\"\n\nThe captain laughed.\n\n\"In very truth, I understand thee not, as my father understood not\nthine,\" he replied. \"My father was wont to say that Mar Shalmon was\nstrange and peradventure not possessed of all his senses to neglect\nhis store of wealth and treasure.\"\n\nWith an angry gesture Bar Shalmon stopped the captain, but he was\nsorely troubled. He recalled now that his father had often spoken\nmysteriously of foreign lands, and he wondered, indeed, whether Mar\nShalmon could have been in his proper senses not to have breathed a\nword of his riches abroad. For days he discussed the matter with the\ncaptain, who at last persuaded him to make the journey.\n\n\"Fear not thy vow,\" said the captain. \"Thy worthy father must, of a\ntruth, have been bereft of reason in failing to tell thee of his full\nestate, and an oath to a man of mind unsound is not binding. That is\nthe law in our land.\"\n\n\"So it is here,\" returned Bar Shalmon, and with this remark his last\nscruple vanished.\n\nHe bade a tender farewell to his wife, his child, and his friends,\nand set sail on the strange ship to the land beyond the sea.\n\nFor three days all went well, but on the fourth the ship was becalmed\nand the sails flapped lazily against the masts. The sailors had\nnothing to do but lie on deck and wait for a breeze, and Bar Shalmon\ntook advantage of the occasion to treat them to a feast.\n\nSuddenly, in the midst of the feasting, they felt the ship begin to\nmove. There was no wind, but the vessel sped along very swiftly. The\ncaptain himself rushed to the helm. To his alarm he found the vessel\nbeyond control.\n\n\"The ship is bewitched,\" he exclaimed. \"There is no wind, and no\ncurrent, and yet we are being borne along as if driven before a storm.\nWe shall be lost.\"\n\nPanic seized the sailors, and Bar Shalmon was unable to pacify them.\n\n\"Someone on board has brought us ill-luck,\" said the boatswain,\nlooking pointedly at Bar Shalmon; \"we shall have to heave him\noverboard.\"\n\nHis comrades assented and rushed toward Bar Shalmon.\n\nJust at that moment, however, the look-out in the bow cried excitedly,\n\"Land ahead!\"\n\nThe ship still refused to answer the helm and grounded on a sandbank.\nShe shivered from stem to stern but did not break up. No rocks were\nvisible, only a desolate tract of desert land was to be seen, with\nhere and there a solitary tree.\n\n\"We seem to have sustained no damage,\" said the captain, when he had\nrecovered from his first astonishment, \"but how we are going to get\nafloat again I do not know. This land is quite strange to me.\"\n\nHe could not find it marked on any of his charts or maps, and the\nsailors stood looking gloomily at the mysterious shore.\n\n\"Had we not better explore the land?\" said Bar Shalmon.\n\n\"No, no,\" exclaimed the boatswain, excitedly. \"See, no breakers strike\non the shore. This is not a human land. This is a domain of demons. We\nare lost unless we cast overboard the one who has brought on us this\nill-luck.\"\n\nSaid Bar Shalmon, \"I will land, and I will give fifty silver crowns to\nall who land with me.\"\n\nNot one of the sailors moved, however, even when he offered fifty\ngolden crowns, and at last Bar Shalmon said he would land alone,\nalthough the captain strongly urged him not to do so.\n\nBar Shalmon sprang lightly to the shore, and as he did so the ship\nshook violently.\n\n\"What did I tell you?\" shouted the boatswain. \"Bar Shalmon is the one\nwho has brought us this misfortune. Now we shall refloat the ship.\"\n\nBut it still remained firmly fixed on the sand. Bar Shalmon walked\ntowards a tree and climbed it. In a few moments he returned, holding a\ntwig in his hand.\n\n\"The land stretches away for miles just as you see it here,\" he called\nto the captain. \"There is no sign of man or habitation.\"\n\nHe prepared to board the vessel again, but the sailors would not allow\nhim. The boatswain stood in the bow and threatened him with a sword.\nBar Shalmon raised the twig to ward off the blow and struck the ship\nwhich shivered from stern to stern again.\n\n\"Is not this proof that the vessel is bewitched?\" cried the sailors,\nand when the captain sternly bade them remember that Bar Shalmon was\ntheir master, they threatened him too.\n\nBar Shalmon, amused at the fears of the men, again struck the vessel\nwith the twig. Once more it trembled. A third time he raised the\ntwig.\n\n\"If the ship is bewitched,\" he said, \"something will happen after the\nthird blow.\"\n\n\"Swish\" sounded the branch through the air, and the third blow fell on\nthe vessel's bow. Something did happen. The ship almost leaped from\nthe sand, and before Bar Shalmon could realize what had happened it\nwas speeding swiftly away.\n\n\"Come back, come back,\" he screamed, and he could see the captain\nstruggling with the helm. But the vessel refused to answer, and Bar\nShalmon saw it grow smaller and smaller and finally disappear. He was\nalone on an uninhabited desert land.\n\n\"What a wretched plight for the richest man in the world,\" he said to\nhimself, and the next moment he realized that he was in danger indeed.\n\nA terrible roar made him look around. To his horror he saw a lion\nmaking toward him. As quick as a flash Bar Shalmon ran to the tree and\nhastily scrambled into the branches. The lion dashed itself furiously\nagainst the trunk of the tree, but, for the present, Bar Shalmon was\nsafe. Night, however, was coming on, and the lion squatted at the foot\nof the tree, evidently intending to wait for him. All night the lion\nremained, roaring at intervals, and Bar Shalmon clung to one of the\nupper branches afraid to sleep lest he should fall off and be\ndevoured. When morning broke, a new danger threatened him. A huge\neagle flew round the tree and darted at him with its cruel beak. Then\nthe great bird settled on the thickest branch, and Bar Shalmon moved\nstealthily forward with a knife which he drew from his belt. He crept\nbehind the bird, but as he approached it spread its big wings, and Bar\nShalmon, to prevent himself being swept from the tree, dropped the\nknife and clutched at the bird's feathers. Immediately, to his dismay,\nthe bird rose from the tree. Bar Shalmon clung to its back with all\nhis might.\n\nHigher and higher soared the eagle until the trees below looked like\nmere dots on the land. Swiftly flew the eagle over miles and miles of\ndesert until Bar Shalmon began to feel giddy. He was faint with hunger\nand feared that he would not be able to retain his hold. All day the\nbird flew without resting, across island and sea. No houses, no ships,\nno human beings could be seen. Toward night, however, Bar Shalmon, to\nhis great joy, beheld the lights of a city surrounded by trees, and as\nthe eagle came near, he made a bold dive to the earth. Headlong he\nplunged downward. He seemed to be hours in falling. At last he struck\na tree. The branches broke beneath the weight and force of his falling\nbody, and he continued to plunge downward. The branches tore his\nclothes to shreds and bruised his body, but they broke his terrible\nfall, and when at last he reached the ground he was not much hurt.\n\n\nII\n\nBar Shalmon found himself on the outskirts of the city, and cautiously\nhe crept forward. To his intense relief, he saw that the first\nbuilding was a synagogue. The door, however, was locked. Weary, sore,\nand weak with long fasting, Bar Shalmon sank down on the steps and\nsobbed like a child.\n\nSomething touched him on the arm. He looked up. By the light of the\nmoon he saw a boy standing before him. Such a queer boy he was, too.\nHe had cloven feet, and his coat, if it was a coat, seemed to be made\nin the shape of wings.\n\n\"_Ivri Onochi_,\" said Bar Shalmon, \"I am a Hebrew.\"\n\n\"So am I,\" said the boy. \"Follow me.\"\n\nHe walked in front with a strange hobble, and when they reached a\nhouse at the back of the synagogue, he leaped from the ground,\nspreading his coat wings as he did so, to a window about twenty feet\nfrom the ground. The next moment a door opened, and Bar Shalmon, to\nhis surprise, saw that the boy had jumped straight through the window\ndown to the door which he had unfastened from the inside. The boy\nmotioned him to enter a room. He did so. An aged man, who he saw was a\nrabbi, rose to greet him.\n\n\"Peace be with you,\" said the rabbi, and pointed to a seat. He clapped\nhis hand and immediately a table with food appeared before Bar\nShalmon. The latter was far too hungry to ask any questions just then,\nand the rabbi was silent, too, while he ate. When he had finished, the\nrabbi clapped his hands and the table vanished.\n\n\"Now tell me your story,\" said the rabbi.\n\nBar Shalmon did so.\n\n\"Alas! I am an unhappy man,\" he concluded. \"I have been punished for\nbreaking my vow. Help me to return to my home. I will reward thee\nwell, and will atone for my sin.\"\n\n\"Thy story is indeed sad,\" said the rabbi, gravely, \"but thou knowest\nnot the full extent of thy unfortunate plight. Art thou aware what\nland it is into which thou hast been cast?\"\n\n\"No,\" said Bar Shalmon, becoming afraid again.\n\n\"Know then,\" said the rabbi, \"thou art not in a land of human beings.\nThou hast fallen into Ergetz, the land of demons, of djinns, and of\nfairies.\"\n\n\"But art thou not a Jew?\" asked Bar Shalmon, in astonishment.\n\n\"Truly,\" replied the rabbi. \"Even in this realm we have all manner of\nreligions just as you mortals have.\"\n\n\"What will happen to me?\" asked Bar Shalmon, in a whisper.\n\n\"I know not,\" replied the rabbi. \"Few mortals come here, and mostly, I\nfear they are put to death. The demons love them not.\"\n\n\"Woe, woe is me,\" cried Bar Shalmon, \"I am undone.\"\n\n\"Weep not,\" said the rabbi. \"I, as a Jew, love not death by violence\nand torture, and will endeavor to save thee.\"\n\n\"I thank thee,\" cried Bar Shalmon.\n\n\"Let thy thanks wait,\" said the rabbi, kindly. \"There is human blood\nin my veins. My great-grandfather was a mortal who fell into this\nland and was not put to death. Being of mortal descent, I have been\nmade rabbi. Perhaps thou wilt find favor here and be permitted to live\nand settle in this land.\"\n\n\"But I desire to return home,\" said Bar Shalmon.\n\nThe rabbi shook his head.\n\n\"Thou must sleep now,\" he said.\n\nHe passed his hands over Bar Shalmon's eyes and he fell into a\nprofound slumber. When he awoke it was daylight, and the boy stood by\nhis couch. He made a sign to Bar Shalmon to follow, and through an\nunderground passage he conducted him into the synagogue and placed him\nnear the rabbi.\n\n\"Thy presence has become known,\" whispered the rabbi, and even as he\nspoke a great noise was heard. It was like the wild chattering of many\nhigh-pitched voices. Through all the windows and the doors a strange\ncrowd poured into the synagogue. There were demons of all shapes and\nsizes. Some had big bodies with tiny heads, others huge heads and\nquaint little bodies. Some had great staring eyes, others had long\nwide mouths, and many had only one leg each. They surrounded Bar\nShalmon with threatening gestures and noises. The rabbi ascended the\npulpit.\n\n\"Silence!\" he commanded, and immediately the noise ceased. \"Ye who\nthirst for mortal blood, desecrate not this holy building wherein I am\nmaster. What ye have to say must wait until after the morning\nservice.\"\n\nSilently and patiently they waited, sitting in all manner of queer\nplaces. Some of them perched on the backs of the seats, a few clung\nlike great big flies to the pillars, others sat on the window-sills,\nand several of the tiniest hung from the rafters in the ceiling. As\nsoon as the service was over, the clamor broke out anew.\n\n\"Give to us the perjurer,\" screamed the demons. \"He is not fit to\nlive.\"\n\nWith some difficulty, the rabbi stilled the tumult, and said:\n\n\"Listen unto me, ye demons and sprites of the land of Ergetz. This man\nhas fallen into my hands, and I am responsible for him. Our king,\nAshmedai, must know of his arrival. We must not condemn a man unheard.\nLet us petition the king to grant him a fair trial.\"\n\nAfter some demur, the demons agreed to this proposal, and they trooped\nout of the synagogue in the same peculiar manner in which they came.\nEach was compelled to leave by the same door or window at which he\nentered.\n\nBar Shalmon was carried off to the palace of King Ashmedai, preceded\nand followed by a noisy crowd of demons and fairies. There seemed to\nbe millions of them, all clattering and pointing at him. They hobbled\nand hopped over the ground, jumped into the air, sprang from housetop\nto housetop, made sudden appearances from holes in the ground and\nvanished through solid walls.\n\nThe palace was a vast building of white marble that seemed as delicate\nas lace work. It stood in a magnificent square where many beautiful\nfountains spouted jets of crystal water. King Ashmedai came forth on\nthe balcony, and at his appearance all the demons and fairies became\nsilent and went down on their knees.\n\n\"What will ye with me?\" he cried, in a voice of thunder, and the rabbi\napproached and bowed before his majesty.\n\n\"A mortal, a Jew, has fallen into my hands,\" he said, \"and thy\nsubjects crave for his blood. He is a perjurer, they say. Gracious\nmajesty, I would petition for a trial.\"\n\n\"What manner of mortal is he?\" asked Ashmedai.\n\nBar Shalmon stepped forward.\n\n\"Jump up here so I may see thee,\" commanded the king.\n\n\"Jump, jump,\" cried the crowd.\n\n\"I cannot,\" said Bar Shalmon, as he looked up at the balcony thirty\nfeet above the ground.\n\n\"Try,\" said the rabbi.\n\nBar Shalmon did try, and found, the moment he lifted his feet from the\nground, that he was standing on the balcony.\n\n\"Neatly done,\" said the king. \"I see thou art quick at learning.\"\n\n\"So my teachers always said,\" replied Bar Shalmon.\n\n\"A proper answer,\" said the king. \"Thou art, then, a scholar.\"\n\n\"In my own land,\" returned Bar Shalmon, \"men said I was great among\nthe learned.\"\n\n\"So,\" said the king. \"And canst thou impart the wisdom of man and of\nthe human world to others?\"\n\n\"I can,\" said Bar Shalmon.\n\n\"We shall see,\" said the king. \"I have a son with a desire for such\nknowledge. If thou canst make him acquainted with thy store of\nlearning, thy life shall be spared. The petition for a trial is\ngranted.\"\n\nThe king waved his scepter and two slaves seized Bar Shalmon by the\narms. He felt himself lifted from the balcony and carried swiftly\nthrough the air. Across the vast square the slaves flew with him, and\nwhen over the largest of the fountains they loosened their hold. Bar\nShalmon thought he would fall into the fountain, but to his amazement\nhe found himself standing on the roof of a building. By his side was\nthe rabbi.\n\n\"Where are we?\" asked Bar Shalmon. \"I feel bewildered.\"\n\n\"We are at the Court of Justice, one hundred miles from the palace,\"\nreplied the rabbi.\n\nA door appeared before them. They stepped through, and found\nthemselves in a beautiful hall. Three judges in red robes and purple\nwigs were seated on a platform, and an immense crowd filled the\ngalleries in the same queer way as in the synagogue. Bar Shalmon was\nplaced on a small platform in front of the judges. A tiny sprite, only\nabout six inches high, stood on another small platform at his right\nhand and commenced to read from a scroll that seemed to have no\nending. He read the whole account of Bar Shalmon's life. Not one\nlittle event was missing.\n\n\"The charge against Bar Shalmon, the mortal,\" the sprite concluded,\n\"is that he has violated the solemn oath sworn at his father's\ndeath-bed.\"\n\nThen the rabbi pleaded for him and declared that the oath was not\nbinding because Bar Shalmon's father had not informed him of his\ntreasures abroad and could not therefore have been in his right\nsenses. Further, he added, Bar Shalmon was a scholar and the king\ndesired him to teach his wisdom to the crown prince.\n\nThe chief justice rose to pronounce sentence.\n\n\"Bar Shalmon,\" he said, \"rightly thou shouldst die for thy broken\noath. It is a grievous sin. But there is the doubt that thy father may\nnot have been in his right mind. Therefore, thy life shall be spared.\"\n\nBar Shalmon expressed his thanks.\n\n\"When may I return to my home?\" he asked.\n\n\"Never,\" replied the chief justice.\n\nBar Shalmon left the court, feeling very downhearted. He was safe now.\nThe demons dared not molest him, but he longed to return to his home.\n\n\"How am I to get back to the palace?\" he asked the rabbi. \"Perhaps\nafter I have imparted my learning to the crown prince, the king will\nallow me to return to my native land.\"\n\n\"That I cannot say. Come, fly with me,\" said the rabbi.\n\n\"Fly!\"\n\n\"Yes; see thou hast wings.\"\n\nBar Shalmon noticed that he was now wearing a garment just like all\nthe demons. When he spread his arms, he found he could fly, and he\nsailed swiftly through the air to the palace. With these wings, he\nthought, he would be able to fly home.\n\n\"Think not that,\" said the rabbi, who seemed to be able to read his\nthoughts, \"for thy wings are useless beyond this land.\"\n\nBar Shalmon found that it would be best for him to carry out his\ninstructions for the present, and he set himself diligently to teach\nthe crown prince. The prince was an apt pupil, and the two became\ngreat friends. King Ashmedai was delighted and made Bar Shalmon one of\nhis favorites.\n\nOne day the king said to him: \"I am about to leave the city for a\nwhile to undertake a campaign against a rebellious tribe of demons\nthousands of miles away. I must take the crown prince with me. I leave\nthee in charge of the palace.\"\n\nThe king gave him a huge bunch of keys.\n\n\"These,\" he said, \"will admit into all but one of the thousand rooms\nin the palace. For that one there is no key, and thou must not enter\nit. Beware.\"\n\nFor several days Bar Shalmon amused himself by examining the hundreds\nof rooms in the vast palace until one day he came to the door for\nwhich he had no key. He forgot the king's warning and his promise to\nobey.\n\n\"Open this door for me,\" he said to his attendants, but they replied\nthat they could not.\n\n\"You must,\" he said angrily, \"burst it open.\"\n\n\"We do not know how to burst open a door,\" they said. \"We are not\nmortal. If we were permitted to enter the room we should just walk\nthrough the walls.\"\n\nBar Shalmon could not do this, so he put his shoulder to the door and\nit yielded quite easily.\n\nA strange sight met his gaze. A beautiful woman, the most beautiful he\nhad ever seen, was seated on a throne of gold, surrounded by fairy\nattendants who vanished the moment he entered.\n\n\"Who art thou?\" asked Bar Shalmon, in great astonishment.\n\n\"The daughter of the king,\" replied the princess, \"and thy future\nwife.\"\n\n\"Indeed! How know you that?\" he asked.\n\n\"Thou hast broken thy promise to my father, the king, not to enter\nthis room,\" she replied. \"Therefore, thou must die, unless--\"\n\n\"Tell me quickly,\" interrupted Bar Shalmon, turning pale, \"how my life\ncan be saved.\"\n\n\"Thou must ask my father for my hand,\" replied the princess. \"Only by\nbecoming my husband canst thou be saved.\"\n\n\"But I have a wife and child in my native land,\" said Bar Shalmon,\nsorely troubled.\n\n\"Thou hast now forfeited thy hopes of return,\" said the princess,\nslowly. \"Once more hast thou broken a promise. It seems to come easy\nto thee now.\"\n\nBar Shalmon had no wish to die, and he waited, in fear and trembling\nfor the king's return. Immediately he heard of King Ashmedai's\napproach, he hastened to meet him and flung himself on the ground at\nhis majesty's feet.\n\n\"O King,\" he cried, \"I have seen thy daughter, the princess, and I\ndesire to make her my wife.\"\n\n\"I cannot refuse,\" returned the king. \"Such is our law--that he who\nfirst sees the princess must become her husband, or die. But, have a\ncare, Bar Shalmon. Thou must swear to love and be faithful ever.\"\n\n\"I swear,\" said Bar Shalmon.\n\nThe wedding took place with much ceremony. The princess was attended\nby a thousand fairy bridesmaids, and the whole city was brilliantly\ndecorated and illuminated until Bar Shalmon was almost blinded by the\ndazzling spectacle.\n\nThe rabbi performed the marriage ceremony, and Bar Shalmon had to\nswear an oath by word of mouth and in writing that he loved the\nprincess and would never desert her. He was given a beautiful palace\nfull of jewels as a dowry, and the wedding festivities lasted six\nmonths. All the fairies and demons invited them in turn; they had to\nattend banquets and parties and dances in grottoes and caves and in\nthe depths of the fairy fountains in the square. Never before in\nErgetz had there been such elaborate rejoicings.\n\n\nIII\n\nSome years rolled by and still Bar Shalmon thought of his native land.\nOne day the princess found him weeping quietly.\n\n\"Why art thou sad, husband mine?\" she asked. \"Dost thou no longer love\nme, and am I not beautiful now?\"\n\n\"No, it is not that,\" he said, but for a long time he refused to say\nmore. At last he confessed that he had an intense longing to see his\nhome again.\n\n\"But thou art bound to me by an oath,\" said the princess.\n\n\"I know,\" replied Bar Shalmon, \"and I shall not break it. Permit me to\nvisit my home for a brief while, and I will return and prove myself\nmore devoted to thee than ever.\"\n\nOn these conditions, the princess agreed that he should take leave for\na whole year. A big, black demon flew swiftly with him to his native\ncity.\n\nNo sooner had Bar Shalmon placed his feet on the ground than he\ndetermined not to return to the land of Ergetz.\n\n\"Tell thy royal mistress,\" he said to the demon, \"that I shall never\nreturn to her.\"\n\nHe tore his clothes to make himself look poor, but his wife was\noverjoyed to see him. She had mourned him as dead. He did not tell of\nhis adventures, but merely said he had been ship-wrecked and had\nworked his way back as a poor sailor. He was delighted to be among\nhuman beings again, to hear his own language and to see solid\nbuildings that did not appear and disappear just when they pleased,\nand as the days passed he began to think his adventures in fairyland\nwere but a dream.\n\nMeanwhile, the princess waited patiently until the year was ended.\n\nThen she sent the big, black demon to bring Bar Shalmon back.\n\nBar Shalmon met the messenger one night when walking alone in his\ngarden.\n\n\"I have come to take thee back,\" said the demon.\n\nBar Shalmon was startled. He had forgotten that the year was up. He\nfelt that he was lost, but as the demon did not seize him by force, he\nsaw that there was a possibility of escape.\n\n\"Return and tell thy mistress I refuse,\" he said.\n\n\"I will take thee by force,\" said the demon.\n\n\"Thou canst not,\" Bar Shalmon said, \"for I am the son-in-law of the\nking.\"\n\nThe demon was helpless and returned to Ergetz alone.\n\nKing Ashmedai was very angry, but the princess counseled patience.\n\n\"I will devise means to bring my husband back,\" she said. \"I will send\nother messengers.\"\n\nThus it was that Bar Shalmon found a troupe of beautiful fairies in\nthe garden the next evening. They tried their utmost to induce him to\nreturn with them, but he would not listen. Every day different\nmessengers came--big, ugly demons who threatened, pretty fairies who\ntried to coax him, and troublesome sprites and goblins who only\nannoyed him. Bar Shalmon could not move without encountering\nmessengers from the princess in all manner of queer places. Nobody\nelse could see them, and often he was heard talking to invisible\npeople. His friends began to regard him as strange in his behavior.\n\nKing Ashmedai grew angrier every day, and he threatened to go for Bar\nShalmon himself.\n\n\"Nay, I will go,\" said the princess; \"it will be impossible for my\nhusband to resist me.\"\n\nShe selected a large number of attendants, and the swift flight of the\nprincess and her retinue through the air caused a violent storm to\nrage over the lands they crossed. Like a thick black cloud they\nswooped down on the land where Bar Shalmon dwelt, and their weird\ncries seemed like the wild shrieking of a mighty hurricane. Down they\nswept in a tremendous storm such as the city had never known. Then, as\nquickly as it came, the storm ceased, and the people who had fled into\ntheir houses, ventured forth again.\n\nThe little son of Bar Shalmon went out into the garden, but quickly\nrushed back into the house.\n\n\"Father, come forth and see,\" he cried. \"The garden is full of strange\ncreatures brought by the storm. All manner of creeping, crawling\nthings have invaded the garden--lizards, toads, and myriads of\ninsects. The trees, the shrubs, the paths are covered, and some shine\nin the twilight like tiny lanterns.\"\n\nBar Shalmon went out into the garden, but he did not see toads and\nlizards. What he beheld was a vast array of demons and goblins and\nsprites, and in a rose-bush the princess, his wife, shining like a\nstar, surrounded by her attendant fairies. She stretched forth her\narms to him.\n\n\"Husband mine,\" she pleaded, \"I have come to implore thee to return to\nthe land of Ergetz with me. Sadly have I missed thee; long have I\nwaited for thy coming, and difficult has it been to appease my\nfather's anger. Come, husband mine, return with me; a great welcome\nawaits thee.\"\n\n\"I will not return,\" said Bar Shalmon.\n\n\"Kill him, kill him,\" shrieked the demons, and they surrounded him,\ngesticulating fiercely.\n\n\"Nay, harm him not,\" commanded the princess. \"Think well, Bar\nShalmon, ere you answer again. The sun has set and night is upon us.\nThink well, until sunrise. Come to me, return, and all shall be well.\nRefuse, and thou shalt be dealt with as thou hast merited. Think well\nbefore the sunrise.\"\n\n\"And what will happen at sunrise, if I refuse?\" asked Bar Shalmon.\n\n\"Thou shalt see,\" returned the princess. \"Bethink thee well, and\nremember, I await thee here until the sunrise.\"\n\n\"I have answered; I defy thee,\" said Bar Shalmon, and he went indoors.\n\nNight passed with strange, mournful music in the garden, and the sun\nrose in its glory and spread its golden beams over the city. And with\nthe coming of the light, more strange sounds woke the people of the\ncity. A wondrous sight met their gaze in the market place. It was\nfilled with hundreds upon hundreds of the queerest creatures they had\never seen, goblins and brownies, demons and fairies. Dainty little\nelves ran about the square to the delight of the children, and quaint\nsprites clambered up the lamposts and squatted on the gables of the\ncouncil house. On the steps of that building was a glittering array of\nfairies and attendant genii, and in their midst stood the princess, a\ndazzling vision, radiant as the dawn.\n\nThe mayor of the city knew not what to do. He put on his chain of\noffice and made a long speech of welcome to the princess.\n\n\"Thank you for your cordial welcome,\" said the princess, in reply,\n\"and you the mayor, and ye the good people of this city of mortals,\nhearken unto me. I am the princess of the Fairyland of Ergetz where my\nfather, Ashmedai, rules as king. There is one among ye who is my\nhusband.\"\n\n\"Who is he?\" the crowd asked in astonishment.\n\n\"Bar Shalmon is his name,\" replied the princess, \"and to him am I\nbound by vows that may not be broken.\"\n\n\"'Tis false,\" cried Bar Shalmon from the crowd.\n\n\"'Tis true. Behold our son,\" answered the princess, and there stepped\nforward a dainty elfin boy whose face was the image of Bar Shalmon.\n\n\"I ask of you mortals of the city,\" the princess continued, \"but one\nthing, justice--that same justice which we in the land of Ergetz did\ngive unto Bar Shalmon when, after breaking his oath unto his father,\nhe set sail for a foreign land and was delivered into our hands. We\nspared his life; we granted his petition for a new trial. I but ask\nthat ye should grant me the same petition. Hear me in your Court of\nJustice.\"\n\n\"Thy request is but reasonable, princess,\" said the mayor. \"It shall\nnot be said that strangers here are refused justice. Bar Shalmon,\nfollow me.\"\n\nHe led the way into the Chamber of Justice, and the magistrates of the\ncity heard all that the princess and her witnesses, among whom was the\nrabbi, and also all that Bar Shalmon, had to say.\n\n\"'Tis plain,\" said the mayor, delivering judgment, \"that her royal\nhighness, the princess of the Fairyland of Ergetz, has spoken that\nwhich is true. But Bar Shalmon has in this city wife and child to whom\nhe is bound by ties that may not be broken. Bar Shalmon must divorce\nthe princess and return unto her the dowry received by him on their\nmarriage.\"\n\n\"If such be your law, I am content,\" said the princess.\n\n\"What sayest thou, Bar Shalmon?\" asked the mayor.\n\n\"Oh! I'm content,\" he answered gruffly. \"I agree to anything that\nwill rid me of the demon princess.\"\n\nThe princess flushed crimson with shame and rage at these cruel words.\n\n\"These words I have not deserved,\" she exclaimed, proudly. \"I have\nloved thee, and have been faithful unto thee, Bar Shalmon. I accept\nthe decree of your laws and shall return to the land of Ergetz a\nwidow. I ask not for your pity. I ask but for that which is my right,\none last kiss.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" said Bar Shalmon, still more gruffly, \"anything to have\ndone with thee.\"\n\nThe princess stepped proudly forward to him and kissed him on the\nlips.\n\nBar Shalmon turned deadly pale and would have fallen had not his\nfriends caught him.\n\n\"Take thy punishment for all thy sins,\" cried the princess, haughtily,\n\"for thy broken vows and thy false promises--thy perjury to thy God,\nto thy father, to my father and to me.\"\n\nAs she spoke Bar Shalmon fell dead at her feet. At a sign from the\nprincess, her retinue of fairies and demons flew out of the building\nand up into the air with their royal mistress in their midst and\nvanished.\n\n\n\n\nThe Higgledy-Piggledy Palace\n\n\nSarah, the wife of the patriarch Abraham, and the great mother of the\nJewish people, was the most beautiful woman who ever lived. Everybody\nwho saw her marveled at the dazzling radiance of her countenance; they\nstood spellbound before the glorious light that shone in her eyes and\nthe wondrous clearness of her complexion. This greatly troubled\nAbraham when he fled from Canaan to Egypt. It was disconcerting to\nhave crowds of travelers gazing at his wife as if she were something\nmore than human. Besides, he feared that the Egyptians would seize\nSarah for the king's harem.\n\nSo, after much meditation, he concealed his wife in a big box. When he\narrived at the Egyptian frontier, the customs officials asked him what\nit contained.\n\n\"Barley,\" he replied.\n\n\"You say that because the duty on barley is the lowest,\" they said.\n\"The box must surely be packed with wheat.\"\n\n   [Illustration: He could not see what Sarah saw--a figure, a\n   spirit, clutching a big stick. (_Page 72_).]\n\n\"I will pay the duty on wheat,\" said Abraham, who was most anxious\nthey should not open the box.\n\nThe officials were surprised, for, as a rule, people endeavored to\navoid paying the duties.\n\n\"If you are so ready to pay the higher tax,\" they said, \"the box must\ncontain something of greater value. Perhaps it contains spices.\"\n\nAbraham intimated his readiness to pay the duty on spices.\n\n\"Oh, Oh!\" laughed the officers. \"Here is a strange person ready to pay\nheavy dues. He must be anxious to conceal something--gold, perchance.\"\n\n\"I will pay the duty on gold,\" said Abraham, quietly.\n\nThe officers were now completely bewildered.\n\n\"Our highest duty,\" said their chief, \"is on precious stones, and\nsince you decline to open the box, we must demand the tax on the\ncostliest gems.\"\n\n\"I will pay it,\" said Abraham, simply.\n\nThe officers could not understand this at all, and after consulting\namong themselves, they decided that the box must be opened.\n\n\"It may contain something highly dangerous,\" they argued.\n\nAbraham protested, but he was arrested by the guards and the box\nforced open. When Sarah was revealed, the officials stepped back in\namazement and admiration.\n\n\"Indeed, a rare jewel,\" said the chief.\n\nIt was immediately decided to send Sarah to the king. When Pharaoh\nbeheld her, he was enraptured. She was simply dressed in the garments\nof a peasant woman, with no adornment and no jewels, and yet the king\nthought he had never seen a woman so entrancingly beautiful. When he\nsaw Abraham, however, his brow clouded.\n\n\"Who is this man?\" he demanded of Sarah.\n\nFearing that he might be imprisoned, or even put to death if she\nacknowledged him as her husband, Sarah replied that he was her\nbrother.\n\nPharaoh felt relieved. He smiled on Abraham and greeted him\npleasantly.\n\n\"Thy sister is exceeding fair to gaze upon,\" he said, \"and comely of\nform. She hath bewitched me by her matchless charm. She shall become\nthe favorite of my harem. I will recompense thee well for thy loss of\nher. Thou shalt be loaded with gifts.\"\n\nAbraham was too wise to betray the anger that surged in his heart.\n\n\"Courage, my beloved,\" he whispered to Sarah. \"The good God will not\nforsake us.\"\n\nHe made pretense of agreeing to Pharaoh's suggestion, and the chief\nsteward of the king gave him an abundant store of gold and silver and\njewels, also sheep and oxen and camels. Abraham was conducted to a\nbeautiful palace, where many slaves attended him and bowed before him,\nfor one on whom the monarch had showered favors was a great man in the\nland of Pharaoh. Left alone, Abraham began to pray most devoutly.\n\nMeanwhile, Sarah was led into a gorgeous apartment where the queen's\nown attendants were ordered to array her in the richest of the royal\ngarments. Then she was brought before Pharaoh who dismissed all the\nattendants.\n\n\"I desire to be alone with thee,\" said the king to Sarah. \"I have much\nto say to thee, and I long to feast my eyes on those features of\nbeauty rare.\"\n\nBut Sarah shrank from him. To her, he appeared ugly and loathsome. His\nsmile was a vicious leer, and his voice sounded like a harsh croak.\n\n\"Fear not,\" he said, trying to speak tenderly and kindly. \"I will do\nthee no harm. Nay, I will load thee with honors. I will grant any\nrequest that thou makest.\"\n\n\"Then let me go hence,\" said Sarah, quickly. \"I desire naught but that\nthou shouldst permit me to depart with my brother.\"\n\n\"Thou jestest,\" said Pharaoh. \"That cannot be. I will make thee\nqueen,\" he cried, passionately and he made a move toward her.\n\n\"Stop!\" cried Sarah. \"If thou approachest one step nearer....\"\n\nPharaoh interrupted with a laugh. To threaten a king was so funny that\nhe could not refrain from a hoarse cackle. But Sarah had become\nsuddenly silent. She was looking not at him, but behind him. Pharaoh\nturned, but observed nothing. He could not see what Sarah saw--a\nfigure, a spirit, clutching a big stick.\n\n\"Come,\" said the king, \"be not foolish. I cannot be angry with a\ncreature so fair as thou art. But it is not meet--nay, it is not\nwise--to utter threats to one who wears a crown.\"\n\nSarah made no reply. She was no longer afraid. She knew that her\nprayers, and those of Abraham, had been answered, and that no harm\nwould befall her. Pharaoh mistook her silence and advanced toward her.\nAs he did so, however, he felt a tremendous blow on the head. He was\nstunned for a moment. On recovering himself he looked all round the\nroom, but could see nothing. Sarah continued to stand motionless.\n\n\"Strange,\" muttered Pharaoh. \"I--I thought some one had entered the\nroom.\"\n\nAgain he moved toward Sarah, and once more he received a staggering\nblow--this time on the shoulder. It was only by a great effort of will\nthat he did not cry out in pain. He concluded he must have been seized\nby some sudden illness, but after a moment he felt better and bravely\ntried to smile at Sarah.\n\n\"I--I just thought of something most important,\" said he, attempting\nto offer some explanation for nearly toppling over in an undignified\nmanner. He stood nearer to Sarah and began to raise his hand to touch\nher.\n\n\"If thou layest but a finger on me, it will be at thy peril,\"\nexclaimed Sarah, her eyes flashing angrily.\n\n\"Pshaw!\" he cried, losing patience, and he raised his hand.\n\nThis time the cudgel of the spirit invisible to Pharaoh did not strike\nhim: it came down gently and rested lightly on the king's\nout-stretched arm. And Pharaoh could not move it. He grew pale and\ntrembled.\n\n\"Art thou a witch?\" he gasped, at last.\n\nSarah was so angry when she heard this insult that she flashed a\nsignal with her eyes to the spirit, and the latter plied his cudgel\nlustily about the king's head and shoulders, making the monarch break\nout in most unkingly howls of pain.\n\n\"Thy pardon, thy pardon, I crave,\" he managed to scream. \"I mean not\nwhat I said. I am ill--very ill. My body aches. My arm is paralyzed.\"\n\nThe cudgeling ceased and Pharaoh was able to move his arm. He writhed\nin agony, for he was bruised all over. He rushed hastily away, saying\nhe would return on the morrow. Sarah found herself locked in, but she\nwas not again disturbed.\n\nPharaoh, however, had further adventures. The spirit was in merry mood\nand had a night's entertainment at the king's expense. No sooner did\nthe king lie down upon his bed than the spirit tilted it and sent him\nsprawling on the floor. Whenever Pharaoh tried to lie down the same\nthing happened. He went from one room to another, but all efforts at\nrest were unavailing. Every bed rejected him and every chair and\ncouch did the same, although when he commanded others to lie down they\ndid so quite comfortably. He tried lying down with one of his\nattendants, but while the latter was able to remain undisturbed,\nPharaoh found himself bodily lifted, stood upon his head, spun around\nand then rolled over on the ground.\n\nHis physicians could provide no remedy, his magicians--hastily\nsummoned from their own slumbers--could afford no explanation, and\nPharaoh spent a terrible night wandering from room to room and up and\ndown the corridors, where the corners seemed to go out of their way to\nbump against him and the stairs seemed to go down when he wanted to\nwalk up, and vice-versa. Such a higgledy-piggeldy palace was never\nseen. Worse still, with the first streak of dawn he noticed that he\nwas smitten with leprosy.\n\nHastily he sent for Abraham and said: \"Who and what thou art I know\nnot. Thou and thy sister have brought a plague upon me. I desired to\nmake her my queen, but now I say to you: Rid me of this leprosy and\nget thee hence with thy sister. I will bestow riches on ye, but get ye\ngone, and speedily.\"\n\nWith a magic jewel which he wore on his breast, Abraham restored\nPharaoh to health, and then departed with Sarah. These final words he\nsaid to Pharaoh:\n\n\"Sarah is not my sister, but my wife. I give thee this warning. Should\nthy descendants at any time seek to persecute our descendants, then\nwill our God, He, the One God of the universe, surely punish the king\nwith plague again.\"\n\nAnd, many years afterward, as you read in the Bible, the prediction\ncame true.\n\n\n\n\nThe Red Slipper\n\n\nRosy-red was a sweet little girl, with beautiful blue eyes, soft pink\ncheeks and glorious ruddy-gold hair of the tinge that artists love to\npaint. Her mother died the day she was born, but her grandmother\nlooked after her with such tender care that Rosy-red regarded her as\nher mother. She was very happy, was Rosy-red. All day long she sang,\nas she tripped gaily about the house or the woods that surrounded it,\nand so melodious was her voice that the birds gathered on the trees to\nlisten to her and to encourage her to continue, by daintily chirruping\nwhenever she ceased.\n\nMerrily Rosy-red performed all the little duties her grandmother\ncalled upon her to do, and on festivals she was allowed to wear a\ndelightful pair of red leather slippers, her father's gift to her on\nher first birthday. Now, although neither she nor her father knew it,\nthey were magic slippers which grew larger as her feet grew. Rosy-red\nwas only a child and so did not know that slippers don't usually grow.\nHer grandmother knew the secret of the slippers, but she did not tell,\nand her father had become too moody and too deeply absorbed in his own\nthoughts and affairs to notice anything.\n\nOne day--Rosy-red remembered it only too sadly--she returned from the\nwoods to find her grandmother gone and three strange women in the\nhouse. She stopped suddenly in the midst of her singing and her cheeks\nturned pale, for she did not like the appearance of the strangers.\n\n\"Who are you?\" she asked.\n\n\"I am your new mother,\" answered the eldest of the three, \"and these\nare my daughters, your two new sisters.\"\n\nRosy-red trembled with fear. They were all three so ugly, and she\nbegan to cry.\n\nHer new sisters scolded her for that and would have beaten her had not\nher father appeared. He spoke kindly, telling her he had married\nagain, because he was lonely and that her step-mother and step-sisters\nwould be good to her. But Rosy-red knew different. She hastened away\nto her own little room and hid her slippers of which she was very\nproud.\n\n\"They have turned my dear granny out of doors; they will take from me\nmy beautiful slippers,\" she sobbed.\n\nAfter that, Rosy-red sang no more. She became a somber girl and a\ndrudge. The birds could not understand. They followed her through the\nwoods, but she was silent, as if she had been stricken dumb, and her\neyes always seemed eager to be shedding tears. Also, she was too busy\nto notice her feathered friends.\n\nShe had to collect firewood for the home, to draw water from the well\nand struggle along with the heavy bucket whose weight made her arms\nand her back ache with pain. Sometimes, too, her white arms were\nscarred with bruises, for her cruel and selfish step-sisters did not\nhesitate to beat her. Often they went out to parties, or to dances,\nand on these occasions she had to act as their maid and help them to\ndress. Rosy-red did not mind; she was only happy when they were out of\nthe house. Then only did she sing softly to herself, and the birds\ncame to listen.\n\nAnd thus many unhappy years passed away.\n\nOnce, when her father was away from home, her step-sisters went off to\na wedding dance. They told her not to forget to draw water from the\nwell, and warned her that if she forgot, as she did the last time,\nthey would beat her without mercy when they returned.\n\nSo Rosy-red, tired though she was, went out in the darkness to draw\nwater. She lowered the bucket, but the cord broke and the pail fell to\nthe bottom of the well. She ran back home for a long stick with a hook\nat the end of it to recover the bucket, and as she put it into the\nwater she sang:\n\n    Swing and sweep till all does cling\n    And to the surface safely bring.\n\nNow it so happened that a sleeping jinn dwelt at the bottom of the\nwell. He could only be awakened by a spell, and although Rosy-red did\nnot know it, the words she uttered, which she had once heard her\ngranny use, were the spell.\n\nThe jinn awoke, and he was so delighted with the sweet voice that he\npromptly decided to help the girl whom he saw peering down into the\nwater. He fastened the bucket to the stick and, taking some jewels\nfrom a treasure of which he was the guardian, he put them inside.\n\n\"Oh, how beautiful,\" cried Rosy-red when she saw the glittering gems.\n\"They are ever so much nicer than those my sisters put on to go to\nthe ball.\"\n\nThen she sat thinking for a while and a bright idea came into her\nhead.\n\n\"I will give these jewels to my sisters,\" she said. \"Perhaps they will\nbe kinder to me.\"\n\nShe waited impatiently until the sisters returned from the dance and\nimmediately told them. For a moment they were too dazed to speak when\nthey saw the sparkling precious stones. Then they looked meaningly at\none another and asked how she came by them. Rosy told them of the\nwords she had sung.\n\n\"Ah, we thought so,\" said the sisters, to her horror. \"The jewels are\nours. We hid them in the well for safety. You have stolen them.\"\n\nIn vain Rosy-red protested. Her sisters would not listen. They beat\nher severely, told her to hurry off to bed, and then, snatching the\nbucket, they hurried off to the well. They lowered the bucket and sang\nthe words that Rosy-red had sung. At least they thought they sang; but\ntheir voices were harsh. The sleeping jinn awoke again, but he did not\nlike the croaking sound the sisters made.\n\n\"Ha, ha!\" he laughed. \"I will teach you to disturb my sleep with\nhideous noises and shall punish such pranks played on me. Here are\nsome more croakers,\" and he filled the bucket with slimy toads and\nfrogs.\n\nThe sisters were so enraged that they ran back home and dragged poor\nRosy-red from her bed.\n\n\"You cat, you thief,\" screamed one.\n\n\"You cheat,\" exclaimed the other. \"Off you go. Not another day can you\nremain in this house.\"\n\nRosy-red was too much taken by surprise to say anything. It was an\noutrage to turn her out of her father's house while he was away on a\njourney, but the thought came to her that she could hardly be less\nhappy living alone in the woods.\n\nShe had only time to snatch her pretty red slippers, and as soon as\nshe was out of sight of the house she put them on. It made her feel\nless miserable. The sun was now rising and when its rays shone on her\nshe began to sing. With her old friends, the birds, twittering all\nabout her, she felt quite happy.\n\nOn and on she walked, much farther into the woods than ever before.\nWhen she grew tired there was always a pleasant shady nook where she\ncould rest; when she became hungry, there were fruit trees in\nabundance; and when she was thirsty she always came to a spring of\nclear, fresh water. The magic slippers guided her. All day long she\nwandered, and when toward evening she noticed her slippers were muddy\nshe took them off to clean. And then darkness fell. It began to rain\nand she grew frightened. She crouched under a tree until she noticed a\nlight some short distance away. She got up and walked toward it.\n\nWhen quite close, she saw that the light came from a cave dwelling. An\nold woman came out to meet her. It was her grandmother, but so many\nyears had passed that Rosy-red did not recognize her. Granny, however,\nat once knew her. \"Come in, my child, and take shelter from the rain,\"\nshe said kindly, and Rosy-red was only too glad to accept the\ninvitation.\n\nThe inside of the cave was quite cosy, and Rosy-red, who was almost\ncompletely exhausted, quickly fell fast asleep. She awoke with a\nstart.\n\n\"My pretty red slippers,\" she cried. \"Where are they?\"\n\nShe put her hand in the pocket of her tattered dress, but could only\nfind one.\n\n\"I must have lost the other,\" she sobbed. \"I must go out and look for\nit.\"\n\n\"No, no,\" said granny. \"You cannot do that. A storm is raging.\"\n\nRosy-red peered out through the door of the cave and drew back in fear\nas she saw the lightning flash and heard the thunder rolling. She\nsobbed herself to sleep again, and this time was awakened by voices.\nShe feared it might be her sisters who had discovered her hiding place\nand had come to drag her forcibly back home again. So she crept into a\ncorner of the cave and listened intently.\n\nA man was speaking.\n\n\"Know you to whom this red slipper belongs?\" he was asking. \"I found\nit in the woods.\"\n\nRosy-red was on the point of rushing out to regain her lost slipper\nwhen her granny's voice--very loud on purpose that she should\nhear--restrained her.\n\n\"No, no, I know not,\" she repeated again and again, and at length the\nman departed.\n\nGranny came back into the cave and said, \"I am sorry, Rosy-red, but\nfor aught I knew, he might be a messenger from your cruel sisters;\nand, of course, I cannot let anyone take you back to them.\"\n\nNext day, the man called again, this time with several attendants.\nAgain, Rosy-red concealed herself.\n\n\"I am a chieftain's son, and wealthy,\" said the man. \"I must find the\nwearer of this shoe. Only a graceful and beautiful girl can wear such\na dainty slipper.\"\n\nRosy-red did not know whether to be more frightened or pleased, when\nher granny told her the man was very handsome and of noble bearing.\n\nDay after day he came, each time with more retainers, and, finally, he\narrived mounted on a richly caparisoned camel with a hundred and one\nfollowers, all mounted as he was.\n\n\"The girl I seek is here,\" he said. \"Deny it no longer. My servants\nhave scoured the woods and the whole neighborhood. One is prepared to\nswear he heard a young girl singing yesterday.\"\n\nRosy-red saw that concealment was no longer possible. She liked the\nman's voice, and she stepped out bravely, wearing her one slipper.\n\nThe stranger, bowing low before her, held out the other, and Rosy-red\ntook it and put it on. It fitted perfectly.\n\n\"Many girls have tried to put on that shoe,\" said the young man, \"but\nall have failed. And I have sworn to make the wearer my bride. I am a\nchieftain's son, and thou shalt be a princess.\"\n\nSo Rosy-red left the cave with her granny, and mounting a camel was\nled through the woods to her new home where she knew naught but\nhappiness and the days of her sufferings were quite forgotten. And\nalways she wore her magic red slippers.\n\n\n\n\nThe Star-Child\n\n\nWhen Abraham was born, his father, Terah, who was one of the chief\nofficers of King Nimrod, gave a banquet to a large number of his\nfriends. He entertained them most sumptuously, and the merriest of the\nguests was the chief of the king's magicians. He was an old man,\nexceedingly fond of wine, and he drank deeply. The feast lasted\nthroughout the night, and the gray dawn of early morning appeared in\nthe sky before Terah's friends thought of rising from the table.\n\nSuddenly the old magician jumped to his feet.\n\n\"See,\" he cried, excitedly, pointing through the open door to the sky.\n\"See yon bright star in the east. It flashes across the heavens.\"\n\nThe others looked, but said they could see nothing.\n\n\"Fools,\" shouted the old man, \"ye may not see, but I do. I, the wisest\nof the king's magicians and astrologers, tell you it is an omen. See\nhow the brilliant star darts across the sky! It has swallowed a\nsmaller star, and another, even a third, yet a fourth. It is an omen,\nI say, a portent that bodes ill. And, moreover,\" he added, growing\nstill more excited, \"it is an omen connected with the birth of the\nlittle son of Terah.\"\n\n   [Illustration: \"The big fellow here got angry, beat the others\n   and smashed them to bits.\" (_Page 95_).]\n\n\"Nonsense,\" cried Terah.\n\n\"Talk not to me of nonsense,\" said the magician, sternly. \"I must\nhasten to inform the king.\"\n\nHurriedly he left the house of Terah, followed by the other magicians,\nsome of whom now said they also had seen a star swallow four others.\nThey did not think it wise to contradict their chief, although he had\ndrunk a great deal of wine and could not walk steadily.\n\nKing Nimrod was awakened from his sleep, and his magicians appeared\nbefore him.\n\n\"O King, live for ever,\" said the chief, by way of salute. \"Grave\nindeed is the news that has led us to disturb thee in thy slumbers.\nThis night a son has been born unto thy officer, Terah, and with the\ncoming of the dawn a warning has appeared to us in the skies. I, the\nchief of thy magicians, did observe a brilliant star rise in the east\nand dart across the heavens and swallow four smaller stars.\"\n\n\"We observed it, too,\" said the other magicians.\n\n\"And what means this?\" inquired the king.\n\n\"It means,\" said the chief magician, mysteriously, \"that this\nstar-child will destroy other children, that his descendants will\nconquer thine. Take warning. Purchase this child from thy officer,\nTerah, and slay it so that it may not grow up a danger to thee.\"\n\n\"Thy advice pleases me,\" said the cruel king.\n\nIn vain Terah protested. King Nimrod would not disregard the warning\nof his magicians, but he consented to give Terah three days in which\nto deliver up the child. Sad at heart Terah returned home, and on the\nsecond day told his wife the terrible news.\n\n\"We must not allow our little son, Abraham, to be slain,\" she said.\n\"If he is to become great he must live. I have a plan. King Nimrod\nwill not be satisfied unless a child is slain. Therefore, take thou\nthe child of a slave to him and tell him it is Abraham. He will not\nknow the difference. And so that the trick shall not be discovered,\ntake our child away and hide it for a time.\"\n\nTerah thought this an excellent idea, and he carried it out. The sick\nchild of a slave, which was born only a few hours before Abraham, was\ntaken to King Nimrod who killed it with his own hands, and Terah's\nlittle boy was secretly carried by his nurse to a cave in a forest.\nThere Abraham was carefully nurtured and brought up.\n\nFrom time to time Abraham was visited by his father and mother, and\nnot until he was ten years old did they think it safe to bring him\nfrom the cave in the forest to their home. Even then they deemed it\nbest to be careful. Their elder son, Haran, was a maker of idols and\nAbraham became his helper without Haran being told it was his brother.\n\nAbraham, the star-child, was a strange little boy. He did not believe\nin the idols.\n\n\"I worship the sun by day and the moon and the stars by night,\" he\nsaid to Haran.\n\n\"There are times when you cannot see the sun by day, nor the moon and\nstars by night,\" said Haran, \"but you can always have your idol with\nyou.\"\n\nThis troubled little Abraham for a while, but one day he came running\nto his brother and said, \"I have made a discovery. I shall no longer\nworship the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars. There must be some\nmighty power behind them that orders them to shine, the sun by day and\nthe moon and stars by night. That great power shall be my God.\"\n\nAbraham asked all sorts of queer questions of his father. \"Who made\nthe sun and the moon and the stars?\" he asked.\n\n\"I know not,\" replied Terah.\n\n\"I have asked all your idols, your gods, and they answer not,\" said\nAbraham.\n\n\"They cannot speak,\" said Terah.\n\n\"Then why do you pray to them and worship them?\" persisted the boy.\n\nTerah did not answer. Abraham asked his mother, but she could only\ntell him that the gods who created everything were with them in the\nhouse.\n\n\"But Haran made those silly things of wood and clay,\" said Abraham,\nand at last they refused to answer his awkward questions.\n\nMostly he stood at the door of the house, gazing at the sky as if\ntrying to read the secrets behind the sun and stars.\n\n\"Thou shouldst have been placed with an astrologer,\" said Haran to him\none day. \"Thou art a child of the stars.\"\n\nTerah heard this and was angry with Haran, for he feared that the\nsecret of the child's birth might be betrayed.\n\n\"I know not why my father keeps thee here,\" said Haran afterward to\nAbraham. \"Thou art becoming lazy. I have worked enough this day and\nwill go out to the woods to watch the hunting. Stay thou here.\nPerchance a purchaser may come. Be heedful and obtain good payment for\nthe idols.\"\n\nNot long after Haran left, an old man entered the shop and said he\nwished to buy an idol.\n\n\"I dropped my idol on the ground yesterday and it broke,\" he said. \"I\nmust have a stronger one.\"\n\n\"Certainly thou must have a god so strong that naught can break it,\"\nanswered Abraham. \"Tell me, how old art thou?\"\n\n\"Full sixty years, boy,\" replied the man.\n\n\"And yet thou hast not reached years of wisdom,\" said Abraham. \"See\nhow easy it is to break thy gods,\" and he took a stick and smashed one\nof the idols with a single blow.\n\nThe old man fled from the shop horrified.\n\nNext, a woman entered.\n\n\"I am too poor to have an idol of my own,\" she said. \"Therefore, I\nhave brought a little food as an offering to one of the many gods\nhere.\"\n\n\"Offer it to any idol that pleases thee,\" said Abraham, with a laugh.\n\nThe woman placed it before the smallest idol.\n\n\"This idol is small and surly,\" said the boy. \"It does not accept thy\noffering,\" and he raised his stick and smashed it.\n\n\"Try a bigger idol with thy offering,\" he said, and the woman did so.\n\n\"Thou also hast no manners,\" said Abraham, addressing the god; \"eat,\nor I shall smash thee to pieces.\"\n\nThe idol, of course, did not eat, and so Abraham broke it, and the\nwoman rushed out into the street in great alarm.\n\nAbraham tried all the idols in turn with the food, and as each was\nunable to eat, he broke them all except the largest. Before this idol,\nwhich was as tall as a man, he paused. Then, laughing loudly, he\nplaced the stick which he had used in the idol's hand.\n\nBy this time, a crowd, attracted by the cries of the old man and the\nwoman, had gathered at the door.\n\n\"What hast thou done?\" they demanded, angrily.\n\n\"I? Nothing,\" answered Abraham. \"See, the largest idol holds in its\nhand a big stick. It seems to me that he has been angry and has killed\nall the others. Ask him why he did this.\"\n\nThe people stood bewildered until Terah and Haran returned.\n\n\"What is the meaning of this?\" they asked, pointing to the broken\nidols.\n\n\"Oh! Such fun,\" replied Abraham. \"There has been a fight here. A woman\nbrought a food offering to the gods, and they quarrelled because they\nall wanted it. So the big fellow here got angry, and, taking up the\nstick which you see he still holds, he beat the others and smashed\nthem to bits.\"\n\n\"Absurd!\" cried Haran. \"The idols cannot do these things.\"\n\n\"Ask the big fellow to strike me if I have told lies,\" returned\nAbraham.\n\n\"Cease your nonsense,\" commanded his father.\n\n\"What funny gods yours are,\" said Abraham, musingly, standing before\nthe big idol. \"Do you think he will hit me if I smack his face?\"\n\nBefore anybody could stop him, he smacked the idol's face and then\nknocked off its head with the stick.\n\nSome of the people ran off to the palace, and soon came an order from\nKing Nimrod that the idol-breaker should be brought before him.\nAbraham, Haran and Terah were seized by the guards and marched off to\nthe palace.\n\n\"Which of you broke the idols?\" asked the king, angrily.\n\n\"I did, because they were rude and would not accept the offering,\"\nsaid Abraham. \"How can they be gods if they have no sense?\"\n\n\"Not altogether a foolish remark,\" said Nimrod, smiling. \"If idols\nplease thee not, then worship fire which has the power to consume.\"\n\n\"Fire itself can be quenched by water,\" replied Abraham.\n\n\"Then worship water,\" returned Nimrod.\n\n\"But water is absorbed by the clouds,\" said the boy.\n\n\"And clouds are blown by the wind,\" said Nimrod.\n\n\"Man can withstand the force of the wind,\" said Abraham.\n\n\"So he will talk all day long, this child of the stars,\" exclaimed\nHaran.\n\n\"Child of the stars!\" said the chief magician. \"Now I understand. O\nking, this must be no other than the child of Terah against whom, at\nhis birth, we warned your majesty. The message of the stars has come\ntrue. He has dared to destroy our gods. Soon he will destroy us.\"\n\n\"Is this, in truth, the child of the stars?\" asked Nimrod, of Terah,\nbut the latter did not answer.\n\n\"It is in truth, your majesty,\" said Haran. \"I have long suspected\nit.\"\n\n\"Then why didst thou not inform me?\" exclaimed the king in a rage. \"I\nwill test this star-child with the power of my god, fire. And thou,\nHaran, for thy neglect, must also suffer. Guards, let them be bound\nand cast into the furnace to which I pray daily. Terah, thou art their\nfather. I can forgive thee; thou wilt suffer sufficiently in losing\nboth thy sons to my god.\"\n\nThe fire was made so hot that the men who endeavored to cast Abraham\nand Haran into the flames were caught and burned to death. Twelve men\nin all perished before Terah's sons were thrown into the furnace.\nHaran was burned to ashes at once, but to the surprise of the vast\ncrowd that stood at a safe distance, Abraham walked unharmed in the\nflames, the fetters which bound him having been consumed.\n\nWhen King Nimrod saw this, he trembled.\n\n\"Come forth, boy,\" he cried to Abraham, \"and I will pardon thee.\"\n\n\"Bid your men take me out,\" he answered.\n\nAll who approached the terrific fire, however, were burned to death,\nand at last when Nimrod said he would bow down before Abraham's God\nthe boy came forth unharmed.\n\nAll the people bowed down before the boy who told them to rise,\nsaying, \"Worship not me, but the true God who dwells in Heaven beyond\nthe sun and the stars and whose glory is everywhere.\"\n\nKing Nimrod loaded the boy with presents and bade him return home in\npeace.\n\n\n\n\nAbi Fressah's Feast\n\n\nThere was not in the whole city of Bagdad a greedier man than Abi\nFressah, and you may be sure he was not popular. It was not that he\nwas rich and refused to give heed to the needs of the poor. He was, in\ntruth, a merchant in moderately affluent circumstances, and he did not\nwithhold charity from the deserving; but he was a man of enormous\nappetite and did not scruple to descend to trickery to secure an\ninvitation to a meal.\n\nSo skilful, indeed, did he become in wheedling these favors from his\nfriends and from those with whom he traded, that he devoted the major\nportion of each day to feeding and left himself little time to attend\nto his business affairs. Moreover, he grew unpleasantly fat. His face\nwas red and bloated with much wine drinking. He was not a nice person\nto look upon at all, and those who had aforetime been his friends came\nto the conclusion that the day had arrived when he should be taught a\nsevere lesson.\n\n   [Illustration: He sprang from his stool, spluttering and\n   cursing. (_Page 110_).]\n\nAnd so it came to pass that when Abi Fressah was standing in the\nbazaar at the hour of the mid-day meal and eagerly scanning the crowd\nto discover some acquaintance whom he could induce to ask him to\ndinner, he saw Ben Maslia, one of the wealthiest and most generous of\nmen in Bagdad.\n\n\"Ah, my excellent friend,\" Abi cried, warmly greeting Ben Maslia,\n\"'tis almost an eternity since my unworthy eyes were cast upon thy\npleasant countenance. Peace be on thee and thine unto the end of\ndays.\"\n\n\"Also to thee,\" returned Ben Maslia.\n\n\"And whence comest thou? And whither goest thou, oh most hospitable\nfriend?\" Abi Fressah asked these questions hastily, his beady eyes\nsearching the other's face hungrily for a sign upon which he could\nseize to invite himself to a meal. \"It is the hour of the mid-day\nmeal. Goest thou, perchance, to thy pious home?\"\n\n\"Thither go I,\" said Ben Maslia.\n\n\"My path lies in the same direction,\" said Abi Fressah. \"It will be\npleasant to walk together. Come,\" and he grasped Ben Maslia by the\narm.\n\n\"It is kind of thee, friend Abi Fressah,\" rejoined the other, \"but I\nhave built me a new abode on the other side of the city.\"\n\nAbi Fressah's face fell for a moment, but he was clever enough to take\nadvantage of the news.\n\n\"A new dwelling erected by the wealthy Ben Maslia,\" he said,\nwinningly, \"must be a building of magnificence, worth seeing.\"\n\n\"Indeed it is as thou sayest,\" cried the other enthusiastically, and\nforthwith he launched into a lavish description of his residence.\n\nAbi Fressah grew impatient when Ben Maslia began to describe each room\nin detail, his hunger increased when, in glowing words, his friend\npainted the gorgeous dining-room, and his mouth watered at the\ninformation that the cellars were stocked with a thousand bottles of\nwine.\n\n\"Blessings on thee and thy wine-cellar and thy house,\" murmured Abi\nFressah, when he could get in a word. \"I have no business of\nconsequence to transact this afternoon. I could not pay thee a better\ncompliment than to spend it examining thy treasures.\"\n\n\"Of a certainty thou couldst not,\" assented the other, to his great\nglee.\n\n\"Then let us proceed,\" said Abi Fressah.\n\nSo they set out, Ben Maslia still continuing his glowing account of\nhis wonderful house.\n\n\"It must be as spacious as a palace,\" put in Abi Fressah.\n\n\"Thou speakest truth,\" agreed Ben Maslia. \"I will illustrate to thee\nthe vast expanse of my new residence.\"\n\nHe stopped in his walk, measured one hundred paces in the street, and\nintimated that this represented the width of the central courtyard.\n\nAbi Fressah was overwhelmed with surprise, but he was growing\nmomentarily hungrier, and it was with difficulty he could restrain his\nimpatience.\n\n\"Yes, yes,\" he said, \"I would fain gaze upon the outer door of thy\ndwelling.\"\n\n\"Such an outer door,\" said Ben Maslia, \"hast thou never seen. Its\nwidth....\" and again he began to measure the street to indicate its\ndimensions.\n\n\"And further,\" he added, calmly, either failing to notice, or\ndeliberately overlooking Abi Fressah's growing distress, \"its shape\nand design are...!\" and he dragged the other through several streets\nuntil he found a door to which he could point as being not altogether\nunlike his own.\n\n\"But I weary thee,\" he said, suddenly, as if regretful of the time he\nhad wasted.\n\n\"Nay, nay, not at all,\" Abi Fressah assured him, although he was\ninwardly fuming at the delay. \"Thy descriptions delight me\nimmeasurably. Thou hast not yet unfolded to me the wonders of thy\ndining-room.\"\n\nThereupon Ben Maslia took up the tale of the dining-room and its\nfurniture, and he dragged his companion half a mile out of their path\nto show him the furniture emporium where he had purchased the tables\nand the couches. Then he retraced his steps to point out a building\nfrom which he had borrowed certain ideas of decoration.\n\nAbi Fressah's fat body was unused to such exertion. He perspired\nfreely, his legs tottered beneath him, and his tongue was parched. He\nwas really very uncomfortable, and the pangs of hunger from which he\nsuffered were not lessened when Ben Maslia stopped outside a\nrestaurant to speak to a friend who was just going in.\n\nThe conversation was prolonged, and all the time Abi Fressah's nose\nwas tickled by the smell of the cooking. He endured agonies,\nespecially when the friend invited Ben Maslia to dine with him, and\nBen Maslia, after a few moment's hesitation, firmly declined.\n\n\"I must apologize to thee for this delay,\" said Ben Maslia, when at\nlength he left his friend, \"but the matter was urgent. I will make up\nto thee by the magnificence of the feast.\"\n\nAbi Fressah thanked him cordially for his consideration, but his pain\nwas intense when Ben Maslia insisted on giving him fullest particulars\nof all the dishes he would enjoy.\n\n\"Yes, yes,\" Abi kept saying, but Ben Maslia stayed his interruptions.\n\n\"Thy dwelling is far from the center of the city,\" Abi Fressah managed\nto say at last.\n\n\"That is a virtue,\" commented Ben Maslia, and he followed it up with\nthe advice given to him by a renowned physician that a house was\nhealthiest when it stood alone, away from the busy haunts of men. To\nall this and more, Abi Fressah was compelled to listen. His whole fat\nbody ached with weariness, he was tortured by a raging thirst, and he\nfancied he felt himself growing thinner--so fearfully hungry was he.\n\nThe sun was sinking when at last they reached the house, and Abi\nFressah was afraid for a moment that his host would enlarge upon its\narchitecture. To his relief, however, they entered straightway, and\nBen Maslia said to him, \"Thou must be fatigued after thy walk. Rest\nawhile.\"\n\nAbi Fressah was truly grateful, and taking off his shoes he stretched\nhimself on a comfortable couch. He dozed for a while, but was awakened\nby the noise of clattering dishes and the smell of savory cooking. He\nalmost forgot his unpleasant afternoon in the prospect of the coming\nfeast, but Ben Maslia came not. Abi Fressah soon felt angry. He could\nnot restrain himself from banging a big brass gong to summon a\nservant. But although he banged several times, no servant answered the\ncall. Abi Fressah nearly shed tears in his despair.\n\nSuddenly Ben Maslia appeared before him.\n\n\"I thought I would give thee ample rest,\" he said suavely. \"Come, we\nmust perform our ablutions.\"\n\nAbi Fressah would have preferred to have dispensed with this ceremony,\nbut he could not offend his host by declining to conform to the custom\nof the period. Ben Maslia led the way to the bath-chamber, and there\nthey spent quite an hour. Then, thoroughly refreshed, the host said,\n\"Now I will show thee the wonders and beauties of my domain.\"\n\nAbi Fressah was almost stupified with hunger, but he had to permit\nhimself to be led through each room and to hear again the praises that\nhad already been poured into his ears all the afternoon. Only the\nsmell of the cooking fortified his spirit and enabled him to undergo\nthe ordeal. He seemed to wake up from a stupor when his host opened a\ndoor and exclaimed, \"This is the feasting-chamber.\"\n\nA scene of splendor burst upon the eyes of Abi Fressah. He rubbed his\nhands in glee and was ready to forget and forgive the discomforts of\nthe past few hours. The dining-room presented a magnificent\nappearance, with its gorgeous hangings, its many lamps, and its marble\nfloor. But these things Abi Fressah scarcely noted. His gaze was\npromptly directed on the table.\n\nIt was spread with the most sumptuous repast that ever he had seen.\nThere were dishes upon dishes of tasty sweetmeats, huge platters of\nluscious fruits, many bottles of wine, and covered bowls from which\narose the most appetizing aroma. Abi Fressah's mouth began to twitch\nand his eyes glowed. He moved forward to a seat.\n\n\"Good friend,\" said his host, \"let me first introduce to your notice\nmy staff of servants.\"\n\nHe clapped his hands, and immediately, in quite startling fashion, a\ndozen servants stepped from behind the hangings which had hidden them\nand bowed before their master. With a dozen attendants to wait upon\nhim, Abi Fressah saw that he was going to enjoy a meal worthy of the\noccasion. He looked upon the slaves with satisfaction.\n\n\"Note, my worthy Abi Fressah,\" said Ben Maslia, \"that this is no\nordinary retinue of servants. Each one comes from a different part of\nthe known world. Rosh, the big man there, head of them all, is the\nonly native of Bagdad. He has an interesting history. He has been in\nmy service since his birth. His father was likewise in the service of\nmy sainted father, and his grandfather.... But let that suffice. I\nwould not imprison thy appetite longer. Sheni--that is the second\nservant, the big black Nubian there--bring hither the first dish.\"\n\nSheni took up one of the dishes from the table and placed himself by\nthe side of his master.\n\n\"Stands he not well?\" asked Ben Maslia, in admiring tones. \"He is a\ndescendant of kings. In ancient days his ancestors sat on a throne and\nruled over a huge territory beyond the deserts of Africa. I obtained\nhim during my journey in that country. And on that occasion I\ndiscovered this beautiful rug in a shop in Cairo.\"\n\nSaying which, Ben Maslia rose from his seat and fingered lovingly one\nof the hangings of the room. Abi Fressah did not rise. He was trying\nto keep his temper. The dish which Sheni held so tantalizingly under\nhis very nose made him mad with hunger and desire.\n\nBut Ben Maslia took no heed. He began to dilate upon the virtues of\nanother piece of tapestry.\n\n\"This,\" he said, \"I bought in the famous bazaar of Damascus. It is\nhundreds of years old. And in that city, too, I became possessed of my\nthird servant, Shelishi there, a true-born son of the Holy Land and\nthe keeper of my camels. Our meeting was an adventure....\"\n\nAbi Fressah was not listening. This was beyond endurance. He felt that\nsoon he would collapse in a faint on the floor. And still Ben Maslia\ndroned on. There was a servant from China and also a cunningly wrought\nvase from that land; a brown page boy in a red turban from India from\nwhich land his host had also brought the lamp standing in the center\nof the table and some of the flowers which adorned the room.\n\n\"You would not guess,\" he was saying, \"that many of these blooms are\nnot natural. They are artificial but mixed so skilfully with the real\nthat even experts would be deluded.\"\n\nBy this time Abi Fressah was beyond the power of speech. Two or three\ntimes, he tried to speak but could not. He was really too weak. Never\nin his life before had he been so hungry, so tortured. It was some\ntime, however, before Ben Maslia noticed his plight.\n\n\"Art thou ill?\" he exclaimed. \"That grieves me. But, fortunately, I\nhave in the house an experienced apothecary who can apply leeches and\nrelieve thee of foul blood.\"\n\n\"No, no,\" pleaded the unhappy Abi Fressah, finding his tongue at this\ndismal prospect.\n\n\"Perchance a glass of rare cordial will revive thee,\" said Ben Maslia,\ntaking one of the bottles from the table.\n\nAbi Fressah managed to gasp the word \"Yes,\" and Rosh held a goblet\ninto which Ben Maslia poured a rich, red fluid.\n\n\"Drink this,\" he said kindly, holding the cup to his guest's lip.\n\n\"At last,\" thought Abi Fressah, as he opened his mouth.\n\nThe next moment he sprang from his stool with astonishing agility,\nspluttering and cursing. The liquid was bitter in the extreme, the\ntaste it left in his mouth most horrid.\n\n\"Now I know I have been hoodwinked,\" he screamed in rage, and he\ndashed toward the outer door.\n\n\"Stay, stay--what ails thee?\" cried Ben Maslia.\n\n\"Stop, stop,\" echoed the servants, as Abi Fressah commenced to run.\n\nThe cry was taken up in the street by those who saw a fat man panting\nalong in the darkness, pursued by a number of servants.\n\n\"Stop thief!\" was the cry of one man in his excitement. The town\nguards heard, and without any ado they seized Abi Fressah and hauled\nhim off to the jail. In vain he begged for mercy and struggled for\nfreedom.\n\n\"If thou wilt not behave, we shall use force,\" the guards said, and\nthey beat him with staves.\n\nAt the jail, Abi Fressah was flung into a cell, and there, on a bed of\nstraw on the ground, he spent a horrible, sleepless night. He ached in\nevery bone in his body, he was bruised all over, and his hunger was\nsuch that he felt he had never eaten in his life. His reflections were\nsad, as you may well imagine, and they led him to a vow that never\nagain would he seek the hospitality of his friends. He realized at\nlast that he had made himself obnoxious and had been cleverly and\ndeservedly well punished.\n\nEven yet his sufferings were not at an end, for next morning, when he\nwas released and sent for his physician, the latter prescribed a diet\nof gruel and barley water for a whole week!\n\n   [Illustration: He found a beautiful youth, clad in a deer skin,\n   lying on the ground. (_Page 115_).]\n\n\n\n\nThe Beggar King\n\n\nProud King Hagag sat on his throne in state, and the high priest,\nstanding by his side, read from the Holy Book, as was his daily\ncustom. He read these words: \"For riches are not for ever: and doth\nthe crown endure to every generation?\"\n\n\"Cease!\" cried the king. \"Who wrote those words?\"\n\n\"They are the words of the Holy Book,\" answered the high priest.\n\n\"Give me the book,\" commanded the king.\n\nWith trembling hands the high priest placed it before his majesty.\nKing Hagag gazed earnestly at the words that had been read, and he\nfrowned. Raising his hand, he tore the page from the book and threw it\nto the ground.\n\n\"I, Hagag, am king,\" he said, \"and all such passages that offend me\nshall be torn out.\"\n\nHe flung the volume angrily from him while the high priest and all his\ncourtiers looked on in astonishment.\n\n\"I have heard enough for today,\" he said. \"Too long have I delayed my\nhunting expedition. Let the horses be got ready.\"\n\nHe descended from the throne, stalked haughtily past the trembling\nfigure of the high priest, and went forth to the hunt. Soon he was\nriding furiously across an open plain toward a forest where a wild\nstag had been seen. A trumpet sounded the signal that the deer had\nbeen driven from its hiding place, and the king urged his horse\nforward to be the first in the chase. His majesty's steed was the\nswiftest in the land. Quickly it carried him out of sight of his\nnobles and attendants. But the deer was surprisingly fleet and the\nking could not catch up with it. Coming to a river, the animal plunged\nin and swam across. Scrambling up the opposite bank its antlers caught\nin the branch of a tree, and the king, arriving at the river, gave a\ncry of joy.\n\n\"Now I have thee,\" he said. Springing from his horse and divesting\nhimself of his clothing he swam across with naught but a sword.\n\nAs he reached the opposite bank, however, the deer freed itself from\nthe tree and plunged into a thicket. The king, with his sword in his\nhand, followed quickly, but no deer could he see. Instead, he found,\nlying on the ground beyond the thicket, a beautiful youth clad in a\ndeer-skin. He was panting as if after a long run. The king stood still\nin surprise and the youth sprang to his feet.\n\n\"I am the deer,\" he said. \"I am a genii and I have lured thee to this\nspot, proud king, to teach thee a lesson for thy words this morning.\"\n\nBefore King Hagag could recover from his surprise the youth ran back\nto the river and swam across. Quickly he dressed himself in the king's\nclothes and mounted the horse just as the other hunters came up. They\nthought the genii was King Hagag and they halted before him.\n\n\"Let us return,\" said the genii. \"The deer has crossed the river and\nhas escaped.\"\n\nKing Hagag from the thicket on the opposite side watched them ride\naway and then flung himself on the ground and wept bitterly. There he\nlay until a wood-cutter found him.\n\n\"What do you here?\" asked the man.\n\n\"I am King Hagag,\" returned the monarch.\n\n\"Thou art a fool,\" said the wood-cutter. \"Thou art a lazy\ngood-for-naught to talk so. Come, carry my bundle of sticks and I will\ngive thee food and an old garment.\"\n\nIn vain the king protested. The wood-cutter only laughed the more,\nand at last, losing patience, he beat him and drove him away. Tired\nand hungry, and clad only in the rags which the wood-cutter had given\nhim, King Hagag reached the palace late at night.\n\n\"I am King Hagag,\" he said to the guards, but roughly they bade him\nbegone, and after spending a wretched night in the streets of the\ncity, his majesty, next morning, was glad to accept some bread and\nmilk offered to him by a poor old woman who took pity on him. He stood\nat a street corner not knowing what to do. Little children teased him;\nothers took him for a beggar and offered him money. Later in the day\nhe saw the genii ride through the streets on his horse. All the people\nbowed down before him and cried, \"Long live the king!\"\n\n\"Woe is me,\" cried Hagag, in his wretchedness. \"I am punished for my\nsin in scoffing at the words of the Holy Book.\"\n\nHe saw that it would be useless for him to go to the palace again, and\nhe went into the fields and tried to earn his bread as a laborer. He\nwas not used to work, however, and but for the kindness of the very\npoorest he would have died of starvation. He wandered miserably from\nplace to place until he fell in with some blind beggars who had been\ndeserted by their guide. Joyfully he accepted their offer to take the\nguide's place.\n\nMonths rolled by, and one morning the royal heralds went forth and\nannounced that \"Good King Hagag\" would give a feast a week from that\nday to all the beggars in the land.\n\nFrom far and near came beggars in hundreds, to partake of the king's\nbounty, and Hagag stood among them, with his blind companions, in the\ncourtyard of the palace waiting for his majesty to appear. He knew the\nplace well, and he hung his head and wept.\n\n\"His majesty will speak to each one of you who are his guests today,\"\ncried a herald, and one by one they passed into the palace and stood\nbefore the throne. When it came to Hagag's turn, he trembled so much\nthat he had to be supported by the guards.\n\nThe genii on the throne and Hagag looked long at each other.\n\n\"Art thou, too, a beggar?\" said the genii.\n\n\"Nay, gracious majesty,\" answered Hagag with bent head. \"I have sinned\ngrievously and have been punished. I am but the servant of a troop of\nblind beggars to whom I act as guide.\"\n\nThe genii king signed to his courtiers that he desired to be left\nalone with Hagag. Then he said:\n\n\"Hagag, I know thee. I see that thou hast repented. It is well. Now\ncanst thou resume thy rightful place.\"\n\n\"Gracious majesty,\" said Hagag, \"I have learned humility and wisdom.\nThe throne is not for me. The blind beggars need me. Let me remain in\ntheir service.\"\n\n\"It cannot be,\" said the genii. \"I see that thou art truly penitent.\nThy lesson is learned and my task is done. I will see that the blind\nbeggars lack not.\"\n\nWith his own hands he placed the royal robes on Hagag and himself\ndonned those of the beggar. When the courtiers returned they saw no\ndifference. King Hagag sat on the throne again, and nowhere in the\nwhole world was there a monarch who ruled more wisely or showed more\nkindness and sympathy to all his subjects.\n\n\n\n\nThe Quarrel of the Cat and Dog\n\n\nIn the childhood of the world, when Adam named all the animals and\nruled over them, the dog and the cat were the greatest good friends.\nThey were inseparable chums in their recreations, faithful partners in\ntheir transactions, and devoted comrades in all their adventures,\ntheir pleasures and their sorrows. They lived together, shared each\nother's food and confided their secrets to none but themselves. It\nseemed that no possible difference would ever arise to cause trouble\nbetween them.\n\nThen winter came. It was a new experience to them to feel the cold\nwind cutting through their skins and making them shiver. The dismal\nprospect of the leafless trees and the hard cold ground weighed\nheavily upon their hearts, and, worse still, there was less food. The\nscarcity grew serious, and hunger plunged them into unhappiness and\ndespair. Doggie became melancholy, while Pussie grew peevish, then\npetulant, and finally developed a horrid temper.\n\n\"We can't go on like this,\" moaned the cat. \"I think we had better\ndissolve partnership. We can't find enough to share when we are\ntogether, but separately we ought each to discover sufficient forage\nin our hunting.\"\n\n\"I think I can help you, because I am the stronger,\" said the dog.\n\nPussie did not contradict, but she thought the dog a bit of a fool and\ntoo good-natured. She knew herself to be sly and intended to rely on\nthat quality for her future sustenance. Doggie was deeply hurt at\nPussie's desire to end their happy compact, but he said quietly, \"Of\ncourse, if you insist on parting, I will agree.\"\n\n\"It is agreed then,\" purred Pussie.\n\n\"Where will you go?\" asked Doggie.\n\n\"To the house of Adam,\" promptly replied the cat, who had evidently\nmade up her mind. \"There are mice there. Adam will be grateful if I\nclear them away. I shall have food to eat.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" assented the dog. \"I will wander further afield.\"\n\nThen the cat said solemnly: \"We must each take an oath never to cross\nthe other's path. That is the proper way to terminate a business\nagreement. The serpent says so, and he is the wisest of all animals.\"\n\nThey put their right fore-paws together and gravely repeated an oath\nnever to interfere with each other by going to the same place. Then\nthey parted. Doggie trotted off sorrowfully with his head hanging\ndown. Once he looked back, but Puss did not do so. She scampered off\nas fast as she could to the house of Adam.\n\n\"Father Adam,\" she cried, \"I have come to be your slave. You are\ntroubled with mice in the house. I can rid you of them, and I want\nnothing else for my services.\"\n\n\"Thou art welcome,\" said Father Adam, stroking Pussie's warm fur.\n\nPuss rubbed her head against his feet, purred contentedly, and ran off\nto look for mice. She found plenty and soon grew fat and comfortable.\nAdam treated her kindly, and she soon forgot all about her former\ncomrade.\n\nPoor Doggie did not fare so well. Indeed, he had a rough time. He\nwandered aimlessly about over the frozen ground and could not find the\nslightest scrap of food. After three days, weary, paw-sore and\ndispirited, he came to a wolf's lair and begged for shelter. The wolf\ntook pity on him, gave him some scraps of food, and permitted him to\nsleep in the lair. Doggie was most thankful, and sleeping with his\nears on the alert, he heard stealthy footsteps in the night. He told\nthe wolf.\n\n\"Drive the intruders away,\" said his host in a surly tone.\n\nDoggie went out obediently to do so. But the marauders were wild\nanimals and they nearly killed him. He was lucky to escape with his\nlife. After bathing his wounds at a pool in the early morning he\nwandered all day long, but again could find nothing. Toward night,\nwhen he could scarcely drag his famished and wounded body along, he\nsaw a monkey in a tree.\n\n\"Kind monkey,\" he pleaded, \"give me shelter for the night. I am\nexhausted and starving.\"\n\n\"Go away, go away, go away,\" chattered the monkey, jumping and\nswinging swiftly from branch to branch, moving his lips quickly and\nopening and shutting his eyes comically. Doggie hesitated, and, to\nfrighten him away, the monkey pulled cocoanuts from the tree and\npelted him.\n\nPoor Doggie crawled miserably away.\n\n\"What shall I do?\" he moaned.\n\nHearing the bleating of some sheep, he made his way to them and asked\nthem to take compassion on him.\n\n\"We will,\" they replied, \"if you will keep watch over us and tell us\nwhen the wolf comes.\"\n\nDoggie agreed willingly, and, after he had devoured some food, he\nstretched himself to sleep like a faithful watch-dog, with one eye\nopen.\n\nIn the middle of the night he heard the wolves approaching, and,\nanxious to serve the sheep who had treated him kindly, he sprang to\nhis feet and began to bark loudly. This aroused the sheep, who awoke\nand started to run in all directions. Some of them ran right into the\npack of wolves and were killed and eaten. Poor Doggie was nearly\nheart-broken.\n\n\"It is my fault, my fault,\" he wailed. \"I barked too soon. Oh, what an\nunhappy creature I am. I shall keep away from all animals now.\"\n\nOnce again he set off on his travels. Whenever he met an animal he ran\noff in the opposite direction. He had to make his journey by the\nloneliest paths and the most unfrequented routes, and the difficulty\nof finding food grew steadily greater. At last he grew so weak and\nthin that he hardly had strength to crawl and he had several narrow\nescapes from falling a prey to ferocious beasts.\n\nOne night he came to a house and begged a morsel of food. It was\ngiven, and during the night he woke the man and warned him that wild\nanimals were making a raid. The man jumped up, seized his bow and\narrow and drove the thieves away. Then he patted Doggie.\n\n\"Good dog,\" he said. \"You are a wise animal. Stay with me always. You\nwill find Father Adam kind.\"\n\n\"Father Adam!\" cried Doggie, in alarm. \"I must not stay here.\"\n\n\"Nonsense. I say you must,\" answered Adam, and Doggie was compelled to\nobey.\n\nIn the morning, Pussie learned that the dog had joined the household\nand she complained to Adam.\n\n\"The dog has violated the oath he swore not to come to the place where\nI am,\" she said.\n\n\"He did not know you were here,\" said Adam, desirous of maintaining\npeace. \"He is very useful. I want him to remain. He won't hurt you.\nThere is ample room for both.\"\n\n\"No, there isn't,\" said Puss spitefully, arching up her back and\ngetting cross. \"He broke his oath. He is a wicked creature. You dare\nnot overlook his offense.\"\n\nPoor Doggie stood dejectedly apart, with his tail between his legs.\n\n\"I didn't know it was Adam's house, and I was so hungry and miserable\nand tired,\" he said.\n\nBut Pussie would not be pacified. She thrust out her ugly claws and\ntried to scratch her former partner. The dog kept out of her way as\nmuch as possible, but she quarrelled with him at every opportunity,\nand at last he determined to tolerate her conduct no longer.\n\n\"I must leave you, Father Adam,\" he said. \"Pussie is making my life\nunbearable.\"\n\n\"But I want you,\" said Adam.\n\n\"I'm sorry,\" said Doggie, firmly, \"but it is really impossible for me\nto continue in your service. I've got another situation at the house\nof Seth. He wants me, too.\"\n\n\"Won't you make friends with Pussie?\" asked Adam.\n\n\"With pleasure, if she will let me, but she won't.\"\n\n\"You blame each other,\" said Adam, losing patience. \"I can't make you\nout. You look like quarrelling for ever.\"\n\nAdam's words have proved true. Ever since that time the cat and dog\nhave failed to agree, and Pussie will never consent to be friendly\nagain with Doggie.\n\n   [Illustration: With a cry, he put his fingers in his mouth to\n   ease the pain and burned his tongue. (_Page 131_).]\n\n\n\n\nThe Water-Babe\n\n\nFloating in a basket on the River Nile, Princess Bathia, the daughter\nof Pharaoh, King of Egypt, found a tiny little water-babe. Princess\nBathia was a widow and had no children, and she was so delighted that\nshe took the child home to the palace and brought it up as her own.\nShe called the babe Moses.\n\nHe was a pretty little boy, full of fun and frolic as he grew up, and\nhe became a favorite with everybody in the palace. Even the cruel King\nPharaoh, who had ordered that all the Hebrew boy babes should be\ndrowned, loved to play with him. His ministers of state and magicians,\nhowever, frowned when they saw Moses, as soon as he could toddle and\ntalk, making a play-mate of the king. They warned Pharaoh that it was\ndangerous to give a strange child such privileges, but Princess Bathia\nonly laughed at them. So did her mother, the queen, and King Pharaoh\ntook no notice.\n\nWhen Moses was three years old, Princess Bathia gave a birthday party\nin his honor. It was really a big banquet and was attended by the king\nand queen and all the courtiers. Moses was seated at the head of the\ntable and his eyes opened very wide with wonderment at everything he\nsaw. It seemed such a ridiculous lot of solemn fuss to him. He would\nrather have played on the floor, or climbed on to the table, but of\ncourse they would not allow him.\n\n\"What does all this mean?\" he asked of the king who was seated next to\nhim. \"Tell me,\" and he playfully pulled King Pharaoh's beard.\n\nThe courtiers looked on horrified, and Bilam, the chief magician,\ncried out, \"Beware, O king, this is not play.\"\n\n\"Heed not these words, my father,\" said the princess. \"Bilam is ever\nwarning thee. If thou wert to take notice of all that he says, thou\nwouldst not have a moment's peace. Take our little babe on thy knee\nand play with him.\"\n\nTo please the princess, King Pharaoh did so, and Moses amused himself\nby playing with the glittering jewels on his majesty's robes. Then he\nlooked up and stared hard at the king's head.\n\n\"What is that?\" he asked, pointing.\n\n\"That is the royal crown,\" answered Pharaoh.\n\n\"No it is not; it is only a funny hat,\" replied Moses.\n\n\"Beware,\" chimed in Bilam, solemnly.\n\n\"Let me put the hat on,\" said Moses, reaching up his little hands, and\nbefore they could stop him, he had taken the crown from the king's\nhead and had put it on his own.\n\nPrincess Bathia and the queen laughed merrily, but Bilam looked very\ngrave.\n\n\"Your majesty,\" he said, in a voice trembling with passion, \"this is\nnot the foolish play of a babe. This child, remember, is not as other\nchildren. Came he not from the river? There is meaning in his action.\nAlready does he seek to rob thee of thy royal crown. 'Tis a portent of\nevil.\"\n\nPharaoh thoughtfully stroked his beard.\n\n\"What sayeth Reuel?\" he asked, turning to his second chief magician.\n\n\"I say the child is but a babe and that this action means nothing,\"\nanswered Reuel.\n\nThe queen and the princess agreed with Reuel, who was their favorite,\nbut Bilam would not allow the matter to pass lightly.\n\n\"I, Bilam, am chief of thy counselors,\" he said, \"and deeply learned\nin the mysteries of signs and portents. There is a meaning in all\nthings. Remember, O King, this child is of the Hebrews, and escaped\nthy decree. This play of his hath a meaning. Should he be permitted to\ngrow up, he will rebel against thee and seek to destroy thy rule. Let\nhim be judged, O king.\"\n\n\"Thy words are wise,\" said Pharaoh, who was himself annoyed with\nMoses, and he ordered three judges to try the child for his offence.\n\nMoses thought it was a new game and he clapped his hands gleefully\nwhen they took him to the court of justice and stood him in front of\nthe judges. He heard Reuel plead on his behalf, but he did not\nunderstand it.\n\n\"I say he is but a babe and does things without meaning,\" Reuel\nexclaimed. \"Put him to the test, and see if he knows the difference\nbetween fire and gold. Place before him a dish of fire and a dish of\njewels and gold. If he grasps the jewels, it will prove that he is no\nordinary child; if he places his hand to the fire, then shall we be\nassured he is merely a foolish babe.\"\n\n\"So be it,\" said Bilam, \"and if he grasps the jewels let his\npunishment be instant death.\"\n\nPharaoh and the judges agreed, and two dishes, one containing burning\ncoals and the other gold and precious stones were brought in and\nplaced before Moses. Everybody looked on keenly as Moses stared at\nthe dishes. Princess Bathia made signs to him, but Bilam ordered her\nto cease and it was Reuel who comforted her and dried her tears.\n\n\"Take my magic staff,\" he said, handing to her a stick that seemed to\nbe made of one large precious stone. \"This was given to Adam when he\nleft the Garden of Eden and has been handed down to me through Enoch\nand Noah, through Abraham and Jacob unto Joseph who left it in my\nkeeping. Take the staff and Moses will obey whatsoever be thy wish.\"\n\nThe princess took the staff and pressed it to her lips.\n\n\"I wish,\" she said, \"that my little water-babe shall seize the burning\ncoals.\"\n\nMoses thrust his fingers into the fire and pulled out a glowing coal.\nWith a cry, he put his fingers in his mouth to ease the pain and\nburned his tongue with the coal. Ever afterward he lisped.\n\nThe princess snatched Moses and pressed him tightly to her bosom.\n\n\"Give me the magic stick,\" she said to Reuel, \"so that I may guard and\nprotect the child.\"\n\n\"Canst thou read this word?\" asked Reuel, pointing to a word engraved\non the staff.\n\n\"No,\" said the princess.\n\n\"Then it cannot be thine,\" answered Reuel. \"Whosoever reads this name\ncan understand all things, even the thoughts of animals and birds.\nFear not for Moses. In years to come this staff shall be his.\"\n\nAnd so it came to pass. Years afterward, when Moses was a man and fled\nfrom Egypt, he married a daughter of Reuel who became a Hebrew and\ntook the name of Jethro. Reuel planted the staff in his garden and\nMoses saw it. He read the magic word, and touching the staff it came\nout of the ground into his hands. With this staff Moses performed the\nwonderful things in Egypt when he delivered the children of Israel\nfrom bondage, as is related in the Bible.\n\n\n\n\nSinbad of the Talmud\n\n\n\"Rabba, Rabba, silly, silly Rabba, have you caught another whale\nto-day?\"\n\nWith this strange cry a number of children followed an elderly man\nthrough the streets of a town in the East. Their parents looked on in\namusement and some of them called after the man as the little ones\ndid. Rabba, however, took no notice, but walked straight on with a\nfaraway look in his eyes, as if his thoughts were elsewhere.\nPresently, on turning the corner of a street, he nearly ran into an\nArab coming in the opposite direction. As soon as the children saw the\nArab they turned and fled.\n\n\"Ali Rabba is coming,\" they cried to one another in warning, and as\nfast as their legs would carry them they made off to their homes.\n\nThe Arab shook his fist threateningly after the children. Then he\nturned to the man whom they had followed.\n\n\"It is a shame,\" he said, hotly, \"that the impudent ragamuffins of\nthe town should be allowed to cast words of disrespect in the public\nstreets at my sainted master, Rabba bar Chana, the man of profound\nlearning and the famous traveller--\"\n\n   [Illustration: They saw the land rise up like a huge mountain\n   and a tremendous stream of water gush forth. (_Page 138_).]\n\n\"Be gentle, good Ali,\" interrupted Rabba. \"Remember they are little\nmore than babes and have not full understanding. And how can they be\nrespectful when their parents, who should have wisdom and faith,\naccept not our stories of the many adventures we have had? Yesterday,\nI told them of the day when our ship had been surrounded by five\nthousand whales, each a mile long, and they jeered and cried\n'Impossible!'\"\n\n\"Impossible!\" echoed Ali, in a rage. \"Was I not there with thee, my\nmaster? Did I not count every single whale myself? Who dares to doubt\nmy word? Have I not, for years, been thy faithful guide on thy\nmarvelous journeys? Bah! What know these town fools, whose lives are\nno wider than the narrow streets in which they dwell, of the wonders\nof the vast world beyond the seas? Fools, ignorant fools, every one of\nthem, my good master. Why stay you here with them and brook their\ninsults and their sneers? Let us journey forth again this very day. A\ngood ship waits in the harbor.\"\n\nAli's voice grew louder as his rage became stronger and a crowd was\ncollecting. Rabba hurried him away and together they made for the\nharbor. There they were soon engaged in earnest conversation with the\ncaptain of a vessel that had come from a distant land.\n\n\"I shall be glad to have two such famous travelers on my ship,\" said\nthe captain. \"I have heard of your adventures, and in my country 'tis\nsaid that only those meet with wonders who dare to seek them and\nbelieve in them. I, too, would see the wonders of the world, and\ngladly will I give you passage on my ship.\"\n\nNext day Rabba and Ali stood on the deck of the vessel as the sail was\nhoisted, and it moved slowly from the harbor to the accompaniment of\ncheering and some laughter from a crowd on shore.\n\n\"Silly Rabba and Ali Rabba, don't forget to bring back the moon,\" they\ncried. \"Find out where it goes when it is not here.\"\n\nSoon the land was out of sight, and scudding before favorable breezes\nthe ship made good progress. In ten days it had reached a sea in which\nno vessel had ever sailed before. Ali said he could tell this because\nthe fishes behaved queerly. They poked their heads out of the water\nto gaze at the ship and then darted swiftly out of sight again. It was\nquite plain that they had never before seen a ship, and they evidently\nmistook it for some strange sea monster. Every day the fishes grew\nlarger, but no land was sighted until another five days had passed.\nThen a desert island appeared straight ahead, and the captain steered\ntoward it. A few blades of grass grew here and there, and Rabba\ndetermined to land and explore the island.\n\nAccompanied by his faithful Ali, he entered a small boat and was rowed\nto the shore. They found a few vegetables growing that they had never\nseen before, and so, collecting twigs from the short, stumpy bushes,\nthey made a fire to cook them. While the vegetables were cooking they\nlooked around.\n\n\"It seems a vast land,\" said Rabba, \"and yet over there, about three\nor four miles away, I think I see water.\"\n\n\"I think so, too,\" said Ali. \"This must be the width of the land, but\nin the other directions I can see no end. But hark! What sound is\nthat?\"\n\n\"'Tis like the rumbling of an earthquake,\" said Rabba, \"and I am sure\nI felt the ground move. Indeed, it seems to me as if it is heaving up\nand down, like a living thing.\"\n\nA shout from the boat caused them to look in that direction, and they\nsaw their comrades pointing wildly and calling upon them to come back.\nLooking in the direction indicated, they saw the land rise up like a\nhuge mountain and a tremendous stream of water gush forth.\n\n\"This is not land; this is a whale,\" cried Rabba, in alarm. \"Our fire\nhas wakened it from slumber. Let us hasten to the ship before the\nmonster plunges and drowns us.\"\n\nThey hurried back to the boat and boarded the ship just as the whale\nbegan to move. It sank below the waves to quench the fire on its back,\nbut it rose again, and then the vessel found itself in a new danger.\nIt was lying between the body of the monster and one of its fins.\n\n\"Let me take command,\" said Ali. \"I know best how to act in times of\ndanger like this. We must avoid being struck by the fin, or we shall\nbe destroyed. We must find which way the monster is moving and go in\nthe opposite direction; otherwise we shall be wrecked when we come to\nthe place where the fin joins the body.\"\n\nThere was no sleep for the crew that night. Everyone watched\ncarefully, for the least false move may have meant instant disaster.\nLuckily the whale began to move on the surface of the sea against the\nwind, so that the ship, traveling in the opposite direction, had the\nwind behind it. Swiftly flew the ship before the breeze, but the fin\nseemed to have no end, although the whale was traveling fast, too.\nThree days and three nights the ship continued before it came to the\nend of the fin. Then everyone on board breathed more freely.\n\n\"That was a lucky escape,\" said the captain to Rabba.\n\n\"Speak not too soon,\" replied the latter. \"I have fears yet. We must\nhasten to get completely away from this monster, but the wind does not\nfavor any alteration of our course.\"\n\nEven as he spoke there was a great commotion in the water, and the\nwhale began to move backward at so fearful a speed that they could\nscarcely see it. The water was violently agitated and the ship was\ntossed about as if it were a mere cork. A whole day this lasted. Then\nthe motion grew slower as the head of the whale came past the ship.\n\n\"See,\" cried Ali, excitedly. \"A small fish has stuck in the nostril of\nthe monster. That is the cause of this commotion. The monster will\nsurely be killed.\"\n\nThe agitation of the water now died down, and it was seen that the\nwhale was beginning to turn over.\n\n\"The monster is dead,\" said Rabba. \"It will float on the waves like a\nvast desert land and will be a danger to ships.\"\n\nFor several days the vessel was compelled to follow the dead whale.\nWhenever an attempt was made to move away, the current or the wind\nchanged and the carcass of the monster followed the ship. The captain\ndid not like this at all, for it was dangerous in the extreme. He was\nafraid that the dead whale would strike the vessel and wreck it.\n\nAt last land was sighted. Not even Rabba and Ali could recognize the\ncountry. They said they had never seen it before. Beautiful cities\ndotted the shore, but to everybody's alarm, the body of the whale\nbegan to float toward the land.\n\nTo make matters worse, a storm arose, and the monster rose and fell\nwith each motion of the angry waves.\n\n\"The cities will be destroyed if the whale strikes them,\" cried Rabba,\n\"and it is impossible for us to warn the people.\"\n\nNearer and nearer the whale was driven, while the captain of the ship\ndid his utmost to keep away so as not to be struck by the backwash.\n\nAt length, with a tremendous crash, the monster was flung by the\nwaves, which had increased to a great height, against the shore. Above\nthe shrieking of the wind could be heard the noise of falling\nbuildings and the wild cries of the people. A huge wave caught the\nship and carried it a mile out to sea and then whirled it back again\nat a speed that made the crew hold their breath in awe.\n\nIt seemed certain that the vessel would be dashed to pieces on the\nland, and the crew, with cries of warning and alarm, made haste to\nlash themselves to the masts. The mighty wave swept over the land,\nover the ruins of the towns, carrying the ship with it, and finally\ndeposited it among the trees of a dense forest a mile from the shore.\n\n\"At least we are safe for the present,\" said Rabba, when he had\nrecovered from the shock and the surprise. \"We are more fortunate than\nthe poor people who have been overwhelmed by this strange disaster.\"\n\n\"I should like to know how I am going to get my ship back to the sea,\"\nsaid the captain. \"I never heard of such a predicament before.\"\n\nRabba merely shrugged his shoulders, and with Ali he walked to the\nshore. An extraordinary sight met their gaze. Thousands of people\nwere rushing madly to the forests. Everywhere was ruin and\ndesolation. All the towns along the coast, sixty in number they\nlearned afterward, had been destroyed by the stranding of the monster\nand the tidal wave that followed, and what had not been leveled and\nswept out to sea had been carried inland to the forests and beyond.\nAll along the coast, as far as the eye could see, lay the body of the\nwhale like a mountain range, and hundreds of people ran up and down,\nweeping bitterly and wringing their hands.\n\nRabba gathered as many of them as he could together and addressed\nthem.\n\n\"Good people,\" he said, \"ye are the victims of a terrible calamity\nthat has robbed you at one cruel blow of your homes, and many of you\nof your families. But ye that have survived have duties to yourselves\nand to the future. In this hour of grief, despair not. There lies the\nfearful monster that has been your destruction. It shall also be your\nsalvation. Its body can supply you all with food. What you cannot eat,\nyou can salt and store for the future. Thousands of casks of oil can\nbe obtained from its blubber, and with this ye can trade. Then, too,\nits bones are valuable.\"\n\nThe people thanked Rabba for his good advice, and immediately they\nset about doing what he bade them. They told him this was a bewitched\nland, the country of Kishef, abounding with terrible monsters both on\nland and in the sea, and ruled over by a malignant jinn, named Hormuz,\nwho gave them no peace. They asked Rabba to try and kill this sprite\nwho said that only a stranger to the land could do him harm, and so\nRabba and his faithful Ali, mounted on horses, set forth on their\nadventures.\n\n\"I think I know this country,\" said Ali. \"I believe I landed once on\nthe other shore. We cannot be far from the wilderness in which the\nIsraelites wandered.\"\n\nFor several days they journeyed through forests and across plains and\nnothing happened. At last they came to a broad, high wall which barred\ntheir progress. They could find no opening through which to pass, and\nwhile they were wondering what to do, a strange figure suddenly\nappeared on the wall. One of his legs was longer than the other, and\nhis arms were also of different length. His ears and eyes were also\nunequal, and he hopped and bounded along the wall at amazing speed.\n\n\"My name is Hormuz,\" he cried. \"Who are ye?\"\n\n\"Strangers,\" called Rabba, and as soon as he heard the word, the\nsprite darted swiftly off along the top of the wall. But although the\nhorses ran at topmost speed, they could not overtake him, and he\nquickly disappeared. Where he was lost to sight, however, there was a\nhole in the wall, and through this Rabba and Ali just managed to take\ntheir horses. A vast wilderness lay before them.\n\nAli picked up two clods of earth and smelt them.\n\n\"As I thought,\" he said, \"this is the wilderness of the Israelites.\nCome, I will show thee strange sights.\"\n\nBefore nightfall, they came to a place where the bodies of a large\nnumber of men lay strewn on the ground.\n\n\"These men must have been giants,\" said Rabba, as Ali, with his spear\nuplifted, rode under the raised knee of one of the bodies. \"These must\nbe the bodies of the Ephraimites who left Egypt before the rest of the\nchildren of Israel and were slain.\"\n\nHe cut off a portion of a garment that still covered one of the\nbodies, but when he tried to move he could not. He seemed to be rooted\nto the spot. Nor could his horse move.\n\n\"Oh, oh,\" cried Ali, \"my horse has lost its power to move. Thou must\nhave taken something from the dead. Return it, good master, or we\nshall be held fast here until we perish.\"\n\nRabba returned the piece of garment, and they were able to move again.\nThey hurried from the place and came to a chasm in the ground from\nwhich smoke was rising.\n\n\"This is the pit in which Korah and his children were swallowed,\" said\nAli.\n\n\"That must have been a wonderful sight,\" said Rabba. \"I have heard\nthat the pit became like a funnel and that the air all about eddied\nand sucked in everything that belonged to Korah. Even the things that\npeople had borrowed from him, such as dishes, rolled along the ground\nfrom a distance and into the pit. Come, let us hasten away.\"\n\nThey continued their journey for many days, but could not see the\ndemon again. One day the desert ended and they came to the sea. They\nencamped for the night, and when morning broke Rabba was surprised to\nfind that the basket, in which they kept their provisions, had\ndisappeared.\n\n\"I think I can explain,\" said Ali. \"No thieves have been here, but\nthis is the end of the world, the edge of the earth. Here, once in\nevery twenty-four hours, the sky and the earth in their revolution,\nscrape together. The sky must have caught up your basket and carried\nit away. It will be returned at the same hour tomorrow morning.\"\n\nRabba awoke next morning before the sunrise and saw his basket\nfloating down to earth on a cloud. Both he and Ali were overjoyed when\nthey recovered it, for they were very hungry. While they were eating,\nthe sky grew dark, and looking up they saw what appeared to be a great\ncloud above their heads. Out of the sea a mighty tree seemed suddenly\nto have grown. They moved cautiously forward to investigate.\n\n\"Take heed,\" cried a voice of thunder. \"I am a bird standing in the\nwater. It is so deep, with such swift currents, that seven years ago\nan axe fell in and has not yet reached the bottom.\"\n\nRabba and Ali crouched on the ground in great fear, until at last\nRabba called: \"Mighty bird, we seek your help. We are anxious to find\nthe wicked jinn, Hormuz, and slay him so that people shall be free.\"\n\n\"Follow me,\" answered the bird, and like a spreading cloud it flew\nalong the coast. Rabba and Ali followed on their horses.\n\n\"Look,\" cried Ali, suddenly, pointing out to sea.\n\nA huge snake and dragon were fighting, and at last the sea-serpent,\nwhich was almost as big as the whale that had destroyed the towns,\nswallowed the dragon. No sooner had it done so, however, than the\ngiant bird swooped down and gobbled up the snake.\n\n\"That was a good fat worm for breakfast,\" called the bird. \"Now I\nshall rest.\"\n\nIt flew toward a gigantic tree which now appeared. So tall was it that\nits upper branches were lost in the clouds. The bird perched on a\nbranch of the tree.\n\n\"Proceed along the coast until you come to two bridges,\" said the\nbird. \"There you will find Hormuz. Give him two cups of wine to drink,\nthen you can slay him. But be sure you take the diamond from his cap.\nI, the ziz, give you this warning.\"\n\nRabba thanked the bird for its information, and with Ali continued on\nhis journey. After three days they came to a river crossed by two\nbridges, and with one foot on each stood Hormuz.\n\nAs soon as he saw them he began to run, but Rabba called after him,\n\"We bring thee an offering of good wine,\" and he promptly returned.\nRabba filled the two cups which he had from a leathern bottle, and\nHormuz took a cup in each hand, smacking his lips as he did so.\n\n\"See,\" he said, and he tossed the wine into the air, and the wine from\nthe right hand cup fell into the left hand cup and that from the left\nhand cup into the right and not a drop was spilt. Then he swallowed\nthem both at one gulp.\n\nAlmost immediately he fell down in a stupor, and Rabba stabbed him\nagain and again with his spear. Yet, when he seemed quite dead, he\njumped up again.\n\n\"The diamond,\" cried Rabba, excitedly, and Ali snatched it from the\ncap of Hormuz. Then the demon fell dead.\n\n\"We can return now,\" said Rabba, and they set out at once, taking the\nbody with them. They halted only to take food, and the first time they\ndid so a funny thing happened. Ali had killed an animal and Rabba had\ncaught some fish, and, while these were cooking, Rabba took the jinn's\ndiamond from his pocket and examined it. At once the fish and the\nanimal came to life again, jumped out of the cooking pot and made off.\n\n\"This is a magic diamond,\" said Rabba, \"that has the power to bring\ndead things to life. We keep it covered when we wish to eat.\"\n\nThey did so, and after long journeying they came in sight of the great\nwall and at last reached the place from which they had started. They\nhad been away twelve months in all, and the people were heartily glad\nto see them, especially when they heard that Hormuz had been killed\nand saw his body. They had worked hard on the carcass of the huge\nwhale and were rebuilding the sixty towns and villages that had been\ndestroyed, with the bones of the monster, using the skin as coverings\nfor their tents.\n\nWith the help of the magic diamond, Rabba called the ziz, and it took\nthe ship which had been carried into the forest in its beak and flew\nwith it to the sea. Gathering their old comrades, Rabba and Ali set\nsail for home.\n\nAll the inhabitants stood on shore and cheered as long as the ship was\nin sight. They were sorry that Rabba was gone, but they felt certain\nnow that Hormuz was dead, that nevermore would they be troubled by\nmonsters which brought them such terrible disasters.\n\n   [Illustration: He looked up and beheld the most beautiful woman\n   his eyes had ever seen. (_Page 157_).]\n\n\n\n\nThe Outcast Prince\n\n\nThere lived a king who had an only son, on whom he doted. No one, not\neven his oldest tutor, was permitted to utter a word of correction to\nthe prince whenever he did anything wrong, and so he grew up\ncompletely spoiled. He had many faults, but the worst features of his\ncharacter were that he was proud, arrogant and cruel. Naturally, too,\nhe was selfish and disobedient. When he was called to his lessons, he\nrefused, saying, \"I am a prince. Before many years I shall be your\nking. I have no need to learn what common people must know. Enough for\nme that I shall occupy the throne and shall rule. My will alone shall\nprevail. Says not the law of the land, 'The king can do no wrong'?\"\n\nHandsome and haughty, even as a youth, he made the king's subjects\nfear him by his imperious manner. His appearance in the streets was\nthe signal for everyone to run into his house, bar the doors, and peer\nnervously through the casements. He was a reckless rider, and woe\nbetide the unfortunate persons who happened to be in his way. Sparing\nneither man, woman, nor child, he callously rode over them, or lashed\nout vindictively with the long whip he always carried, laughing when\nanyone screamed with pain.\n\nSo outrageous did his public conduct become that the people determined\nto suffer in silence no longer. They denounced the prince in public,\nthey petitioned the king himself to restrain his son, and his majesty\ncould not disregard the complaints. At first he was merely annoyed,\nthen he was indignant, but when he saw that the people were thoroughly\naroused and threatened revolt, he deemed it wise to inquire into the\ncharges against his son.\n\nA commission of three judges was appointed to investigate. They made\nfullest inquiry and finally laid a document before the king\nsummarizing what they did not hesitate to declare the \"infamous\nactions of His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince.\"\n\nThe king's sense of justice and righteousness at once overcame his\nfoolish pride.\n\n\"My people stand justified in their attitude which at first I thought\nonly disrespectful to my royal person,\" he said. \"I owe them an\napology and recompense. I shall atone. And my son shall atone, too.\nHe shall not escape punishment.\"\n\nHe summoned his son to appear before him, and the prince entered the\nroyal justice chamber with the air of a braggart, smiling\ncontemptuously at the learned judges who were seated to right and left\nof his majesty, and defiantly cracking his whip.\n\n\"Knowest thou why thou hast been bidden to stand before the judges of\nthe land?\" asked the king.\n\n\"I know not and I care not,\" was the haughty answer. \"The foolish\nchatter of the mob interests me not.\"\n\nThe king frowned. He had not seen the prince behave in this fashion\nbefore. In the presence of his father, he had always been respectful.\n\n\"Thou hast disgraced thy honored name and thy mother's sacred memory,\nfoolish prince,\" exclaimed the monarch angrily. \"Thou hast humiliated\nthyself and me before the people.\"\n\nStill the prince tried to laugh off the matter as a joke, but he\nquickly discovered that the king was in no mood for trifling. Standing\ngrave and erect, his majesty pronounced sentence in a loud and firm\nvoice.\n\n\"Know all men,\" he said, while all the judges, counselors, officers of\nstate and representatives of the people stood awed to silence, \"that\nit having been proved on indisputable evidence that the prince, my\nson, hath grievously transgressed against the righteous laws of this\nland and against the people, my subjects, on whom he hath heaped\ninsult, I have taken counsel with my advisers, the ministers of state,\nand it is my royal will and pleasure to pronounce sentence. Wherefore,\nI declare that my son, the prince, shall be cast forth into the world,\npenniless, and shall not return until he shall have learned how to\nCount Five. And be it further known that none may minister unto his\nwants should he crave assistance by declaring he is my son, the\nprince.\"\n\nThe prince stood astounded. What did the mysterious sentence mean?\nNone could tell him. The only answer to his inquiries was a shrug of\nthe shoulders, for nobody would speak to him.\n\nIn the dead of night, with only the stars gazing down on the strange\nscene, the prince, clad in the cast-off garments of a common laborer,\nwith his golden curls cut off and not a solitary coin in his pocket,\nwas conducted outside the palace grounds and left alone in the road.\n\nHe was too much dazed to weep. He told himself this was some horrible\ndream from which he would waken in the morning, to find himself in his\nown beautiful room, lying on his gilded bed under the richly\nembroidered silken coverlet.\n\nWhen dawn broke, however, he found himself hungry, tired, and his body\npainfully stiff, under a hedge. He knew now it was no dream but a\nreality. He was alone and friendless, with no means of earning his\nfood. He understood then what hardships the poor were compelled to\nundergo, and he began to realize how he had made them suffer, and how,\nin turn, he was now to pay a heavy price for his brutal treatment of\nthe people.\n\nAll that day he wandered aimlessly, until, foot-sore and exhausted, he\nsank down at the door of a wayside cottage and begged for food and\nshelter. These were given to him, and next day he was set to work in\nthe fields. But his hands were not used to labor, and he was sent\nadrift, his fellow workers jeering at him. With a heavy heart, and his\npride humbled, he set forth again to learn the mystery of how to Count\nFive.\n\nLong days and endless nights, through the heat of the summer, through\nthe snows of winter, the autumnal rains and cold blasts of early\nspring, he wandered.\n\nA whole year passed away, and he had learned nothing. In truth, he had\nalmost forgotten why he was aimlessly drifting from place to place,\nfarther and farther from his home.\n\nHunger and thirst were more often than not his daily portion, and the\ncold earth by night was frequently his couch. Time seemed to drag\nalong without meaning, and oft-times for a week he heard not the sound\nof a human voice.\n\nHe was a beggar, generally accepting gratefully what was given to him,\nsometimes with harsh words, often with kindly expressions. When he\ncould, he worked, doing anything for small coins, for a rabbi, who had\ntaken compassion on him, had said, \"Do any honest work, however\nrepugnant it may at first seem, rather than say haughtily, 'I am the\nson of a rich father.'\"\n\nFor a moment he wondered whether the rabbi had guessed his secret, but\nthe learned man said to him he was but repeating a maxim from the\nTalmud.\n\nExactly a year from the date of his sentence, as well as he could keep\ncount, the prince found himself in a strange land on the outskirts of\na great city. There he fell in with a beggar who hailed him as a\nbrother.\n\n\"Come with me,\" said the beggar. \"I know the lore of our fraternity\nas few do. I know where to obtain the best food and shelter for\nnaught. Here, in this city, a beautiful and noble princess has\nestablished a place where all wayfarers may rest and refresh. None are\nturned away. I will take you thither.\"\n\nThe beggar was as good as his word, and the prince enjoyed the best\nmeal and the most comfortable shelter since he had been an outcast.\nOvercome with emotion at the thoughts which were conjured up, he\nretired into a corner and wept. Suddenly he heard a voice of\nentrancing sweetness say, \"Why do you weep?\"\n\nHe looked up and beheld the most beautiful woman his eyes had ever\nseen. Instinctively, he rose and bowed low, but made no answer.\n\n\"The princess speaks. It is your duty to answer,\" said another voice,\nthat of an attendant.\n\nA princess! Of course, none but a princess could be so fair. And what\na sympathetic voice she possessed. As a prince, he remembered, he had\nspoken harshly as a rule, and had never visited any of the charitable\ninstitutions.\n\n\"You must have a history,\" said the princess, kindly. \"Tell it to me.\nIf it is to be kept a secret, you may place confidence in me. I shall\nnot betray you.\"\n\nThe prince was on the point of telling her everything but he hesitated\nand said:\n\n\"Alas! I am an unhappy, wandering beggar, as you see, O most gracious\nprincess. But pity me not. I am not worthy of your kind thoughts. A\nyear ago I dwelt in a--a beautiful house. I was the only son of\na--rich merchant, and my father lavished all his love and wealth on\nme. But I was wicked. I was unkind to people, and I was cast forth and\nordered not to return until I had learned to Count Five. I have not\nyet learned. I am doomed to a wretched life. That is the whole of my\nhistory.\"\n\n\"Strange,\" murmured the princess. \"I will help thee if I can.\"\n\nNext day she came again to the shelter, and with her was the rabbi who\nhad given the prince good counsel. The rabbi made no sign that he had\nseen the stranger before.\n\n\"This sage of the Jews is a wise man and will teach thee,\" said the\nprincess, and, at her bidding, the prince repeated what he had said\nthe previous night.\n\n\"It is a simple lesson,\" said the rabbi, \"so absurdly simple,\nunfortunately, that proud people overlook it. Tell me, my son,\" he\nadded. \"Hast thou experienced hunger?\"\n\n\"That I have,\" returned the prince, sadly.\n\n\"Then canst thou count One. Dost thou know what it is to feel cold?\"\n\n\"I do.\"\n\n\"Two canst thou count. Tell me, further, dost thou know what kindness\nof heart is?\"\n\n\"That have I received from the poorest and also from the gracious\nprincess.\"\n\n\"Thou hast proceeded far in thy lesson,\" said the rabbi. \"Thou canst\nnow count Three. Hast thou ever felt gratitude?\"\n\n\"Indeed I have, often during this past year, and now most\nparticularly.\"\n\n\"Four is now the toll of thy count,\" said the rabbi. \"Tell me, my son,\nhast thou learned the greatest lesson of all? Dost thou feel humble in\nspirit?\"\n\nWith tears in his eyes, the prince answered, \"I do, most sincerely.\"\n\n\"Then hast thou truly learned to Count Five. Return to thy father. He\nmust be a wise and just man to impose on thee this lesson. He will\nassuredly forgive thee. Go, with my blessing,\" and the rabbi raised\nhis hands above the young man's head and uttered a benediction.\n\n\"Take also my good wishes,\" said the princess, and she offered him her\nhand to kiss.\n\n\"Gracious princess,\" he said, \"it is not meet that a beggar in rags\nshould speak what is in his heart. But I shall return, and if thou\ndeemest me worthy, perchance thou wilt grant a request that I shall\nmake.\"\n\n\"Perchance,\" replied the princess, with a laugh.\n\nThe prince made haste to return to his father's palace and related all\nhis adventures. The old man listened quietly, then he clasped his son\nin his arms, forgave him, and proudly proclaimed him prince before all\nthe people again. He was a changed man, and nevermore guilty of a\ncruel action.\n\nBefore many months had passed, he returned to the city where he had\nseen the princess, with a long retinue of attendants, all bearing\npresents.\n\n\"Gracious princess,\" he said, when he had been granted an audience. \"I\nsaid I would return.\"\n\n\"Indeed! I know thee not.\"\n\nThe prince told her of their former meeting and she seemed highly\npleased.\n\n\"Now,\" he said, \"put the crown on thy work which restored to me the\nmanhood I had foolishly cast away by my conduct. I would make thee my\nbride, and with thee ever my guide and counselor, I shall be the most\nfaithful of kings, and thou a queen of goodness and beauty and wisdom\nsuch as the world has not yet seen.\"\n\nThe princess did not give her answer immediately, but in due course\nshe did; and once again, the prince returned home, this time happier\nthan ever. Sitting by his side in the chariot of state, was the\nprincess, radiant in smiles, for the people welcomed her heartily,\nstrewing flowers in her path. And ever afterward there was happiness\nthroughout the land.\n\n   [Illustration: As the Shah raised his sword an old man stepped\n   from behind the tree. (_Page 166_).]\n\n\n\n\nThe Story of Bostanai\n\n\nIn the days of long ago, when Persia was a famous and beautiful land,\nwith innumerable rose gardens that perfumed the whole country and\ngorgeous palaces, there lived a king, named Hormuz. He was a cruel\nmonarch, this Shah of Persia. He tyrannized over his people and never\nallowed them to live in peace. Above all, he hated the Jews.\n\n\"These descendants of Abraham,\" he said to his grand vizier, \"never\nknow when they are beaten. How many times it has been reported to me\nthat they have been wiped out of existence, or driven from the land, I\nknow not. Yet nothing, it seems, can crush their spirit. Tell me, why\nis this?\"\n\n\"It is because they have a firm faith in their future,\" answered the\nvizier.\n\n\"What mean you by those words?\" demanded the king, angrily.\n\n\"I speak only of what I have heard from their wise men,\" the vizier\nreplied, hastily. \"They hold the belief that they will be restored as\na united people to their own land.\"\n\n\"Under their own king?\" interrupted Hormuz.\n\n\"Under a descendant of the royal House of David,\" the vizier answered,\nsolemnly.\n\nThe king stamped his foot with rage.\n\n\"How dare they think of any other Shah but me,\" he exclaimed, for his\none idea of ruling over people was that he had every right to be cruel\nto them. Then he said suddenly, \"Think you that if there were no more\npeople who could trace their ancestry to this--this David, their faith\nwould be shattered?\"\n\n\"Peradventure, it may be so.\"\n\n\"It shall be so,\" cried the king. \"There shall be no remnants of this\nHouse of David.\"\n\nHe summoned his executioners, and when they were lined up before him,\nhe surveyed the evil-looking band with a cunning gleam in his eye.\n\n\"Unto you,\" he said, in a rasping voice, \"I hand over all the\ndescendants of the House of David to be found among the Jews in the\nwhole of the realm of Persia. Slay them instantly. See to it that not\na single one--man, woman, or child--is left alive. Woe betide you, and\nyou my counselors\"--this with a meaning glance at the grand\nvizier--\"if my commands are not carried out to the letter. To your\nduties. Ye are dismissed from the presence.\"\n\nWaving them away, he indulged his fancy in thoughts of the coming\nexecutions, chuckling the while.\n\nFrom day to day he received reports that his commands were being\ncarried out. The land was filled with weeping, for the cruel butchery\nwas worse than war. None could defend themselves. Mere suspicion was\nenough for the executioners. They wasted no time with doubts, but slew\nall who were said to belong to the House of David. The Shah looked\nover the list each night and chuckled. At last he was informed that\nall had been slaughtered.\n\n\"'Tis well, 'tis well,\" he said, rubbing his hands, gleefully, \"I\nshall sleep in peace tonight.\"\n\nHe slept in a bower in a rose garden, and nowhere in the world are the\nroses so magnificent and so sweet-scented as in Persia.\n\n\"I shall have pleasant dreams,\" he muttered, but instead he had a\nnightmare that frightened him terribly.\n\nHe dreamed that he was walking in his rose garden, but instead of\nderiving pleasure from the beautiful trees, he was only angered.\n\n\"Are there no white, or yellow, or pink roses?\" he asked, but received\nno answer. \"All red, deep, deep red,\" he muttered, in his troubled\nmanner.\n\n\"Tell me,\" he demanded fiercely, stopping before a tree heavily laden\nwith flowers, \"why are you so red today?\"\n\nAnd the roses spoke and replied, \"Because of the innocent blood that\nhas been shed. It is royal blood that has drenched the ground, and\nnone but crimson roses shall bloom this year in Persia.\"\n\n\"Bah!\" screamed the enraged Shah and, drawing his scimitar, he began\nhacking right and left among the flowers. The beautiful blooms fell to\nthe ground in great showers until the garden was so littered with the\nred petals that it seemed flooded with a pool of blood. At last only\none tree remained, and as the Shah raised his sword to cut it down, an\nold man stepped from behind it and confronted the king.\n\n\"Who art thou, and whence camest thou?\" the monarch asked fiercely.\n\nNo answer did the old man make. Gazing sternly into the eyes of the\nShah, he raised his hand suddenly and unexpectedly, and struck the\nking such a violent blow that he fell sprawling to the ground. He lay\nhalf-stunned among the red petals, looking up at the old man.\n\n\"Art thou not satisfied with the destruction thou hast wrought?\" the\nold man asked. \"Must thou take the life of the last rose tree?\"\n\nThe old man stooped to pick up the scimitar which had fallen from the\nking's grasp.\n\n\"No, no,\" screamed Hormuz, fearing that he was to be slain. He\nscrambled to his knees and with clasped hands pleaded to the old man.\n\"Take not my life,\" he begged. \"Spare me, and I shall spare the last\ntree and cherish it tenderly.\"\n\n\"So be it,\" said the old man, holding the sword above his head. It\ndropped to the ground, and looking up, Hormuz saw that the stranger\nhad vanished.\n\nThe Shah awoke. His body trembled with fear, his head was wracked by a\nburning pain. He looked round shudderingly to see if the angry old man\nstill stood above him with the threatening sword. Then he sent for his\nwizards.\n\n\"Expound to me my horrid dream,\" he said.\n\nTheir interpretations, however, did not please him.\n\n\"Ye are fools,\" he cried. \"Make search and find me a man of wisdom who\nunderstands these mysteries. Seek a sage among the Jews.\"\n\nThe royal servants hastened to do the king's bidding. Full well they\nknew that when Hormuz was in a rage, lives were quickly forfeit.\n\nThey seized the aged rabbi of the city and brought him before the\nShah.\n\n\"Canst thou interpret dreams?\" asked the king, abruptly, dispensing\nwith the usual ceremonies.\n\n\"I can explain the meaning of certain things,\" returned the rabbi.\n\n\"Then fail not to unravel the mystery of my dream,\" said Hormuz, and\nhe related it. \"The secret I must know,\" he concluded, \"or----.\" But\nhe stopped. He was afraid to add the usual threat of death that\nmorning.\n\n\"'Tis a simple dream,\" said the rabbi, slowly. \"The things of which\nmen--and even kings are but men--dream in their sleep are connected\nwith the deeds performed by day. Thy garden represents the House of\nDavid which thou hast sought to destroy. The old man was King David\nhimself, and thou hast promised to cherish and nurture his one\nremaining descendant.\"\n\nThe Shah listened in silence. Then, with a flash in his eye he said,\n\"But all the descendants of this King David were slain.\"\n\n\"All but one,\" said the rabbi. \"There is a boy babe, born on the day\nthe executions ceased.\"\n\n\"Where is he?\" asked Hormuz.\n\n\"Your vow....\" the rabbi began, nervously, for he did not wish to hand\nover this child to death.\n\n\"My promise shall be faithfully carried out,\" interrupted the monarch.\n\n\"The boy is in my house,\" said the rabbi. \"His mother, who escaped the\nmassacre, died when he was born.\"\n\n\"Bring him hither,\" commanded Hormuz. \"Fear not.\"\n\nFrom his finger he drew a ring and handed it to the learned man.\n\n\"This is my bond,\" he said. \"The possession of this ensures thy\nsafety.\"\n\nThe child was brought to the palace, and the Shah looked at him with\nintent gaze.\n\n\"He shall be brought up as a prince,\" said the king. \"Servants,\nattendants and slaves shall he have in great number to minister unto\nall his needs. He shall be treated with the utmost kindness. And\nbecause of my dream in the garden, I name him Bostanai.\"\n\nThe Shah did this because \"bostan\" is the Persian word for rose\ngarden.\n\nHe touched the child with his jeweled scepter and all present bowed\nlow before the babe and showed him the respect and devotion due to a\nprince.\n\nHormuz, however, was too cruel to be quite satisfied. He feared to\nharm the boy, but he wanted some proof that Bostanai was really a\ndescendant of King David. The child grew up into a handsome, clever\nyouth, and Hormuz, partly out of fear, but partly because he had\nreally grown to love the boy, kept him constantly by his side.\n\nOne day, while sitting in the bower in the garden, he watched the boy\namong the roses. The day was hot and a drowsiness came over the king.\nHe had not slept in that bower since the night of his fateful dream,\nand he was not happy about doing so now. But he did not lack courage,\nand he called the boy to him.\n\n\"Bostanai,\" he said, \"stand guard by the door, and move not while I\nsleep.\"\n\nHormuz slept soundly and peacefully for some time, and when he awoke\nhe saw the lad standing motionless where he had placed himself.\n\n\"Bostanai,\" he called, and when the boy turned, he was startled to see\nblood trickling from a wound on his face.\n\n\"What is that?\" he asked, anxiously.\n\n\"The sting of a wasp,\" Bostanai replied.\n\n\"Is it not painful?\"\n\nFor answer, the boy only smiled.\n\n\"How did it happen?\" asked the king.\n\n\"The wasp stung me while I stood guard.\"\n\n\"But couldst thou not brush it away?\"\n\n\"No,\" replied the boy, proudly. \"King David was my ancestor, and in\nthe presence of a king I must stand motionless until bidden to make\nany movement.\"\n\nThen, before the king could catch him, he swooned from loss of blood,\nand fell to the ground. He soon recovered, however, and the Shah's\ndoubts were set at rest.\n\n\"I know now thou art truly of the House of David,\" he said, \"for none\nother could have shown such fortitude.\"\n\nBostanai became the Shah's favorite, and when he grew up he was made\nthe ruler of a province. He lived happily, and through him the Jews of\nthe land also lived in prosperity and peace.\n\n   [Illustration: Behind him a fierce roar indicated that the lion\n   was in pursuit. (_Page 176_).]\n\n\n\n\nFrom Shepherd-Boy to King\n\n\nOn a desolate plain, a little shepherd-boy stood alone. His day's work\nwas over and he had wandered through field and forest listening to the\ntwittering of the birds and the soft sound of the summer breezes as\nthey gently swayed the branches of the trees. He seemed to understand\nwhat the birds were saying, and the murmuring of the brook that wound\nits way through the forest was like a message of Nature to him. Sweet\nsounds were always in his ears, his heart was ever singing, for the\nshepherd-boy was a poet. At times he would turn around sharply,\nthinking he had heard some one calling. One day he was quite startled.\n\n\"David, David,\" he thought he heard a voice calling, \"thou shalt be\nKing of Israel.\"\n\nBut he could see nothing, except the trees and the flowers, and so he\nleft the forest and stood in the desolate plain. In the distance he\nsaw a very high hill and as he approached nearer he noticed on the\nsummit a tall tree, without branches or leaves. With great difficulty\nhe climbed the hill. It was quite smooth, bare of vegetation and\nwithout rocks, and little David noticed that it gave forth none of\nthose sweet sounds like music that came from other hills.\n\nThe summit gained, he looked at the tree in wonderment. It was not of\nwood, but of horn.\n\n\"'Tis strange,\" said the boy. \"This must be a magic mountain. No tree,\nor flower, or shrub, can grow in this barren earth.\"\n\nHe tried to dig a clod of earth out of the ground, but could not do\nso, even with his knife, for the ground was as hard as if covered with\ntough hide.\n\nDavid was greatly puzzled, but, being a boy of courage, he did not\nbegin to run down the mountain.\n\n\"I wonder what will happen if I stay here,\" he said, and he seated\nhimself at the foot of the mysterious horn that grew at the summit and\nlooked about him.\n\nThen he noticed a most peculiar thing. The ground was rising and\nfalling in places as if moved by some power beneath. Listening\nintently, he also heard a curious rumbling noise, and then a\nloud-sounding swish. At the same time he saw something rising from\nthe other end of the mountain and whirl through the air.\n\n\"That is just like a tail,\" exclaimed David in surprise.\n\nThe next minute he had to cling with all his might to the horn, for\nthe whole mountain was moving. It was rising, and soon David was quite\nnear the clouds. The earth was a great distance away, and, judging by\na tremendous shadow cast by the sun, David could see that he was\nclinging to the horn of a gigantic animal.\n\n\"I know what it is now,\" he said. \"This is not a mountain, but a\nunicorn. The monster must have been lying asleep when I mistook it for\na hill.\"\n\nDavid began to puzzle his brain as to a means of getting down from his\nperilous perch.\n\n\"I must wait,\" he said, \"until the animal feeds. He will surely lower\nhis head to the ground then and I will slip off.\"\n\nBut a new terror awaited him. The roar of a lion was heard in the\ndistance, and David found that he could understand it.\n\n\"Bow to me, for I am king of the beasts,\" the lion roared.\n\nThe lion, however, was so small compared with the unicorn that David\ncould scarcely see it. The unicorn, as soon as it heard the command,\nbegan to lower its head, and soon David was enabled to slip to the\nground. To his alarm he found himself just in front of the lion. The\nking of the beasts stood before him with blazing eyes, lashing its\nsides with his tail. David lost not a moment. Drawing his knife from\nhis belt, the brave boy advanced boldly toward the lion.\n\nJust then a sound attracted the attention of both the boy and the\nbeast. It was a deer.\n\n\"I will save thee, boy,\" it cried. \"Mount my back and trust to my\nspeed.\"\n\nBefore the lion could recover from its surprise, David had sprung on\nto the back of the deer which started to run at lightning speed. David\nclung tightly to its back. Behind him a fierce roar indicated that the\nlion was in pursuit. Across the desolate plain and through the forest\nthe chase continued, and when David came within sight of human\nhabitations again, the deer stopped.\n\n\"Thou art safe now,\" the deer said to him. \"Thou art to become king,\nand my command was to save thee. Fear not, I will lead the lion\nastray.\"\n\nDavid thanked the deer that had so gallantly saved his life, and as\nsoon as he had slid from its back it dashed off again, faster than\never with the lion still in pursuit. Soon both were out of sight.\n\nDavid sang light-heartedly as he returned to his humble home and years\nafterward, when he was king of Israel and remembered his escape, he\nput the words of his song into one of his Psalms.\n\n   [Illustration: The gates opened from within and the Arab stood\n   before them. (_P. 185_).]\n\n\n\n\nThe Magic Palace\n\n\nIbrahim, the most learned and pious man of the city, whom everybody\nheld in esteem, fell on troubled days. To none did he speak of his\nsufferings, for he was proud and would have been compelled to refuse\nthe help which he knew would have been offered to him. His noble wife\nand five faithful sons suffered in silence, but Ibrahim was sorely\ntroubled when he saw their clothes wearing away to rags and their\nbodies wasting with hunger.\n\nOne day Ibrahim was seated in front of the Holy Book, but he saw not\nthe words on its pages. His eyes were dimmed with tears and his\nthoughts were far away. He was day-dreaming of a region where hunger\nand thirst and lack of clothes and shelter were unknown. He sighed\nheavily and his wife heard.\n\n\"My dear husband,\" she said to him gently, \"we are starving. You must\ngo forth to seek work for the sake of our five little sons.\"\n\n\"Yes, yes,\" he replied, sadly, \"and for you, too, my devoted wife,\nbut\"--and he pointed to his tattered garments--\"how can I go out in\nthese? Who will employ a man so miserably clad?\"\n\n\"I will ask our kind neighbors to lend you some raiment,\" said his\nwife, and although he made some demur at first, she did so and was\nsuccessful in obtaining the loan of a cloak which completely covered\nIbrahim and restored to him his dignified appearance.\n\nHis good wife cheered him with brave words. He took his staff and set\nout with head erect and his heart filled with a great hope. All people\nsaluted the learned Ibrahim, for it was not often he was seen abroad\nin the busy streets of the city. He returned their greetings with\nkindly smiles, but halted not in his walk. He had no wish to make any\nclaims upon his fellow citizens, who would no doubt have gladly\nassisted him. He desired to go among strangers and work so that he\nshould not be beholden to anyone.\n\nBeyond the city gates, where the palm trees grew and the camels\ntrudged lazily toward the distant desert, he was suddenly accosted by\na stranger dressed as an Arab.\n\n\"O learned and holy man of the city,\" he said, \"command me, for I am\nthy slave.\" At the same time he made a low bow before Ibrahim.\n\n\"My slave!\" returned Ibrahim, in surprise. \"You mock me, stranger. I\nam wretchedly poor. I seek but the opportunity to sell myself, even as\na slave, to any man who will provide food and clothing for my wife and\nchildren.\"\n\n\"Sell not thyself,\" said the Arab. \"Offer me for sale instead. I am a\nmarvelous builder. Behold these plans and models, specimens of my\nskill and handiwork.\"\n\nFrom beneath the folds of his ample robes, the Arab produced a scroll\nand a box and held them out to Ibrahim. The latter took them,\nwonderingly. On the scroll were traced designs of stately buildings.\nWithin the box was an exquisite model of a palace, a marvelous piece\nof work, perfect in detail and workmanship. Ibrahim examined it with\ngreat care.\n\n\"I have never seen anything so beautiful,\" he admitted. \"It is wrought\nand fashioned with exceeding good taste. It is in itself a work of\nart. You must indeed be a wondrous craftsman. Whence come you?\"\n\n\"What matters that?\" replied the Arab. \"I am thy slave. Is there not\nin this city some rich merchant or nobleman who needs the services of\nsuch talents as I possess? Seek him out and dispose of me to him. To\nthee he will give ear; to me he will not listen.\"\n\nIbrahim pondered over this strange request for a while.\n\n\"Agreed!\" he said, at length.\n\nTogether they returned to the city. There Ibrahim made inquiries in\nthe bazaar where the wealthy traders met to discuss their affairs, and\nsoon learned of a rich dealer in precious stones, a man of a multitude\nof charitable deeds, who was anxious to erect an imposing residence.\nHe called upon the jeweler.\n\n\"Noble sir,\" he said, \"I hear that it is thy intention to erect a\npalace the like of which this city has not yet seen, an edifice that\nwill be an everlasting joy to its possessor, a delight to all who gaze\nupon it, and which will bring renown to this city.\"\n\n\"That is so,\" said the merchant. \"You have interpreted the desire of\nmy heart as if you had read its secret. I would fain dedicate to the\nuses of the ruler of this city a palace that will shed luster on his\nname.\"\n\n\"It is well,\" returned Ibrahim. \"I have brought thee an architect and\nbuilder of genius. Examine his plans and designs. If they please thee,\nas assuredly they will, purchase the man from me, for he is my slave.\"\n\nThe jeweler could not understand the plans on the scroll, but on the\nmodel in the box he feasted his eyes for several minutes in speechless\namazement.\n\n\"It is indeed remarkable,\" he said at last. \"I will give thee eighty\nthousand gold pieces for thy slave, who must build for me just such a\npalace.\"\n\nIbrahim immediately informed the Arab, who at once consented to\nperform the task, and then the pious man hastened home to his wife and\nchildren with the good news and the money, which made him rich for the\nrest of his days.\n\nTo the Arab the jeweler said, \"Thou wilt regain thy liberty if thou\nwilt succeed in thy undertaking. Begin at once. I will forthwith\nengage the workmen.\"\n\n\"I need no workmen,\" was the Arab's singular reply. \"Take me to the\nland whereon I must build, and to-morrow thy palace shall be\ncomplete.\"\n\n\"Tomorrow!\"\n\n\"Even as I say,\" answered the Arab.\n\nThe sun was setting in golden glory when they reached the ground, and\npointing to the sky the Arab said: \"Tomorrow, when the great orb of\nlight rises above the distant hills, its rays will strike the minarets\nand domes and towers of thy palace, noble sir. Leave me now. I must\npray.\"\n\nIn perfect bewilderment, the merchant left the stranger. From a\ndistance he watched the man devoutly praying. He had made up his mind\nto watch all the night; but when the moon rose, deep sleep overcame\nhim and he dreamed. He dreamed that he saw myriads of men swarming\nabout strange machines and scaffolding which grew higher and higher,\nhiding a vast structure.\n\nIbrahim dreamed, too, but in his vision one figure, that of the Arab,\nstood out above all other things. Ibrahim scanned the features of the\nstranger closely; he followed, as it were, the man's every movement.\nHe noticed how all the workmen and particularly the supervisors did\nthe stranger great honor, showing him the deference due to one of the\nhighest position. And with grave and dignified mien, the Arab\nresponded kindly. From the heavens a bright light shone upon the\nscene, the radiance being softest wherever the Arab stood.\n\nIn his dream, it so appeared to Ibrahim, he rose from his bed, went\nout into the night, and approached the palace magically rising from\nthe waste ground beyond the city. Nearer and nearer his footsteps took\nhim, until he stood beside the Arab again. One of the chief workmen\napproached and addressed the stranger--by name!\n\nThen it was Ibrahim understood--and he awoke. The sun was streaming in\nthrough the lattice of his bedroom. He sprang from his bed and looked\nout upon a magnificent spectacle. Beyond the city the sun's rays were\nreflected by a dazzling array of gilded cupolas and glittering spires,\nthe towers of the palace of marble that he had seen builded in his\ndream. Instantly he went out and made haste to the palace to assure\nhimself that his dream was really over. Ibrahim and the jeweler\narrived before the gates at the same moment. They stood speechless\nwith amazement and admiration before the model of the Arab grown to\nimmense proportions.\n\nAlmost at the same moment, the gates, ornamented with beaten gold,\nopened from within and the Arab stood before them. Ibrahim bent low\nhis head.\n\nThe Arab addressed the merchant.\n\n\"Have I fulfilled my promise and earned my freedom?\" he asked.\n\n\"Verily thou hast,\" answered the merchant.\n\n\"Then farewell, and may blessings rest on thee and the good Ibrahim\nand on all your works.\"\n\nThus spoke the Arab, raising his hands in benediction. Then he\ndisappeared within the golden doors.\n\nThe jeweler and Ibrahim followed quickly, but though they hastened\nthrough the halls and corridors of many colored marbles, in and out of\nrooms lighted by windows of clearest crystal, and up and down\nstaircases of burnished metal, they could find no one. Emerging into\nthe open again, they saw a huge crowd standing in wonderment before\nthe gates.\n\n\"Tell me,\" said the jeweler, \"who was the builder of this magic\npalace.\"\n\n\"Elijah, the Prophet,\" said Ibrahim, \"the benefactor of mankind, who\nrevisits the earth to assist in their distress those deemed worthy.\nBlessed am I, and blessed art thou for thy good deeds, for we have\nbeen truly honored.\"\n\nTo show his gratitude, the merchant gave a banquet in his palace to\nall the people in the city and scattered gold and silver pieces among\nthe crowds that thronged the streets.\n\n\n\n\nThe Sleep of One Hundred Years\n\n\nIt was at the time of the destruction of the First Temple. The cruel\nwar had laid Jerusalem desolate, and terrible was the suffering of the\npeople.\n\nRabbi Onias, mounted on a camel, was sorrowfully making his way toward\nthe unhappy city. He had traveled many days and was weary from lack of\nsleep and faint with hunger, yet he would not touch the basket of\ndates he had with him, nor would he drink from the water in a leather\nbottle attached to the saddle.\n\n\"Perchance,\" he said, \"I shall meet some one who needs them more than\nI.\"\n\nBut everywhere the land was deserted. One day, nearing the end of the\njourney, he saw a man planting a carob tree at the foot of a hill.\n\n\"The Chaldeans,\" said the man, \"have destroyed my beautiful vineyards\nand all my crops, but I must sow and plant anew, so that the land may\nlive again.\"\n\n   [Illustration: The sun was shining on a noble city of pinnacles\n   and minarets. (_P. 191_).]\n\nOnias passed sorrowfully on and at the top of the hill he stopped.\nBefore him lay Jerusalem, not the once beautiful city with its\nhundreds of domes and minarets that caught the first rays of the sun\neach morning, but a vast heap of ruins and charred buildings. Onias\nthrew himself on the ground and wept bitterly. No human being could he\nsee, and the sun was setting over what looked like a city of the dead.\n\n\"Woe, woe,\" he cried. \"Zion, my beautiful Zion, is no more. Can it\never rise again? Not in a hundred years can its glory be renewed.\"\n\nThe sun sank lower as he continued to gaze upon the ruined city, and\ndarkness gathered over the scene. Utterly exhausted, Onias, laying his\nhead upon his camel on the ground, fell into a deep sleep.\n\nThe silver moon shone serenely through the night and paled with the\ndawn, and the sun cast its bright rays on the sleeping rabbi. Darkness\nspread its mantle of night once more, and again the sun rose, and\nstill Onias slept. Days passed into weeks, the weeks merged into\nmonths, and the months rolled on until years went by; but Rabbi Onias\ndid not waken.\n\nSeeds, blown by the winds and brought by the birds, dropped around\nhim, took root and grew into shrubs, and soon a thick hedge\nsurrounded him and screened him from all who passed. A date that had\nfallen from his basket, took root also, and in time there rose a\nbeautiful palm tree which cast a shade over the sleeping figure.\n\nAnd thus a hundred years rolled by.\n\nSuddenly, Onias moved, stretched himself and yawned. He was awake\nagain. He looked around confused.\n\n\"Strange,\" he muttered. \"Did I not fall asleep on a hill overlooking\nJerusalem last night? How comes it now that I am hemmed in by a\nthicket and am lying in the shade of this noble date palm?\"\n\nWith great difficulty he rose to his feet.\n\n\"Oh, how my bones do ache!\" he cried. \"I must have overslept myself.\nAnd where is my camel?\"\n\nPuzzled, he put his hand to his beard. Then he gave a cry of anguish.\n\n\"What is this? My beard is snow-white and so long that it almost\nreaches to the ground.\"\n\nHe sank down again, but the mound on which he sat was but a heap of\nrubbish and collapsed under his weight. Beneath it were bones. Hastily\nclearing away the rubbish, he saw the skeleton of a camel.\n\n\"This surely must be my camel,\" he said. \"Can I have slept so long?\nThe saddle-bags have rotted, too. But what is this?\" and he picked up\nthe basket of dates and the water-bottle. The dates and the water were\nquite fresh.\n\n\"This must be some miracle,\" he said. \"This must be a sign for me to\ncontinue my journey. But, alas, that Jerusalem should be destroyed!\"\n\nHe looked around and was more puzzled than ever. When he had fallen\nasleep the hill had been bare of vegetation. Now it was covered with\ncarob trees.\n\n\"I think I remember a man planting a carob tree yesterday,\" he said.\n\"But was it yesterday?\"\n\nHe turned in the other direction and gave a cry of astonishment. The\nsun was shining on a noble city of glittering pinnacles and minarets,\nand around it were smiling fields and vineyards.\n\n\"Jerusalem still lives,\" he exclaimed. \"Of a truth I have been\ndreaming--dreaming that it was destroyed. Praise be to God that it was\nbut a dream.\"\n\nWith all speed he made his way across the plain to the city. People\nlooked at him strangely and pointed him out to one another, and the\nchildren ran after him and called him names he did not understand.\nBut he took no notice. Near the outskirts of the city he paused.\n\n\"Canst thou tell me, father,\" he said to an old man, \"which is the\nhouse of Onias, the rabbi?\"\n\n\"'Tis thy wit, or thy lack of it, that makes thee call me father,\"\nreplied the man. \"I must be but a child compared with thee.\"\n\nOthers gathered around and stared hard at Onias.\n\n\"Didst thou speak of Rabbi Onias?\" asked one. \"I know of one who says\nthat was the name of his grandfather. I will bring him.\"\n\nHe hastened away and soon returned with an aged man of about eighty.\n\n\"Who art thou?\" Onias asked.\n\n\"Onias is my name,\" was the reply. \"I am called so in honor of my\nsainted grandfather, Rabbi Onias, who disappeared mysteriously one\nhundred years ago, after the destruction of the First Temple.\"\n\n\"A hundred years,\" murmured Onias. \"Can I have slept so long?\"\n\n\"By thy appearance, it would seem so,\" replied the other Onias. \"The\nTemple has been rebuilt since then.\"\n\n\"Then it was not a dream,\" said the old man.\n\nThey led him gently indoors, but everything was strange to him. The\ncustoms, the manners, the habits of the people, their dress, their\ntalk, was all different, and every time he spoke they laughed.\n\n\"Thou seemest like a creature from another world,\" they said. \"Thou\nspeakest only of the things that have long passed away.\"\n\nOne day he called his grandson.\n\n\"Lead me,\" he said, \"to the place of my long sleep. Perchance I will\nsleep again. I am not of this world, my child. I am alone, a stranger\nhere, and would fain leave ye.\"\n\nTaking the dates and the bottle of water which still remained fresh,\nhe made his way to where he had slept for a hundred years, and there\nhis prayer for peace was answered. He slept again, but not in this\nworld will he awaken.\n\n   [Illustration: He heard a cry of alarm and saw a huge stone\n   fall on the soldier riding behind him. (_Page 201_).]\n\n\n\n\nKing for Three Days\n\n\nGodfrey de Bouillon was a famous warrior, a daring general and bold\nleader of men, who gained victories in several countries. And so, in\nthe year 1095, when the first Crusade came to be arranged, he was\nentrusted with the command of one of the armies and led it across\nEurope in the historic march to the Holy Land.\n\nLike many a great soldier of his period, Godfrey was a cruel man, and,\nabove all, he hated the Jews.\n\n\"In this, our Holy War,\" he said to his men, \"we shall slay all the\nchildren of Israel wherever we shall fall in with them. I shall not\nrest content until I have exterminated the Jews.\"\n\nTrue to his inhuman oath, Godfrey and his soldiers massacred large\nnumbers of Jews. They did this without pity or mercy, saying: \"We are\nperforming a sacred duty, for we have the blessings of the priests on\nour enterprise.\"\n\nGodfrey felt sure he would be victorious, but he also wanted to\nobtain the blessing of a rabbi. It was a curious desire, but in those\ndays such things were not considered at all strange, and so Godfrey de\nBouillon sent for the learned Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, better known by\nhis world-famed name of Rashi.\n\nRashi, one of the wisest sages of the Jews, came to Godfrey, and the\ntwo men stood facing each other.\n\n\"Thou hast heard of my undertaking to capture Jerusalem,\" said\nGodfrey, haughtily. \"I demand thy blessing on my venture.\"\n\n\"Blessings are not in the gift of man; they are bestowed by Heaven--on\nworthy objects,\" answered Rashi.\n\n\"Trifle not with words,\" retorted the warrior, \"or they may cost thee\ndear. A holy man can invoke a blessing.\"\n\nBut Rashi was not afraid. He was becoming an old man then, but he was\nas brave as the swaggering soldier, and he faced Godfrey\nunflinchingly.\n\n\"I can make no claim on the God of Israel on behalf of one who has\nsworn to destroy all the descendants of His chosen people,\" he said.\n\n\"So, ho!\" exclaimed Godfrey, \"you defy me.\"\n\nBut he stopped his angry words abruptly. He had no wish to quarrel\nwith any holy man, for that might make him nervous. And nervousness,\nthen, was misunderstood as superstition. Besides, the rabbi might\ncurse him.\n\n\"If you will not bless,\" he said, \"perhaps you will deign to raise the\nveil of the future for me. You wise men of the Jews are seers and can\nforetell events--so they say. A hundred thousand chariots filled with\nsoldiers brave, determined and strong, are at my command. Tell me,\nshall I succeed, or fail?\"\n\n\"Thou wilt do both.\" Rashi replied.\n\n\"What mean you?\" demanded Godfrey, angrily.\n\n\"This. Jerusalem will fall to thee. So it is ordained, and thou wilt\nbecome its king.\"\n\n\"Ha, ha! So you deem it wisest to pronounce a blessing after all,\"\ninterrupted Godfrey. \"I am content.\"\n\n\"I have not spoken all,\" said the rabbi, gravely. \"Three days wilt\nthou rule and no more.\"\n\nGodfrey turned pale.\n\n\"Shall I return?\" he asked, slowly.\n\n\"Not with thy multitude of chariots. Thy vast army will have dwindled\nto three horses and three men when thou reachest this city.\"\n\n\"Enough,\" cried Godfrey. \"If you think to affright me with these\nominous words, you fail in your intent. And hearken, Rabbi of the\nJews, your words shall be remembered. Should they prove incorrect in\nthe minutest detail--if I am King of Jerusalem for four days, or\nreturn with four horsemen--you shall pay the penalty of a false\nprophet and shall be consigned to the flames. Do you understand? You\nshall be put to death.\"\n\n\"I understand well,\" returned Rashi, quite unmoved, \"it is a sentence\nwhich you and your kind love to pronounce with or without the sanction\nof those whom you call your holy men. It is not I who fear, Godfrey de\nBouillon. I seek not to peer into the future to assure my own safety.\"\n\nWith these words they parted, the rabbi returning to his prayers and\nto his studies which have enriched the learning of the Jews, while\nGodfrey proceeded to lay a trail of innocent Jewish blood along the\nbanks of the Rhine in his march to Palestine.\n\nHistory has set on record the events of the Crusade. Godfrey, after\nmany battles, laid siege to the Holy City, captured it, and drove the\nJews into one of the synagogues and burned them alive. Eight days\nafterward, his soldiers raised him on their shields and proclaimed him\nking.\n\nGodfrey was delighted, but two days later he thought the matter over\ncarefully and decided that he could not live in Jerusalem always. So\nnext day he called together his captains and said:\n\n\"You have done me great honor. But I must return to Europe, and it\nwould be more befitting that I should be styled Duke of Jerusalem and\nGuardian of the Holy City than its sovereign.\"\n\nThat night, however, he suddenly remembered the prediction of Rashi.\n\n\"For three days I have been King of Jerusalem,\" he muttered. \"The\nrabbi of the Jews spoke truth.\"\n\nHe could not help wondering whether the rest of the prophecy would be\nfulfilled, and he became moody. He was joyful when he gained a\nvictory, but there came also disasters, and he was plunged into\ndespondency. The reverses affected the buoyancy of his troops, disease\ndecimated their ranks, and desertions further depleted their numbers.\nSlowly but surely his mighty army dwindled away to a mere handful of\ndissatisfied men and decrepit horses.\n\nIt was a ragged and wretched procession that he led back across\nEurope, and daily his retinue grew smaller. Men and horses dropped\nfrom sheer fatigue helpless by the wayside, and were left there to\ndie, with the hungry vultures perched on trees, patiently waiting for\nthe last flicker of life to depart before they set to work to pick the\nbones of all flesh.\n\nGodfrey de Bouillon had gained his victory, but at what cost?\nThousands of men, women and children had been murdered, thousands of\nhis soldiers had fallen in battle, and now hundreds of others had\ndropped out of the ranks to end their last hours on the ghastly road\nthat led from Jerusalem back to western Europe. Do you wonder that\nGodfrey was unhappy, and that he thought every moment of the words of\nRashi?\n\nAt length he reached the city of Worms where Rashi dwelt. With him\nwere four men, mounted on horses.\n\n\"It is well,\" he said, with as much cheerfulness as he could muster,\nas he surveyed the remnants of his once proud army. \"The rabbi has\nfailed.\"\n\nGodfrey bade his men fall into line behind him and he proudly rode\nthrough the gate of the city. As he did so, he heard a cry of alarm.\nHe turned hastily and saw a huge stone falling from the city's gate.\nIt dropped on the soldier riding just behind him, killing both man and\nhorse.\n\n\"You have spoken truth; would that I had taken heed of your words,\" he\nsaid to the rabbi. \"I am a broken man. You will assuredly achieve\ngreat fame in Israel.\"\n\nAnd so it has come to pass. Should you, by chance, ever visit the city\nof Brussels, the capital of Belgium, fail not to look upon the statue\nof Godfrey de Bouillon, with his sword proudly raised. It stands in\nthe Place Royale but a few minutes' walk from the synagogue. Should\nyou ever be in the ancient city of Worms that stands on the Rhine, do\nas other visitors, Jews and Gentiles--enter the synagogue that was\nbuilt many centuries ago, and you will see the room where Rashi\nstudied and the stone seat on which he sat. And not far from the\nsynagogue you will see the ancient gate of the city, named in honor of\nRabbi Solomon ben Isaac, the Rashi Gate. Perhaps it is the very one\nunder which Godfrey de Bouillon passed into the city with his three\nmounted companions, as the legend tells.\n\n   [Illustration: The four youths mounted the eagles which flew\n   aloft to the extremity of their cords. (_Page 211_).]\n\n\n\n\nThe Palace in the Clouds\n\n\nIkkor, the Jewish vizier of the king of Assyria, was the wisest man in\nthe land, but he was not happy. He was the greatest favorite of the\nking who heaped honors upon him, and the idol of the people who bowed\nbefore him in the streets and cast themselves on the ground at his\nfeet to kiss the hem of his garment. Always he had a kindly word and a\nsmile for those who sought his advice and guidance, but his eyes were\never sad, and tears would trickle down his cheeks as he watched the\nlittle children at play in the streets.\n\nHis fame as a man of wisdom was known far beyond the borders of\nAssyria, and rulers feared to give offense to the king who had Ikkor\nas the chief of his counselors to assist in the affairs of state. But\nIkkor would oft sit alone in his beautiful palace and sigh heavily. No\nsound of children's laughter was ever heard in the palace of Ikkor,\nand that was the cause of his sorrow. Ikkor was a pious man and\ndeeply learned in the Holy Law; and he had prayed long and devoutly\nand had listened unto the advice of magicians that he might be blessed\nwith but one son, or even a daughter, to carry down his name and\nrenown. But the years passed and no child was born to him.\n\nEvery year, on the advice of the king, he married another wife, and\nnow he had in his harem thirty wives, all childless. He determined to\ntake unto himself no more wives, and one night he dreamed a dream in\nwhich a spirit appeared to him and said:\n\n\"Ikkor, thou wilt die full of years and honor, but childless.\nTherefore, take Nadan, the son of thy widowed sister and let him be a\nson to thee.\"\n\nNadan was a handsome youth of fifteen, and Ikkor related his dream to\nthe boy's mother who permitted him to take Nadan to his palace and\nthere bring him up as his own son. The sadness faded from the vizier's\neyes as he watched the lad at his games and his lessons, and Ikkor\nhimself imparted wisdom to Nadan. But, first to his surprise, and then\nto his grief, Nadan was not thankful for the riches and love lavished\nupon him. He neglected his lessons and grew proud, haughty and\narrogant. He treated the servants of the household harshly and did not\nobey the wise maxims of Ikkor.\n\nThe vizier, however, was hopeful that he would reform and gain wisdom\nwith years, and he took him to the palace of the king and appointed\nhim an officer of the royal guard. For Ikkor's sake, the king made\nNadan one of his favorites, and all in the land looked upon the young\nman as the successor of Ikkor and the future vizier. This only served\nto make Nadan still more arrogant, and a wicked idea entered his head\nto gain further favor with the king and supplant Ikkor at once.\n\n\"O King, live for ever!\" he said one day, when Ikkor was absent in a\ndistant part of the land; \"it grieves me to have to utter words of\nwarning against Ikkor, the wise, the father who has adopted me. But he\nconspires to destroy thee.\"\n\nThe king laughed at this suggestion, but he became serious when Nadan\npromised to give him proof in three days. Nadan then set to work and\nwrote two letters. One was addressed to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and\nread as follows:\n\n\"Pharaoh, son of the Sun and mighty ruler on earth, live for ever!\nThou wouldst reign over Assyria. Give ear then to my words and on the\ntenth day of the next month come with thy troops to the Eagle Plain\nbeyond the city, and I, Ikkor, the grand vizier, will deliver thine\nenemy, the King of Assyria, into thy hands.\"\n\nTo this letter he forged Ikkor's name; then he took it to the king.\n\n\"I have found this,\" he said, \"and have brought it to thee. It shows\nthee that Ikkor would deliver this country to thine enemy.\"\n\nThe king was very angry and would have sent for Ikkor at once, but\nNadan counseled patience.\n\n\"Wait until the tenth of next month, the day of the annual review, and\nthou wilt see what will surprise thee still more,\" he said.\n\nThen he wrote the second letter. This was to Ikkor and was forged with\nthe king's name and sealed with the king's seal which he obtained. It\nbade Ikkor on the tenth of the next month to assemble the troops on\nthe Eagle Plain to show how numerous they were to the foreign envoys\nand to pretend to attack the king, so as to demonstrate how well they\nwere drilled.\n\nThe vizier returned the day before the review, and while the king\nstood with Nadan and the foreign envoys, Ikkor and the troops, acting\non their instructions, made a pretense of attacking his majesty.\n\n\"Do you not see?\" said Nadan. \"The king of Egypt not being here, Ikkor\nthreatens thee,\" and he immediately gave orders to the royal\ntrumpeters to sound \"Halt!\"\n\nIkkor was brought before the king and confronted with the letter to\nPharaoh.\n\n\"Explain this, if thou canst,\" exclaimed the king, angrily. \"I have\ntrusted thee and loaded thee with riches and honors and thou wouldst\nbetray me. Is not this thy signature, and is not thy seal appended?\"\n\nIkkor was too much astounded to reply, and Nadan whispered to the king\nthat this proved his guilt.\n\n\"Lead him to the execution,\" cried the king, \"and let his head be\nsevered from his body and cast one hundred ells away.\"\n\nFalling on his knees, Ikkor pleaded that at least he should be granted\nthe privilege of being executed within his own house so that he might\nbe buried there.\n\nThis request was granted, and Nabu Samak, the executioner, led Ikkor a\nprisoner to his palace. Nabu Samak was a great friend to Ikkor and it\ngrieved him to have to carry out the king's order.\n\n\"Ikkor,\" he said, \"I am certain that thou art innocent, and I would\nsave thee. Hearken unto me. In the prison is a wretched highwayman who\nhas committed murder and who deserves death. His beard and hair are\nlike thine, and at a little distance he can easily be mistaken for\nthee. Him will I behead and his head will I show to the crowd, whilst\nthou canst hide and live in secret.\"\n\nIkkor thanked his friend and the plan was carried out. The robber's\nhead was exhibited to the crowd from the roof of the house and the\npeople wept because they thought it was the head of the good Ikkor.\nMeanwhile, the vizier descended into a cellar deep beneath his palace\nand was there fed, while his adopted son, Nadan, was appointed chief\nof the king's counselors in his stead.\n\nNow, when Pharaoh, king of Egypt, heard that Ikkor, the wise, had been\nexecuted, he determined to make war upon Assyria. Therefore, he\ndispatched a letter to the king, asking him to send an architect to\ndesign and build a palace in the clouds.\n\n\"If this thou doest,\" he wrote, \"I, Pharaoh, son of the Sun, will pay\nthee tribute; if thou failest, thou must pay me tribute.\"\n\nThe king of Assyria was perplexed when he received this letter which\nhad to be answered in three months. Nadan could not advise him what to\ndo, and he bitterly regretted that Ikkor, the man of wisdom, was no\nlonger by his side to advise him.\n\n\"I would give one-fourth of my kingdom to bring Ikkor to life again,\"\nhe exclaimed.\n\nHearing these words, Nabu Samak, the executioner, fell on his knees\nand confessed that Ikkor was alive.\n\n\"Bring him hither at once,\" cried the king.\n\nIkkor could scarcely credit the truth when his friend came to him in\nthe cellar with the news, and the people wept tears of joy and pity\nwhen the old vizier was led through the streets. He presented a most\nextraordinary spectacle.\n\nFor twelve months he had been immured in the cellar and his beard had\ngrown down to the ground, his hair descended below his shoulders and\nhis finger nails were several inches long. The king wept, too, when he\nsaw his old vizier.\n\n\"Ikkor,\" he said, \"for months have I felt that thou wert innocent, and\nI have missed thy wise counsels. Help me in my difficulty and thou\nshalt be pardoned.\"\n\n\"Your majesty,\" said Ikkor, \"I desire nothing more than to serve thee.\nI am innocent. Time will prove me guiltless.\"\n\nWhen he saw Pharaoh's demand, he smiled.\n\n\"'Tis easy,\" he said. \"I will go to Egypt and outwit Pharaoh.\"\n\nHe gave orders that four of the tame eagles in the gardens of the\npalace should be brought to him with cords five hundred ells long\nattached to their claws. Then he selected four youths, lithe of\nfigure, and trained them to sit on the backs of the eagles and soar\naloft. This done, he set out for Egypt with a big caravan and a long\nretinue of slaves.\n\n\"What is thy name?\" asked Pharaoh, when he presented himself.\n\n\"My name is Akbam, and I am but the lowest of my king's advisers.\"\n\n\"Does thy master then think my demand so simple?\" asked Pharaoh.\n\nIkkor bowed to indicate that this was so, and Pharaoh was much annoyed\nand puzzled.\n\n\"Perform thy task and at once,\" he commanded.\n\nAt a sign from Ikkor, the four youths mounted the eagles which flew\naloft to the extremity of their cords. The birds remained in the air\ntwo hundred ells apart, as they had been trained, and the lads held\ncords in the form of a square.\n\n\"That is the plan of the palace in the clouds,\" said Ikkor, pointing\naloft. \"Bid your men carry up bricks and mortar. The task is so simple\nthat the boys will build.\"\n\nPharaoh frowned. He had not expected to be thus outwitted, but he\nwould not immediately acknowledge this.\n\n\"In this land,\" he said, sarcastically, \"we use no mortar. We sew the\nstones together. Canst thou do this?\"\n\n\"Easily,\" replied Ikkor, \"if your wise men can make me a thread of\nsand.\"\n\n\"And canst thou weave a thread of sand?\" asked Pharaoh.\n\n\"I can,\" responded Ikkor.\n\nNoting the direction of the sun, he bored a tiny hole in the wall, and\na thin sunbeam gleamed through. Then, taking a few grains of sand he\nblew them through the hole and in the sunbeam they seemed like a\nthread.\n\n\"Take it, quickly,\" he cried, but of course nobody could do this.\n\nPharaoh looked long and earnestly at Ikkor.\n\n\"Truly, thou art a man of wisdom,\" he said. \"If he were not dead I\nshould say thou wert Ikkor, the wise.\"\n\n\"I am Ikkor,\" answered the vizier, and he told the story of his\nescape.\n\n\"I will prove thy innocence,\" exclaimed Pharaoh. \"I will write a\nletter to your royal master.\"\n\nNot only did he do so, but he gave Ikkor many valuable presents and\nthe vizier returned to Assyria, resumed his place by the king's side,\nand became a greater favorite than before. Nadan was banished and was\nnever heard of again.\n\n\n\n\nThe Pope's Game of Chess\n\n\nNearly a thousand years ago in the town of Mayence, on the bank of the\nRhine, there dwelt a pious Jew of the name of Simon ben Isaac. Of a\nmost charitable disposition, learned and ever ready to assist the poor\nwith money and wise counsel, he was reverenced by all, and it was\nbelieved he was a direct descendant of King David. Everybody was proud\nto do him honor.\n\nSimon ben Isaac had one little son, a bright boy of the name of\nElkanan, who he intended should be trained as a rabbi. Little Elkanan\nwas very diligent in his studies and gave early promise of developing\ninto an exceptionally clever student. Even the servants in the\nhousehold loved him for his keen intelligence. One of them, indeed,\nwas unduly interested in him.\n\nShe was the Sabbath-fire woman who only came into the house on the\nSabbath day to attend to the fires, because, as you know, the Jewish\nservants could not perform this duty. The Sabbath-fire woman was a\ndevoted Catholic and she spoke of Elkanan to a priest. The latter was\nconsiderably impressed.\n\n   [Illustration: \"Thou canst only be my long lost son Elkanan!\"\n   (_Page 224_).]\n\n\"What a pity,\" he remarked, \"that so talented a boy should be a Jew.\nIf he were a Christian, now,\" he added, winningly, \"he could enter the\nHoly Church and become famous.\"\n\nThe Sabbath-fire woman knew exactly what the priest meant.\n\n\"Do you think he could rise to be a bishop?\" she asked.\n\n\"He might rise even higher--to be the Pope himself,\" replied the\npriest.\n\n\"It would be a great thing to give a bishop to the Church, would it\nnot?\" said the woman.\n\n\"It is a great thing to give anyone to the Church of Rome,\" the priest\nassured her.\n\nThen they spoke in whispers. The woman appeared a little troubled, but\nthe priest promised her that all would be well, that she would be\nrewarded, and that nobody would dare to accuse her of doing anything\nwrong.\n\nConvinced that she was performing a righteous action, she agreed to do\nwhat the priest suggested.\n\nAccordingly, the following Friday night when the household of Simon\nben Isaac was wrapped in slumber, she crept stealthily and silently\ninto the boy's bedroom. Taking him gently in her arms, she stole\nsilently out of the house and carried him to the priest who was\nwaiting. Elkanan was well wrapped up in blankets, and so cautiously\ndid the woman move that he did not waken.\n\nThe priest said not a word. He just nodded to the woman, and then\nplaced Elkanan in a carriage which he had in waiting.\n\nElkanan slept peacefully, totally unaware of his adventure, and when\nhe opened his eyes he thought he must be dreaming. He was not in his\nown room, but a much smaller one which seemed to be jolting and\nmoving, like a carriage, and opposite to him was a priest.\n\n\"Where am I?\" he asked in alarm.\n\n\"Lie still, Andreas,\" was the reply.\n\n\"But my name is not Andreas,\" he answered. \"That is not a Jewish name.\nI am Elkanan, the son of Simon.\"\n\nTo his amazement, however, the priest looked at him pityingly and\nshook his head.\n\n\"You have had a nasty accident,\" he said, \"and it has affected your\nhead. You must not speak.\"\n\nNot another word would he say in response to all the boy's eager\nqueries. He simply ignored Elkanan who puzzled his head over the\nmatter until he really began to feel ill and to wonder whether he was\nElkanan after all. Tired out, he fell asleep again, and next time he\nawoke he was lying on a bed in a bare room. A bell was tolling, and he\nheard a chanting chorus. By his side stood a priest.\n\nElkanan looked at the priest like one dazed. Before he could utter a\nword, the priest said: \"Rise, Andreas, and follow me.\"\n\nThe boy had no alternative but to obey. To his horror he was taken\ninto a chapel and made to kneel. The priests sprinkled water on him.\nHe did not understand what the service meant, and when it was over he\nbegan to cry for his father and mother. For days nobody took the\nslightest notice of his continual questionings until a priest, with a\nharsh, cruel face, spoke to him severely one day.\n\n\"I perceive, Andreas,\" he said, \"thou hast a stubborn spirit. It shall\nbe curbed. Thy father and mother are dead--all the world is dead to\nthee. Thou hast strange notions in thy head. We shall rid thee of\nthem.\"\n\nElkanan cried so much on hearing these terrible words that he made\nhimself seriously ill. How long he was kept in bed he knew not, but\nwhen he recovered, he found himself a prisoner in a monastery. All the\npriests called him Andreas, they were kind to him, and in time he\nbegan to doubt himself whether he was Elkanan, the son of Simon, the\npious Jew of Mayence.\n\nTo put an end to the unrest in his mind, he devoted himself earnestly\nto his lessons. His tutors never had so brilliant a pupil, nor so\nintelligent a companion. He was a remarkable chess player.\n\n\"Where did you learn?\" they asked him.\n\n\"My father, Simon ben Isaac, of Mayence, taught me,\" he replied, with\na sob in his voice.\n\n\"It is well,\" they replied, having received their instructions what to\nsay in answer to such remarks, \"thou art blessed from Heaven, Andreas.\nNot only dost thou absorb learning in the hours of daylight, but\nangels and dead sages visit thee in they sleep and impart knowledge\nunto thee.\"\n\nHe could obtain no more satisfactory words from his tutors, and in\ntime he made no mention whatever of the past, and his tutors and\ncompanions refrained from touching upon the subject either. Once or\ntwice he formed the idea of endeavoring to escape, but he soon\ndiscovered the project impossible. He was never allowed to be alone\nfor a moment; he was virtually a prisoner, although all men began to\ndo him honor because of his amazing knowledge and learning.\n\nIn due time, he became a priest and a tutor and was even called to\nRome and was created a cardinal. He wore a red cap and cloak, people\nkneeled to him and sought his blessing, and all spoke of him as the\nwisest, kindliest and most scholarly man in the Church.\n\nHe had not spoken of his boyhood for years, but he never ceased to\nthink of those happy days. And although he tried hard, he could not\nbelieve that it was all a dream. Whenever he played a game of chess,\nwhich was his one pastime, he seemed to see himself in his old room at\nMayence, and he sighed. His fellow priests wondered why he did this,\nand he laughingly told them it was because he had no idea how to lose\na game.\n\nThen a great event happened. The Pope died and Andreas was elected his\nsuccessor. He was placed on a throne, a crown was put upon his head,\nand he was called Holy Father. The power of life and death over\nmillions of people in many countries was vested in him; kings,\nprinces and nobles visited him in his great palace to do him homage,\nand his fame spread far and wide. But he himself grew more thoughtful\nand silent and sought only to exercise his great powers for the\npeople's good.\n\nThis, however, did not altogether please some of his counselors.\n\n\"The Church needs money,\" they told him. \"We must squeeze it out of\nthe Jews.\"\n\nBut Andreas steadfastly refused to countenance any persecutions. Many\nedicts were placed before him for his signature, giving permission to\nbishops in certain districts to threaten the Jews unless they paid\nhuge sums of money in tribute, but Andreas declined to assent to any\none of them.\n\nOne day a document was submitted to him from the archbishop of the\nRhine district, craving permission to drive the Jews from the city of\nMayence. The Pope's face hardened when he read the iniquitous letter.\nHe gave instant orders that the archbishop should be summoned to Rome,\nand to the utter amazement of his cardinals he also commanded them to\nbring before him three leading Jews from Mayence, to state their\ncase.\n\n\"It shall not be said,\" he declared, \"that the Pope issued a decree of\npunishment without giving the people condemned an opportunity of\ndefending themselves.\"\n\nWhen the news reached Mayence there was great wailing and sorrow among\nthe Jews, for, alas! bitter experience had taught them to expect no\nmercy from Rome. Delegates were selected, and when they arrived at the\nVatican they were asked for their names. These were given and\ncommunicated to the Pope.\n\n\"The delegates of the Jews of the city of Mayence,\" announced a\nsecretary, \"humbly crave audience of Your Holiness.\"\n\n\"Their names?\" demanded the Pope.\n\n\"Simon ben Isaac, Abraham ben Moses, and Issachar, the priest.\"\n\n\"Let them enter,\" said the Pope, in a quiet, firm voice. He had heard\nbut one name; his plan had proved successful, for he had counted upon\nSimon being one of the chosen delegates.\n\nThe three men entered the audience chamber and stood expectant before\nthe Pope. His Holiness appeared to be lost in deep thought. Suddenly\nhe aroused himself from his reverie and looked keenly at the aged\nleader of the party.\n\n\"Simon of Mayence, stand forth,\" he said, \"and give voice to thy plea.\nWe give thee attention.\"\n\nThe old man approached a few paces nearer, and in simple, but eloquent\nlanguage, pleaded that the Jews should be permitted to remain\nunmolested in Mayence in which city their community had been long\nestablished.\n\n\"Thy prayer\" said the Pope, when he had finished, \"shall have full\nconsideration, and my answer shall be made known to thee without\ndelay. Now tell me, Simon of Mayence, something of thyself and thy\nco-delegates. Who are ye in the city?\"\n\nSimon gave the information.\n\n\"Have ye come hither alone?\" asked the Pope. \"Or have ye been escorted\nby members of your families--your sons?\"\n\nThe Pope's voice was scarcely steady, but none noticed.\n\n\"I have no son,\" said Simon, with a weary sigh.\n\n\"Hast thou never been blessed with offspring?\"\n\nSimon looked sharply at the Pope before answering. Then, with bowed\nhead and broken voice, he said: \"God blessed me with one son, but he\nwas stolen from me in childhood. That has been the sorrow of my life.\"\n\nThe old man's voice was choked with sobs.\n\n\"I have heard,\" said the Pope, after a while, \"that thou art famed as\na chess-player. I, too, am credited with some skill in the game. I\nwould fain pit it against thine. Hearken! If thou prove the victor in\nthe game, then shall thy appeal prevail.\"\n\n\"I consent,\" said the old man, proudly. \"It is many years since I have\nsustained defeat.\"\n\nIt was arranged that the game should be played that evening.\nNaturally, the strange contest aroused the keenest interest. The game\nwas followed closely by the papal secretaries and the Jewish\ndelegates. It was a wonderful trial of subtle play. The two players\nseemed about evenly matched. First one and then the other made a\ndaring move which appeared to place his opponent in difficulties, but\neach time disaster was ingeniously evaded. A draw seemed the likeliest\nresult until, suddenly, the Pope made a brilliant move which startled\nthe onlookers. It was considered impossible now for Simon to avoid\ndefeat.\n\nNo one was more astounded at the Pope's move than the old Jew. He rose\ntremblingly from his chair, gazed with piercing eyes into the face of\nthe Pope and said huskily, \"Where didst thou learn that move? I taught\nit to but one other.\"\n\n\"Who?\" demanded the Pope, eagerly.\n\n\"I will tell thee alone,\" said Simon.\n\nThe Pope made a sign, and the others left the room in great surprise.\n\nThen Simon exclaimed excitedly, \"Unless thou art the devil himself,\nthou canst only be my long lost son, Elkanan.\"\n\n\"Father!\" cried the Pope, and the old man clasped him in his arms.\n\nWhen the others re-entered the room, the Pope said quietly, \"We have\ndecided to call the game a draw, and in thankfulness for the rare\npleasure of a game of chess with so skilled a player as Simon of\nMayence, I grant the prayer of the delegates of that city. It is my\nwill that the Jews shall live in peace.\"\n\nShortly afterward, a new Pope was elected. Various rumors gained\ncurrency. One was that Andreas had thrown himself into the flames;\nanother that he had mysteriously disappeared. And at the same time a\nstranger arrived in Mayence and was welcomed by Simon joyfully as his\nson, Elkanan.\n\n\n\n\nThe Slave's Fortune\n\n\nAhmed was the only child of the wealthiest merchant in Damascus. His\nfather devoted his days to doing everything possible to anticipate his\nwishes. The boy returned his father's love with interest, and the two\nlived together in the utmost happiness. They were seldom apart, the\nfather curtailing his business journeys so that he could hastily\nreturn to Damascus, and finally restricting his affairs to those which\nhe could perform in his own home.\n\nFor safety's sake, Ahmed, whenever he was out of his father's sight,\nwas attended, by a big negro slave, Pedro, an imposing looking person,\nrichly attired as befitted his station and duties. Pedro was a\nfaithful servant, and he and Ahmed were the firmest friends.\n\nWhen Ahmed grew up to be a youth, his father decided to send him to\nJerusalem to be educated. He did so reluctantly, knowing, however,\nthat it was the wisest course to adopt. Gently he broke the news to\nAhmed, for he knew the latter would dislike to leave home. Ahmed was\ntruly sorry to have to be parted from his father, but he kept back his\ntears and said bravely:\n\n\"It is thy wish, father, therefore I question it not. I know that thou\ndesirest only my welfare.\"\n\n\"Well spoken, my son,\" said his father.\n\n\"May I take Pedro with me?\" asked Ahmed.\n\n\"Nay, that would not be seemly,\" answered his father, gently. \"It\nwould make thee appear anxious to display thy wealth. Such ostentation\nwill induce people to regard thee and thy father as foolish persons,\npossessed of more wealth than is good for the exercise of wisdom.\nAlso, my son, thy future teaching must be not confined to the learning\nthat wise men can impart unto thee. Thou art going to the great city\nto learn the ways of the world, to train thyself in self-reliance, and\nto prepare thyself for all the duties of manhood.\"\n\nThe youth was somewhat disappointed to hear this. It was the first\noccasion, as far as his memory served him, that his father had failed\nto grant his wish; but he was nevertheless flattered by the prospect\nof quickly becoming a man, and he answered, \"I bow to thy wisdom, my\nfather.\"\n\nHe left for Jerusalem, after bidding the merchant an affectionate\nfarewell, and in the Holy City he applied himself diligently to his\nstudies. He delighted his teachers with his cheerful attention to his\nlessons, and discovered a new source of happiness in learning things\nfor himself from observation. Also, it was a pleasant sensation to\nconduct his own affairs, and in the great city, with its busy narrow\nthoroughfares and its wonderful buildings, he daily grew less\nhomesick. Regularly he received letters by messengers from his father,\nand dutifully he returned, by the same means, long epistles, setting\nout all the big and little things that made up his life.\n\nA year passed, and one day the usual message that Ahmed expected came\nto him in a strange hand-writing.\n\nHe opened it hastily, with a foreboding of evil and alarm. The writer\nof the letter was one of the merchant's closest friends. He said:\n\n\"O worthy son of a most worthy father, greeting to thee, and may God\ngive thee strength to hear the terrible and sad tidings which it is my\nsorrowful duty to convey unto thee. Know then that it hath pleased\nGod in his wisdom to call from this earth thy saintly father, to sit\nwith the righteous ones in Heaven. Here in the city of Damascus there\nis great weeping, for thy honored father was the most upright of men,\na friend to all in distress, a man whose bounteous charity to the poor\nand unfortunate was unsurpassed. But our grief, deep and heartfelt as\nit is, cannot be compared to thine. We have all lost a wise counselor,\na trusty friend, a guide in all things. But thou hast lost more. Thou\nhast lost a father. Thou art his only son, and on thee his duties will\nnow devolve. Know then thy profound grief we share with thee. We\ntender to thee our sincere sympathy, and eagerly do we await thy\ncoming. Thou hast a noble position to occupy and a tradition to\ncontinue. We, thy father's friends and thine, O Ahmed, will assist\nthee.\"\n\nThe young man was dumbfounded when he gathered the purport of the\nletter. For some moments he spoke not, but sat on the ground, weeping\nsilently. Then, remembering his father's admonitions, he promptly took\nup the task of settling his affairs in Jerusalem prior to his\ndeparture for Damascus.\n\n\"I will take with me,\" he said, \"the good rabbi who has been my\nreligious instructor, for I am not fully prepared to undertake all the\nduties that will fall to my lot and need some strengthening counsel.\"\n\nOn arrival at Damascus he was greeted by a large concourse of people\nwho expressed their sympathy with him and spoke in terms of highest\npraise of his father's benevolence.\n\nAfter the funeral, Ahmed called the leading townspeople together to\nhear his father's will read, for he was certain that many gifts to\ncharities would be announced. Such was the case, and there were\nsubdued murmurs of applause when the amounts were read forth.\n\nThen suddenly the friend who had written to the young man and was\nreading the will, paused.\n\n\"I fear there must be a mistake,\" he said, in a whisper to Ahmed.\n\n\"Go on,\" urged the assembled people, and the man read in a strange\nvoice:\n\n\"And now, having as I hope, faithfully performed my duty to the poor,\nI bequeath the rest of my possessions unto my devoted negro slave,\nPedro.\"\n\n\"Pedro!\" cried the astonished crowd.\n\nThey looked at the massive figure of the black attendant, but he stood\nmotionless and impassive, betraying no sign whatsoever of joy or\nsurprise.\n\nAhmed could not conceal his bewilderment.\n\n\"Is naught left unto me?\" he managed to ask.\n\n\"Yes,\" returned his friend, and amid a sudden silence, he continued to\nread: \"This bequest is subject to the following proviso: that one\nthing be given to my son before the division of my property, the same\nto be selected by him within twenty-four hours of the reading of this\nwill unto him.\"\n\nThe crowd melted away with mutterings of sympathy mingled with\nastonishment, but out of earshot of Ahmed, all said the merchant must\nhave been mad to draw up so absurd a testament. Ahmed himself could\nhardly realize the great blow that had befallen him. He consulted with\nhis father's friend and the rabbi, but, although they re-read the\ndocument many times, they could find no fault or flaw in it.\n\n\"Legally, this is correct and in perfect order and cannot be altered,\"\nsaid the friend.\n\n\"My father must have made a foolish mistake and must have misplaced\nthe two words 'son' and 'slave,'\" said Ahmed, bitterly.\n\n\"That does not so appear,\" said the rabbi; \"thy father was a scholar\nand wise man. Speak not hastily, and above all act not rashly without\nthought. I would counsel thee to sleep over this matter, and in the\nmorning we shall solve this puzzle.\"\n\nAhmed, who was exhausted with grief and rage and surprise, soon fell\ninto a deep sleep, and when he awoke the rabbi was reciting his\nmorning prayers.\n\n\"It is a beautiful day,\" he said, when he had finished. \"The sun\nshines on thy happiness, Ahmed.\"\n\nAhmed was too depressed to make any comment, nor was he completely\nsatisfied when the rabbi assured him all would be well.\n\n\"I have pondered deeply and long over thy father's words,\" he said. \"I\nsat up through the night until the dawn, and I have been impelled to\nthe conclusion that thy father was truly a wise man.\"\n\nAhmed interrupted with a gesture of disapproval. The rabbi took no\nnotice but proceeded quietly: \"Thy father must have feared that in thy\nabsence after his death and pending thy possible delay in returning\nhither, slaves and others might rob thee of thy inheritance. Pedro, I\nhave discovered, knew of the terms of the will. By informing him and\nmaking his strange will, thy father, O fortunate Ahmed, made sure of\nthy inheritance unto thee.\"\n\n\"I understand not,\" muttered Ahmed.\n\n\"It is perfectly clear,\" said the rabbi. \"As soon as thou art ready,\nthou shalt make thy choice of one thing. Do as I bid thee, and thou\nshalt see thy father's wisdom.\"\n\nAhmed had no option but to agree. He could find no solution himself,\nand wretched though he felt, reason told him that his father loved him\nand that the rabbi was renowned for shrewdness.\n\nThe townspeople gathered early to hear Ahmed make his choice of one\nthing--and one only--from his father's possessions. Ahmed looked less\ntroubled than they expected, the rabbi wore his most benign\nexpression, and Pedro stationed himself in his usual place at the\ndoor, statuesque, obedient, and expressionless as ever.\n\nAhmed held up his hand to obtain silence.\n\n\"Acting under the terms of my father's will,\" he said, solemnly, \"at\nthis moment when all, before division, belongs to his estate, I choose\nbut one of my father's possessions--Pedro, the black slave.\"\n\nThen everybody saw the wisdom of the strange will, for with Pedro,\nAhmed became possessed of his father's vast wealth.\n\nTo Pedro, who still stood motionless, Ahmed said, \"And thou, my good\nfriend, shalt have thy freedom and possessions sufficient to keep thee\nin comfort for the rest of thy days.\"\n\n\"I desire naught but to serve thee,\" Pedro answered, \"I wish to remain\nthe faithful attendant of one who will follow nobly in the footsteps\nof thy father.\"\n\nSo everybody was satisfied.\n\n   [Illustration: He crouched on his throne and imagined he saw\n   angels and demons and fairies. (_Page 241_).]\n\n\n\n\nThe Paradise in the Sea\n\n\nHiram, king of Tyre, was a foolish old man. He lived so long and grew\nto such a venerable age that he absurdly imagined he would never die.\nThe idea gained strength daily in his mind and thus he mused:\n\n\"David, king of the Jews, I knew, and afterward his son, the wise King\nSolomon. But wise as he was, Solomon had to appeal to me for\nassistance in building his wondrous Temple, and it was only with the\naid of the skilled workmen I sent to him that he successfully\naccomplished the erection of that structure. David, the sweet singer\nin Israel, who, as a mere boy slew the giant Goliath, has passed away.\nI still live. It must be that I shall never die. Men die. Gods live\nfor ever. I must be a god, and why not?\"\n\nHe put that question to the chief of his counselors, who, however, was\nmuch too wise to answer it. Now the counselors of the king had never\nyet failed to answer his queries, and so Hiram felt sure he had at\nlast puzzled them by a question beyond the power of mortal man to\nanswer. That was another proof, he told himself, that he was different\nfrom other men and kings--that, in short, he was a god.\n\n\"I must be, I must be,\" he muttered to himself, and he repeated this\nto himself so regularly that he came to the conclusion it was true.\n\n\"It is not I, but the voice of the Spirit of God that is in me that\nspeaks,\" he said to himself, and he thought this remark so clever that\nhe regarded it as still further proof. It is so easy to delude one's\nself.\n\nThen he decided to make the great secret known to the people, and the\ndoddering old man thought if he would do this in an unusual way, his\nsubjects would have no doubts. He did not make a proclamation\ncommanding everybody to believe in him as a god; he whispered the\nsecret first to his chief counselor and instructed him to tell it to\none person daily and to order all who were informed to do likewise. In\nthis way the news soon spread to the remotest corners of the country,\nfor if you work out a little sum you will discover that if you take\nthe figure one and double it thus: two, four, eight, sixteen, and so\non, it will run into millions.\n\nIn spite of this, nothing happened. Hiram, now quite idiotic,\ncommanded the people to worship him. Some obeyed, fearing that if they\nrefused they would be punished, or even put to death. Others declared\nthere was no evidence that the king was a god. This came to the\nknowledge of Hiram and troubled him sorely.\n\n\"What proof do the unbelievers require?\" he asked of his counselors.\n\nThey hesitated to reply, but presently the vizier, a shrewd old man\nwith a long beard, said quietly, \"I have heard people say a god must\nhave a heaven from which to hurl lightning and thunderbolts, and a\nparadise in which to dwell.\"\n\n\"I shall have a heaven and a paradise,\" said Hiram, after a few\nmoments' silence, adding to himself: \"If Solomon could build a\nmarvelous temple by the help of my workmen, surely I can devise a\nparadise.\"\n\nHe spent so much thought over this that it seemed to become easier\neach day. Besides, it would be so nice to live in a paradise all to\nhimself. At first he decided to build a great big palace of gold, with\nwindows of precious stones. There would be a high tower on which the\nthrone would be placed so far above the people that they must be\nimpressed with the fact that he was God.\n\nThen it occurred to him this would not do. A palace, however vast and\nbeautiful, would only be a building, not a paradise. Day and night he\npondered and worried until his head ached badly. Then one day, while\nwatching a ship on the sea, an extraordinary idea came into his head.\n\n\"I will build a palace which will seem to hang above the water on\nnothing!\" he said to himself, chuckling. \"None but a god could\nconceive such a brilliant idea.\"\n\nHiram set about his ingenious plan at once. He sent trusted envoys far\nand wide for skilled divers. Only those who did not know the language\nof the country were selected. Hiram himself gave them their orders and\nthey worked only at night, so that none should see or know of their\nwork. Their task was to fasten four huge pillars to the bottom of the\nsea. Their work completed, the divers were well paid and sent away.\n\nNext, a different gang of workmen was brought from a strange land.\nThey constructed a platform on the pillars in the sea. Then a third\nlot of artisans began to erect a wonderful edifice on the platform.\nThey, too, only worked at night, but the building could no longer be\nconcealed. It was showing itself above the sea. The people were\ntherefore told, by royal proclamation, in these words:\n\n    I, Hiram of Tyre, the King, and of all the People,\n\n  GOD OMNIPOTENT,\n\n    Hereby make known to you that it has become my pleasure to\n    reveal unto you my\n\n  PARADISE\n\n    which hitherto I have concealed in the clouds. Ye who are worthy\n    shall behold it\n\n  TODAY!\n\nOf all the clever things he had done, Hiram believed the composition\nof that proclamation the cleverest.\n\n\"Those who do not see, will think themselves unworthy,\" he said, \"and\nwill tremble in fear of my wrath. They will see a little more each day\nand will think themselves growing worthy. And they will believe; they\nmust, when they see it all. Besides, they will look upward, toward the\nclouds, to see the paradise descending. They will never think of\nlooking below to see it rising.\"\n\nAnd so it happened. The people could not help but be impressed when\nthey saw the amazing structure. It grew daily, apparently of its own\naccord, for no workmen were seen; and most wonderful of all, it seemed\nto rest on nothing in the air!\n\nThis was because the first story was of clearest glass, so clear,\nindeed, that the people saw through it and thought they saw nothing.\nOn this the other stories were erected, and, of course, they appeared\nto be suspended in space.\n\nThere were seven stories to represent seven heavens. The second, the\none above the glass, was constructed of iron, the third was of lead,\nthe fourth of shining brass, the fifth of burnished copper, the sixth\nof glistening silver, and the last story of all, of pure gold.\n\nThe whole building was lavishly studded with precious stones, gems and\njewels of many hues. By day, when the sun shone and was reflected from\nthe thousands of jewels and the polished metals, the appearance was\ndazzling; the people could not help but regard as a heaven that which\nthey could scarcely look upon without being blinded. In the setting\nsun the uppermost story, with its huge golden dome, glowed like an\nexpanse of fire; and by night, the myriad gems twinkled like\nadditional stars.\n\nYet some people would not believe this was a paradise, and so Hiram\nhad to set his wits to work again.\n\n\"Thunder and lightning I must produce,\" he said, and this part of his\nambition he found not at all difficult.\n\nIn the second story he kept huge boulders and round heavy stones. When\nthese were rolled about the people thought the noise was thunder. By\nmeans of many revolving windows and reflectors, Hiram could flash a\nlight on the town and delude simple people, who were easily impressed\nand frightened, into the belief that they saw lightning.\n\n\"When I am seated here above the forces of the storm,\" said Hiram,\n\"the people must surely accept me as God and extol me above all mortal\nkings.\"\n\nHe was foolishly happy on his throne in the clouds, but his counselors\nshook their heads. They knew that such folly would meet with its due\npunishment. They warned Hiram against remaining in his paradise during\na storm, but he replied, in a rage: \"I, the God of the storm, am not\nafraid.\"\n\nBut when the real thunder rolled and the lightning flashed all around\nhis paradise, Hiram lost his boastful courage. He saw visions.\nTrembling in every limb, he crouched on his throne and imagined he saw\nangels and demons and fairies dancing round him and jeering at his\npretensions and his wonderful structure.\n\nThe storm grew fiercer, the lightning more vivid, the thunder-crashes\nlouder, and Hiram screamed when there was a tremendous noise of\ncrashing glass. The first story could not withstand the terrible\nbuffeting of the waves. It cracked and crumbled. There was no support\nleft for the six heavens above. They could no longer hang in space.\n\nWith a mighty crash, that struck terror into the hearts of the\nbeholders, the whole structure collapsed in a thousand pieces in the\nsea.\n\nMarvelous to relate, Hiram was not killed or drowned. It seemed a\nmiracle that he should be saved, but such was the case; and some\npeople thought that proved him to be a god more than his unfortunate\nparadise. But his life was only spared to end in greater misery and\nsorrow. He was dethroned by Nebuchadnezzar and ended his days a\nwretched captive. And all the people knew that Hiram, once the great\nking of Tyre, the friend of King David and King Solomon, was but a\nmortal and a foolish one.\n\n\n\n\nThe Rabbi's Bogey-Man\n\n\nRabbi Lion, of the ancient city of Prague, sat in his study in the\nGhetto looking very troubled. Through the window he could see the\nRiver Moldau with the narrow streets of the Jewish quarter clustered\naround the cemetery, which still stands to-day, and where is to be\nseen this famous man's tomb. Beyond the Ghetto rose the towers and\nspires of the city, but just at that moment it was not the cruelty of\nthe people to the Jews that occupied the rabbi's thoughts. He was\nunable to find a servant, even one to attend the fire on the Sabbath\nfor him.\n\nThe truth was that the people were a little afraid of the rabbi. He\nwas a very learned man, wise and studious, and a scientist; and\nbecause he did wonderful things people called him a magician. His\nexperiments in chemistry frightened them. Late at nights they saw\nlittle spurts of blue and red flame shine from his window, and they\nsaid that demons and witches came at his beck and call. So nobody\nwould enter his service.\n\n   [Illustration: The monster was battering down the door of the\n   synagogue. (_Page 249_).]\n\n\"If, as they declare, I am truly a magician,\" he said to himself, \"why\nshould I not make for myself a servant, one that will tend the fire\nfor me on the Sabbath?\"\n\nHe set to work on his novel idea and in a few weeks had completed his\nmechanical creature, a woman. She looked like a big, strong, laboring\nwoman, and the rabbi was greatly pleased with his handiwork.\n\n\"Now to endow it with life,\" he said.\n\nCarefully, in the silence of his mysterious study at midnight, he\nwrote out the Unpronounceable Sacred Name of God on a piece of\nparchment. Then he rolled it up and placed it in the mouth of the\ncreature.\n\nImmediately it sprang up and began to move like a living thing. It\nrolled its eyes, waved its arms, and nearly walked through the window.\nIn alarm, Rabbi Lion snatched the parchment from its mouth and the\ncreature fell helpless to the floor.\n\n\"I must be careful,\" said the rabbi. \"It is a wonderful machine with\nits many springs and screws and levers, and will be most useful to me\nas soon as I learn to control it properly.\"\n\nAll the people marveled when they saw the rabbi's machine-woman\nrunning errands and doing many duties, controlled only by his\nthoughts. She could do everything but speak, and Rabbi Lion discovered\nthat he must take the Name from her mouth before he went to sleep.\nOtherwise, she might have done mischief.\n\nOne cold Sabbath afternoon, the rabbi was preaching in the synagogue\nand the little children stood outside his house looking at the\nmachine-woman seated by the window. When they rolled their eyes she\ndid, and at last they shouted: \"Come and play with us.\"\n\nShe promptly jumped through the window and stood among the boys and\ngirls.\n\n\"We are cold,\" said one. \"Canst thou make a fire for us?\"\n\nThe creature was made to obey orders, so she at once collected sticks\nand lit a fire in the street. Then, with the children, she danced\nround the blaze in great glee. She piled on all the sticks and old\nbarrels she could find, and soon the fire spread and caught a house.\nThe children ran away in fear while the fire blazed so furiously that\nthe whole town became alarmed. Before the flames could be\nextinguished, a number of houses had been burned down and much damage\ndone. The creature could not be found, and only when the parchment\nwith the Name, which could not burn, was discovered amid the ashes,\nwas it known that she had been destroyed in the conflagration.\n\nThe Council of the city was indignant when it learned of the strange\noccurrence, and Rabbi Lion was summoned to appear before King Rudolf.\n\n\"What is this I hear,\" asked his majesty. \"Is it not a sin to make a\nliving creature?\"\n\n\"It had no life but that which the Sacred Name gave it,\" replied the\nrabbi.\n\n\"I understand it not,\" said the king. \"Thou wilt be imprisoned and\nmust make another creature, so that I may see it for myself. If it is\nas thou sayest, thy life shall be spared. If not--if, in truth, thou\nprofanest God's sacred law and makest a living thing, thou shalt die\nand all thy people shall be expelled from this city.\"\n\nRabbi Lion at once set to work, and this time made a man, much bigger\nthan the woman that had been burned.\n\n\"As your majesty sees,\" said the rabbi, when his task was completed,\n\"it is but a creature of wood and glue with springs at the joints. Now\nobserve,\" and he put the Sacred Name in its mouth.\n\nSlowly the creature rose to its feet and saluted the monarch who was\nso delighted that he cried: \"Give him to me, rabbi.\"\n\n\"That cannot be,\" said Rabbi Lion, solemnly. \"The Sacred Name must not\npass from my possession. Otherwise the creature may do great damage\nagain. This time I shall take care and will not use the man on the\nSabbath.\"\n\nThe king saw the wisdom of this and set the rabbi at liberty and\nallowed him to take the creature to his house. The Jews looked on in\nwonderment when they saw the creature walking along the street by the\nside of Rabbi Lion, but the children ran away in fear, crying: \"The\nbogey-man.\"\n\nThe rabbi exercised caution with his bogey-man this time, and every\nFriday, just before Sabbath commenced, he took the name from its mouth\nso as to render it powerless.\n\nIt became more wonderful every day, and one evening it startled the\nrabbi from a doze by beginning to speak.\n\n\"I want to be a soldier,\" it said, \"and fight for the king. I belong\nto the king. You made me for him.\"\n\n\"Silence,\" cried Rabbi Lion, and it had to obey. \"I like not this,\"\nsaid the rabbi to himself. \"This monster must not become my master,\nor it may destroy me and perhaps all the Jews.\"\n\nHe could not help but wonder whether the king was right and that it\nmust be a sin to create a man. The creature not only spoke, but grew\nsurly and disobedient, and yet the rabbi hesitated to break it up, for\nit was most useful to him. It did all his cooking, washing and\ncleaning, and three servants could not have performed the work so\nneatly and quickly.\n\nOne Friday afternoon when the rabbi was preparing to go to the\nsynagogue, he heard a loud noise in the street.\n\n\"Come quickly,\" the people shouted at his door. \"Your bogey-man is\ntrying to get into the synagogue.\"\n\nRabbi Lion rushed out in a state of alarm. The monster had slipped\nfrom the house and was battering down the door of the synagogue.\n\n\"What art thou doing?\" demanded the rabbi, sternly.\n\n\"Trying to get into the synagogue to destroy the scrolls of the Holy\nLaw,\" answered the monster. \"Then wilt thou have no power over me, and\nI shall make a great army of bogey-men who shall fight for the king\nand kill all the Jews.\"\n\n\"I will kill thee first,\" exclaimed Rabbi Lion, and springing forward\nhe snatched the parchment with the Name so quickly from the creature's\nmouth that it collapsed at his feet a mass of broken springs and\npieces of wood and glue.\n\nFor many years afterward these pieces were shown to visitors in the\nattic of the synagogue when the story was told of the rabbi's\nbogey-man.\n\n\n\n\nThe Fairy Frog\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man of learning and wealth who had an\nonly son, named Hanina. To this son, who was grown up and married, he\nsent a messenger asking that he should immediately come to his father.\nHanina obeyed, and found both his father and mother lying ill.\n\n\"Know, my son,\" said the old man, \"we are about to die. Grieve not,\nfor it has been so ordained. We have been companions through life, and\nwe are to be privileged to leave this world together. You will mourn\nfor us the customary seven days. They will end on the eve of the\nfestival of the Passover. On that day go forth into the market place\nand purchase the first thing offered to thee, no matter what it is, or\nwhat the cost that may be demanded. It will in due course bring thee\ngood fortune. Hearken unto my words, my son, and all will be well.\"\n\n   [Illustration: Hanina and his wife followed the giant frog.\n   (_Page 255_).]\n\nHanina promised obedience to this strange injunction of his father,\nand events fell out in accordance with the old man's prediction. The\naged couple died on the same day, were buried together and after the\nweek of mourning, on the day preceding the Passover festival, Hanina\nmade his way to the market place wondering what adventure was in store\nfor him.\n\nHe had scarcely entered the market place, where all manner of wares\nwere displayed, when an old man approached him, carrying a silver\ncasket of curious design.\n\n\"Purchase this, my son,\" he said, \"and it will bring thee good\nfortune.\"\n\n\"What does it contain?\" asked Hanina.\n\n\"That I may not inform thee,\" was the reply. \"Indeed I cannot, for I\nknow not. Only the purchaser can open it at the feast which begins the\nPassover.\"\n\nNaturally, Hanina was impressed by these words. Matters were shaping\njust as his father foretold.\n\n\"What is the price?\" he asked.\n\n\"A thousand gold pieces.\"\n\nThat was an enormous sum, nearly the whole that he possessed, but\nHanina, remembering his vow, paid the money and took the casket home.\nIt was placed upon the table that night when the Passover festival\nbegan. On being opened it was found to contain a smaller casket. This\nwas opened and out sprang a frog.\n\nHanina's wife was sorely disappointed, but she gave food to the frog\nwhich devoured everything greedily. So much did the creature eat that\nwhen the Passover had ended, in eight days it had grown to an enormous\nsize. Hanina built a cabinet for his strange possession, but it\ncontinued to grow and soon required a special shed.\n\nHanina was seriously puzzled, for the frog ate so ravenously that he\nand his wife had little food for themselves. But they made no\ncomplaint, although their hardships increased daily. They were\ncompelled to dispose of almost everything they possessed to keep the\nfrog supplied with food, and at last they were left in a state of\nabject poverty. Then only did the courage of Hanina's wife give way\nand she began to cry.\n\nTo her astonishment, the frog, which was now bigger than a man, spoke\nto her.\n\n\"Listen to me, wife of the faithful Hanina,\" it said. \"Ye have treated\nme well. Therefore, ask of me what ye will, and I shall carry out your\nwishes.\"\n\n\"Give us food,\" sobbed the woman.\n\n\"It is there,\" said the frog, and at that very moment there was a\nknock at the door and a huge basket of food was delivered.\n\nHanina had not yet spoken, and the frog asked him to name his desire.\n\n\"A frog that speaks and performs wonders must be wise and learned,\"\nsaid Hanina. \"I wish that thou shouldst teach me the lore of men.\"\n\nThe frog agreed, and his method of teaching was exceedingly strange.\nHe wrote out the Law and the seventy known languages on strips of\npaper. These he ordered Hanina to swallow. Hanina did so and became\nacquainted with everything, even the language of the beasts and the\nbirds. All men regarded him as the most learned sage of his time.\n\nOne day the frog spoke again.\n\n\"The day has arrived,\" he said, \"when I must repay you for all the\nkindness you have shown me. Your reward shall be great. Come with me\nto the woods and you shall see marvels performed.\"\n\nHanina and his wife followed the giant frog to the woods very early\none morning, and a comical figure it presented as it hobbled along.\nArrived at the woods, the frog cried out, in its croaking voice:\n\n\"Come to me all ye inhabitants of the trees, the caves and streams,\nand do my bidding. Bring precious stones from the depths of the earth\nand roots and herbs.\"\n\nThen began the queerest procession. Hundreds upon hundreds of birds\ncame twittering through the trees; thousands upon thousands of insects\ncame crawling from holes in the ground; and all the animals in the\nwoods, from the tiniest to the monsters, came in answer to the call of\nthe frog. Each group brought some gift and laid it at the feet of\nHanina and his wife who stood in some alarm. Soon a great pile of\nprecious stones and herbs was heaped before them.\n\n\"All these belong to you,\" said the frog, pointing to the jewels. \"Of\nequal worth are the herbs and the roots with which ye can cure all\ndiseases. Because ye obeyed the wishes of the dying and did not\nquestion me, ye are now rewarded.\"\n\nHanina and his wife thanked the frog and then the former said: \"May we\nnot know who thou art?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied the frog. \"I am the fairy son of Adam, gifted with the\npower of assuming any form. Farewell.\"\n\nWith these words, the frog began to grow smaller and smaller until it\nwas the size of an ordinary frog. Then it hopped into a stream and\ndisappeared and all the denizens of the woods returned to their\nhaunts.\n\nHanina and his wife made their way home with their treasures. They\nbecame famous for their wealth, their wisdom and their charity, and\nlived in happiness with all peoples for many, many years.\n\n   [Illustration: The giant bird did not seem to notice its burden\n   at all. (_Page 274_).]\n\n\n\n\nThe Princess of the Tower\n\n\nI\n\nPrincess Solima was sick, not exactly ill, but so much out of sorts\nthat her father, King Zuliman, was both annoyed and perturbed. The\nprincess was as beautiful as a princess of those days should be; her\nlong tresses were like threads of gold, her blue eyes rivaled the\ncolor of the sky on the balmiest summer day; and her smile was as\nradiant as the sunshine itself.\n\nShe was learned and clever, too, and her goodness of heart gained for\nher as great a renown as her peerless beauty. Despite all this,\nPrincess Solima was not happy. Indeed, she was wretched to\ndespondency, and her melancholy weighed heavily upon her father.\n\n\"What ails you, my precious daughter?\" he asked her a hundred times,\nbut she made no answer.\n\nShe just sat and silently moped. She did not waste away, which puzzled\nthe physicians; she did not grow pale, which surprised her\nattendants; and she did not weep, which astonished herself. But she\nfelt as if her heart had grown heavy, as if there was no use in\nanything.\n\nThe king squared his shoulders to show his determination and summoned\nhis magicians and wizards and sorcerers and commanded them to perform\ntheir arts and solve the mystery of the illness of Princess Solima. A\nstrange crew they were, ranged in a semi-circle before the king. There\nwas the renowned astrologer from Egypt, a little man with a humpback;\nthe mixer of mysterious potions from China, a long, lank yellow man,\nwith tiny eyes; the alchemist from Arabia, a scowling man with his\nface almost concealed by whiskers; there was a Greek and a Persian and\na Phoenician, each with some special knowledge and fearfully anxious\nto display it. They set to work.\n\nOne studied the stars, another concocted a sweet-smelling fluid, a\nthird retired to the woods and thought deeply, a fourth made abstruse\ncalculations with diagrams and figures, a fifth questioned the\nprincess' handmaidens, and a sixth conceived the brilliant notion of\ntalking with the princess herself. He was certainly an original\nwizard, and he learned more than all the others.\n\nThen they met in consultation and talked foreign languages and\npretended very seriously to understand one another. One said the stars\nwere in opposition, another said he had gazed into a crystal and had\nseen a glow-worm chasing a hippopotamus which a third interpreted as\nmeaning the princess would die if the glow-worm won the race.\n\n\"Rubbish!\" exclaimed the magician who had spoken to the princess;\n\"likewise stuff and nonsense and the equivalent thereof in the seventy\nunknown languages.\"\n\nThat was an impertinent comment on their divinations, and so they\nlistened seriously.\n\n\"The princess,\" he said, \"is just tired. That is a disease which will\nbecome popular and fashionable as the world grows older and more\npeople amass riches. She is sick of being waited on hand and foot and\nbowed down to and all that sort of thing. She has never been allowed\nto romp as a child, to choose her own companions and the rest of it.\nTherefore, she is bored with all the etcetras. The case is\ncomprehensible and comprehensive: it needs the exercise of imagination\nstimulated by prescience, conscience, patience....\"\n\nThe others yawned and began to collect dictionaries, and fearing that\nthey might be tempted to fling them at him after they had found the\nmeaning of his big words, he ceased.\n\n\"I agree,\" said the president of the assembly, the oldest wizard,\n\"only I diagnose the disease in simpler form. The princess is in\nlove.\"\n\nThat set them all jabbering together, and they finally agreed to\nreport to the king that the time had arrived when the princess should\nmarry, so that she should be able to go away to a new land, amid other\npeople and different scenes.\n\nThe king agreed reluctantly, for he dearly loved his daughter and\nwished her to remain with him always if possible. Heralds and\nmessengers were sent out far and wide, and very soon a procession of\nsuitors for the princess' hand began to file past the lady. They were\nprinces of all shapes and sizes, of all complexions and colors; some\nwere resplendent with jewels, others were followed by retinues of\nslaves bearing gifts; a few entered the competition by proxy--that is,\nthey sent somebody else to see the lady first and pronounce judgment\nupon her. These she dismissed summarily, declaring that they were\ndisqualified by the rules of fair play.\n\nWhen all the entrants had been inspected by the king, he said to his\ndaughter:\n\n\"Pick the one you love the best, Solima dear.\"\n\n\"None,\" she answered promptly.\n\n\"Dear, dear me--that is very awkward. We shall have to return the\nentrance fees--I mean the presents,\" he said.\n\nThat prospect did not seem to worry the princess in the least; nor did\nher father's appeal not to belittle him in the eyes of his fellow\nmonarchs have the slightest effect on her.\n\n\"At least,\" he said, growing impatient, \"tell me what you do want.\"\n\n\"I will marry any man,\" she replied, while he wondered gravely what\nelse she could have said, \"who is not such a fool as to think himself\nthe only person in the world who is of consequence.\"\n\nThe king was not without wisdom, and he knew that this remark is\nfoolish, or sensible, according to the mood in which it is said, and\nthe thoughts behind it.\n\n\"You do not regard any one of the princes,\" the king said gently, \"as\nworthy of----\"\n\n\"Any woman,\" interrupted his daughter. \"Listen, my father, you have\ntried to make me happy always and until recently you have succeeded. I\nwish to obey you in all things, even in the choice of a husband. Would\nyou really have me marry any one of these fools? Be not angry. Did\nany one reveal a gleam of wisdom, or common-sense? Were they not all\njust ridiculous fops? Let me enumerate:\n\n\"There was Prince Hafiz who talked only of his wars--of the men--aye\nand women and children--his soldiers had butchered. The soldiers\nfought and Prince Hafiz posed before me as a warrior and hero. I will\nnot be queen in a land where people cannot live in peace.\n\n\"Then there was Prince Aziz who boasted that he spends all his life\nwith his horses and dogs and falcons in the hunting field. He knows\nthe needs of beasts, but not of men. I will not be the bride of a\nprince who allows his subjects to starve in wretchedness and poverty\nwhile he enjoys himself with the slaughter of wild beasts.\n\n\"Prince Guzman had nothing else to impart to me but his taste in\njewels and dress. Prince Abdul knew exactly how many bottles of wine\nhe drank daily, but he could not tell me how many schools there were\nin his city. Prince Hassan had not the slightest notion how the\nmajority of his people lived, whether by trading, or thieving, or\nworking, or begging.\"\n\nKing Zuliman listened intently. This was a singular speech for a\nprincess, but reason told him this was profoundest wisdom.\n\n\"Oh, I am tired,\" burst out Princess Solima, in tears. \"I have no\ndesire for life if to be a ruler over men and women and children means\nthat you must take no interest in their welfare. My father, hearken. I\nwill not be queen in a land where the king thinks the people live only\nto make him great. I shall be proud and happy to reign where the king\nunderstands that it is his duty to make his people happy and his\ncountry prosperous and peaceful.\"\n\nThe king left his daughter, and, deeply concerned, sought his wizards.\n\n\"My daughter has been born thousands of years before her time,\" he\ndeclared, petulantly. \"The stars have played a trick on me, and have\nsent me my great-great-great-great ever so much great granddaughter\nout of her turn.\"\n\nThe magicians did not laugh at this: they thought it a wonderfully\nsage remark, and after much mysterious whispering among themselves and\nconsultation of old books, and gazing into crystals, they informed the\nking that the stars foretold that Princess Solima would marry a poor\nman!\n\nThey flattered themselves on their cleverness in arriving at this\nconclusion, which they deduced from the princess contempt for\nprinces.\n\nKing Zuliman's patience was exhausted by this time. In a towering\nrage, he told his daughter what the wizards had said, and when she\nmerely said, \"How nice,\" he swore he would imprison her in his\nfortress in the sea.\n\nHis majesty meant it, too, and at once had the fortress, which stood\non a tiny island miles from land, luxuriously furnished and fitted up\nfor his daughter's reception. Thither she was conveyed secretly one\nnight, but to her father's disgust she made no protest.\n\n\"I shall be free for a while,\" she said, \"of all the absurd flummery\nof the palace.\"\n\n\nII.\n\nThe people were sad when the princess disappeared. She had been good\nand kind to them, had understood them, and they did not know whether\nshe had died, or had deserted them without a word of farewell, though\nthat was hardly possible. All that they knew was that the king\nsuddenly became morose and sullen. Strangely enough, he began to take\nan interest in the poor. He asked them funny questions--for a king.\nHow did they earn money? What was their occupation? Had they any\npleasures? And what were their thoughts?\n\nYoung people laughed, but old men said the king intended to promote\nlaws which would do good. Anyway, the king's interest did make his\nsubjects happier, and the officers of state became very busy with\nprojects and schemes for improving trade, providing work and for\neducating children.\n\n\"They do say,\" remarked one old woman, who kept an apple stall in the\nmarket place, \"that a law will be passed that the sun should shine\nevery day, and that it should never rain on the days of the market.\nAh! that will be good,\" and she rubbed her hands at the prospect of\nnot having to crouch under a leaky awning when the rain came pelting\ndown, or over a tiny fire in a brass bowl in the winter, to thaw her\nfrozen and benumbed hands.\n\nEven the laborers in the fields, who were mainly dull-witted people\nwith no learning whatsoever, heard the news; and they actually\npondered over it and wondered whether it meant that they would never\nmore be hungry and wretchedly clad.\n\nOne who thought deeply was a shepherd lad. He loved to bask lazily in\nthe sun, to listen to the birds chirruping, and to all the sounds of\nthe air and the fields and the forests. He seemed to understand them;\nthe murmuring of the brooks on a warm day was like a gentle cradle\nsong lulling him to sleep; on a day when the wind howled, its sulky\ngrowl as it dashed over the stones warned him that floods might come,\nand that he must move his flocks to safer ground.\n\n\"I wonder,\" he mused, \"if I shall learn to read the written word and\neven to pen it myself. I could then write the song of the brook and\nthe birds, so that others should know it.\"\n\nAnd musing thus, he fell asleep. He slept longer than usual, and when\nhe awoke, he was alarmed to see that the sun had set. Darkness was\nfalling fast, and he had his flock to see safely home. The cows and\nsheep had begun to collect themselves as a matter of habit, and it was\ntheir noise that woke him. They were already trudging the well-known\nroute, and all he had to do in following was to see that none strayed,\nor tumbled into the brook.\n\nAll went well until he came in sight of home. Then a huge bird, a ziz,\nbigger than several houses, appeared in the sky and swooped down on\nthe cows and sheep.\n\nThe shepherd beat the monster off as long as he could with a big\nstick, while the affrighted animals scampered hastily homeward. The\nziz however, was evidently determined not to be balked of its prey.\nIt dug its talons deep into the flanks of an ox that had stampeded in\nthe wrong direction and was lagging behind the others.\n\nThe poor animal bellowed in pain, and the shepherd, rushing to the\nrescue, seized it by the forelegs as it was being raised from the\nground. Curling his leg round the slender trunk of a tree, the young\nman began a struggle with the ziz. The mighty bird, its eyes glowing\nlike two signal lamps, tried to strike at him with his tremendous\nbeak, one stroke of which would have been fatal.\n\nIn the fast gathering darkness it missed, fortunately for the\nshepherd, but the thrust of the beak caught the upper part of the tree\ntrunk. It snapped under the blow, and the shepherd was compelled to\nrelease his hold. He still gripped tightly the forelegs of the ox, but\nwith naught now to hold it back, the great bird had no difficulty in\nrising into the air. Before he fully grasped what had happened, the\nshepherd found himself high above the trees.\n\nTo release his hold would have meant destruction. He held on grimly,\nclutching the legs of the ox with all his might, and even swinging up\nhis feet to grip the hind-legs of the animal.\n\nHigher and higher the ziz rose into the air, spreading its vast wings\nmajestically, and flying silently and swiftly over the land. It made\nthe shepherd giddy to glance down at the ground scurrying rapidly past\nfar below him. So he closed his eyes, but opening them again for a\nmoment, he was horrified to notice that the bird was now flying over\nthe sea on which the moon was shining with silvery radiance. With a\nheavy sigh he gave himself up for lost, and began to consider whether\nit would be better to release his hold and fall down and be drowned,\nrather than be devoured by the gigantic bird.\n\nBefore he could make up his mind, the bird stopped, and the shepherd\nwas bumped down on something with such violence that for a moment he\nwas stunned. Looking around, when he regained his senses, he saw that\nhe was on the top of a tower in the sea. Beside him was the carcass of\nthe ox. Above them stood the ziz, its eyes glowing like twin fires,\nits beak thrust down to strike.\n\nWith a quick movement, the shepherd drew a knife which he carried in\nhis girdle, and struck at the opening of the descending beak. The bird\nuttered a shrill cry of pain as the knife pierced its tongue, and in a\nfew moments it had disappeared in the air. So swift was its flight\nthat almost instantly it was a mere speck in the moonlit sky.\n\nThoroughly exhausted, the shepherd slept until awakened by the sound\nof a voice. Opening his eyes, he saw that the sun had risen. Above him\nstood a woman of ravishing beauty. He sprang to his feet and bowed\nlow.\n\n\"Who are you?\" asked Princess Solima, for she it was. \"And tell me how\ncame you here with this carcass of an ox, so distant from the land, so\nhigh up as this tower in the sea?\"\n\n\"Of a truth I scarcely know,\" answered the shepherd. \"It may be that I\nam bewitched, or dreaming, for my adventure passes all belief,\" and he\nrelated it.\n\nThe princess made no comment, but motioned to him that he should\nfollow her. He did so and she placed food before him. He was\nravenously hungry and did full justice to the meal. Then she led him\nto the bath chamber.\n\n\"Wash and robe thyself,\" she said, giving him some clothes, \"and then\nI have much to inquire of thee.\"\n\nThe shepherd felt ever so much better when he had bathed, and then\nattired in the strange garments she had given him, he appeared before\nthe princess.\n\nShe gazed at him so long and searchingly that he blushed in confusion.\n\n\"Thou art fair to look upon and of manly stature,\" said the princess.\n\nThe shepherd could only stammer a reply, but after a while he said,\n\"Fair lady, who and what thou art I know not. Such beauty as thine is\nthe right of princesses only. I am but a poor shepherd.\"\n\n\"And may not a shepherd be handsome?\" she asked. \"Tell me: who hath\nlaid down a law that only royal personages may be fair to behold? I\nhave seen princes of vile countenance.\"\n\nShe stopped suddenly, for she did not wish to betray her secret. They\nsat in a little room in the tower, unknown to the many guards down\nbelow, and, although the shepherd protested, the princess waited on\nhim herself, bringing him food, and cushions on which he could rest\nthat night.\n\nNext morning they ascended the tower together.\n\n\"I come here every morning,\" said the princess.\n\n\"Why?\" the shepherd asked.\n\n\"To see if my husband cometh,\" was the answer.\n\n\"Who is he?\" asked the shepherd.\n\nThe princess laughed.\n\n\"I know not,\" she said. \"Some mornings when I have stood here and\ngrieved at my loneliness, I have felt inclined to make a vow that I\nwould marry the first man who came hither.\"\n\nThe shepherd was silent. Then he looked boldly into the princess' eyes\nand said: \"Thou hast told me I am the first man who has come to thee.\nI am emboldened to declare my love for thee, a feeling that swept over\nme the moment my eyes beheld thee. Who thou art, what thou art, I know\nnot, I care not. Shall we be husband and wife?\"\n\nThe princess gave him her hand.\n\n\"It is ordained,\" she said, and thus their troth was plighted.\n\n\"We cannot remain here forever,\" said the princess, presently. \"Canst\nthou, husband of my heart's choice, devise some means of escape?\"\n\nHe looked down at the carcass of the ox thoughtfully for a few\nmoments.\n\n\"I have it,\" he exclaimed, excitedly. \"It is a safe assumption that\nthe monster bird that brought me will return for his meal. He can then\ncarry us away. If the heavens approve,\" he said, fervently, \"thus it\nshall be.\"\n\nThat very night the ziz returned and feasted on the ox, and while it\nwas fully occupied appeasing its hunger, the shepherd managed to\nattach strong ropes to its legs. To this he attached a large basket in\nwhich he and his bride made themselves comfortable with cushions. Nor\ndid they forget to take a store of food.\n\nToward morning the ziz rose slowly into the air, and the lovers\nclutched each other tightly as the basket spun round and round. The\ngiant bird did not seem to notice its burden at all, and after a\nmoment it began a swift flight over the sea. After many hours a city\nbecame visible, and as it was approached the shepherd could note the\nexcitement caused by the appearance of the ziz. The bird was getting\ntired, and having at last noticed the weight tied to its feet was\nevidently seeking to get rid of it.\n\nFlying low it dashed the basket against a tower. The occupants feared\nthey might be killed, but suddenly the cords snapped, the basket\nrested on the parapet of the tower, and the bird flew swiftly away.\n\nNo sooner had the shepherd extricated himself and his bride from the\nbasket, than armed guards appeared. At sight of the princess they\nlowered their weapons and fell upon their faces.\n\n\"Inform my father I have returned,\" she said, and they immediately\nrose to do her bidding.\n\n\"Know you where you are?\" asked the shepherd.\n\n\"Yes; this is the king's palace,\" was the reply.\n\nSoon the king appeared, and with almost hysterical joy he embraced his\ndaughter.\n\n\"I am happy to see thee again,\" he cried. \"I crave thy pardon for\nimmuring thee in the sea fortress. Thou shalt tell me all thy\nadventures.\"\n\nThen he caught sight of the shepherd.\n\n\"Who is this?\" he demanded.\n\n\"Thy son-in-law, my husband,\" said the princess, her joy showing in\nher bright eyes.\n\n\"What prince art thou?\" asked the king.\n\n\"A prince among men,\" answered the princess quickly. \"A man without\nriches, who comes from the people and will teach us their needs and\nhow to rule them.\"\n\nThe king bowed to the inevitable. He blessed his son-in-law and\ndaughter, appointed them to rule over a province, and they settled\ndown to make everybody thoroughly happy, contented and prosperous.\n\n   [Illustration: Then the door slowly opened and a figure in\n   white stood in the entry. (_Page 286_).]\n\n\n\n\nKing Alexander's Adventures\n\n\nI. THE VISION OF VICTORY\n\nMore than two thousand years ago there lived a king in the land of\nMacedon who was a great conqueror, and when his son, Alexander, was\nborn, the soothsayers and the priestesses of the temples predicted\nthat he would be a greater warrior than his father. Alexander was a\nwonderful boy, and his father, King Philip, was very proud of him when\nhe tamed a spirited horse which nobody else could manage. The wisest\nphilosophers of the day were Alexander's teachers, and when he was\nonly sixteen years of age, Philip left him in charge of the country\nwhen he went to subdue Byzantium. Alexander was only twenty when he\nascended the throne, but before then he had suppressed a rebellion and\nhad proved himself possessed of exceptional daring and courage.\n\n\"I shall conquer the whole world,\" he said, and although he only\nreigned thirteen years and died at the age of thirty-three, he\naccomplished his ambition. All the countries which were then known had\nto acknowledge his supremacy.\n\nKing Alexander was a drunkard and very cruel, but he treated the Jews\nkindly. When they heard he had been victorious over Darius, king of\nPersia, who was their ruler, and that he was marching on Jerusalem,\nthey became seriously alarmed. Jadua, the high priest, however,\ncounseled the people to welcome Alexander with great ceremony.\n\nAll the priests and the Levites donned their most gorgeous robes, the\npopulace put on their holiday garb, and the streets of the city were\ngaily decorated with many colored banners and garlands of flowers. The\nnight before Alexander arrived at the head of his army, a long\nprocession was formed of the priests, the Levites, and the elders of\nthe city, each carrying a lighted torch. At the gates of the city they\nawaited the approach of the mighty warrior.\n\nIn the early morning, before the sun had risen, Alexander made his\nappearance and was astonished at the magnificent spectacle which met\nhis gaze. At the head of the procession stood the high priest in his\nshining white robes, with the jewels of the ephod glittering on his\nbreast. To the surprise of his generals, Alexander descended from his\nhorse and bowed low before the high priest.\n\n\"Like unto an angel dost thou appear to me,\" he said.\n\n\"Let thy coming bring peace,\" replied Jadua.\n\nParmenio, the chief of Alexander's generals, had promised the soldiers\nrich store of plunder in Jerusalem, and he approached the king and\nsaid:\n\n\"Wherefore do you honor this priest of the Jews above all men?\"\n\n\"I will tell thee,\" answered Alexander. \"In dreams have I often seen\nthis dignified priest. Ever he bade me be of good courage and always\ndid he predict victory for me. Shall I not then pay homage to my\nguardian angel?\"\n\nTurning to the priest, he said, \"Lead me to your Temple that I may\noffer up thanksgiving to the God of my guardian angel.\"\n\nIt was now daylight, and the priests walked in procession before King\nAlexander past cheering multitudes of people. At the Temple the king\nremoved his sandals, but the priests gave him a pair of jeweled\nslippers, fearing that he might slip on the pavement. The king was\npleased with all that he saw and desired that a statue of himself, or\na portrait, should be placed in the holy building.\n\n\"That may not be,\" replied the high priest, \"but in honor of thy visit\nall the boys born in Jerusalem this year shall be named Alexander.\"\n\n\"It is well,\" said the king, much pleased; \"ask of me what you will,\nand if it be in my power I shall grant it.\"\n\n\"Mighty monarch,\" said Jadua, \"we desire naught but to be permitted to\nserve our God according to our laws. Permit us to practice our\nreligious observances free and unhindered. Grant also this privilege\nto the Jews who dwell in all thy dominions, and we shall ever pray for\nthy long life and triumph.\"\n\n\"It is but little that ye ask,\" replied the king, \"and that little is\neasily granted.\"\n\nThe people cheered loudly when they heard the good news, and many Jews\nenrolled themselves in the army.\n\nAlexander stayed some time in Jerusalem, and messengers arrived from\nCanaan to ask him to compel the Jews to restore them their land.\n\n\"It is written in the Books of Moses,\" they said, \"that Canaan and its\nboundaries belong to the Canaanites.\"\n\nGebiah, a hunchback, undertook to answer.\n\n\"It is also written in the Books of Moses,\" he said, \"'Cursed be\nCanaan; a servant shall he be unto his brethren.' The property of a\nslave belongs to his master, therefore Canaan is ours.\"\n\nAlexander gave the envoys of Canaan three days in which to reply to\nthis, but they fled from Jerusalem.\n\nMessengers from Egypt came next, asking for the return of the gold and\nsilver taken by the Israelites from the land of Pharaoh.\n\n\"What says Gebiah to this?\" asked Alexander.\n\n\"We shall return the gold and silver,\" answered the hunchback, \"when\nwe have been paid for the many, many years of labor of our ancestors\nin Egypt.\"\n\n\"Truly a wise answer,\" said Alexander, and he gave the Egyptians three\ndays to consider it. But they also fled.\n\nWhen Alexander left Jerusalem he sought the advice of the wise men of\nIsrael.\n\n\"I desire,\" he said, \"to conquer the land beyond the Mountains of\nDarkness in Africa; it is also my wish to fly above the clouds and\nbehold the heavens, and also to descend into the depths of the sea and\ngaze with mine own eyes on the monsters of the deep.\"\n\nHow to accomplish these things he was instructed by the wise men, but\nthey warned him never to enter Babylon.\n\n\"For shouldst thou ever enter the city of Babylon,\" they said, \"thou\nwilt assuredly die.\"\n\nKing Alexander thanked them for the advice and the warning, and set\nforth on his adventures.\n\n\nII. THE LAND OF DARKNESS AND THE GATE OF PARADISE\n\nAfter many days King Alexander came to the Mountains of Darkness.\nActing on the advice of the wise men, he had provided himself with\nasses from the land of Libya, for they have the power of seeing in the\ndark, and also with a cord of great length. Mounted on the asses, he\nand his men plunged into the realms of darkness, unwinding the cord as\nthey went, so that they might find their way back with it.\n\nAround them was blackest darkness and a silence that inspired the men\nwith awe. The asses, however, picked their way through the tall trees\nthat grew so high and so thick that not the least ray of light could\npenetrate. How many days they traveled thus they knew not, for day\nand night were alike. The men slept when they were tired, ate when\nthey were hungry and trusted to the asses and the cord.\n\nAt last when they emerged into the light they were almost blinded by\nthe sun, and it was some time before they could see properly. Then, to\ntheir great astonishment, they found that there were no men in the\nland, only women, tall and finely proportioned, clothed in skins and\narmed with bows and arrows.\n\n\"Who are ye?\" asked Alexander.\n\n\"We are the Amazons, women who are skilled in war and in the art of\nhunting,\" they answered.\n\n\"Lead me to your queen,\" commanded Alexander, \"and bid her surrender,\nfor I am Alexander, the Great, of Macedon, and conqueror of the world.\nI fight not by night, for I scorn to steal victories in the dark, and\nmy men are armed with magic spears of gold and silver and are\ntherefore invincible.\"\n\nThe queen of the Amazons appeared before him, a beautiful woman, with\nlong raven hair.\n\n\"Greeting to thee, mighty warrior,\" she said. \"Hast thou come to slay\nwomen?\"\n\n\"Perchance it is you who will triumph over me,\" replied Alexander.\n\nThe queen of the Amazons smiled.\n\n\"Then shall it be said of thee,\" she replied, \"that thou wert a\nvaliant warrior who conquered the world, but was himself conquered by\nwomen. Is that to be your message to history?\"\n\nKing Alexander was a man of learning and of wisdom, as well as a great\nsoldier, but the words of the queen of the Amazons were such that he\ncould not answer. He bowed low before the queen and with a gesture\nindicated that he had naught to say.\n\n\"Then it is to be peace,\" said the queen. \"At least, before thy\nreturn, let me prepare for thee a banquet.\"\n\nIn a hut made of logs and decorated with skins, a rough wooden table\nwas placed before Alexander and on it was laid a loaf of gold.\n\n\"Do ye eat bread of gold?\" asked the king, much surprised.\n\n\"Nay,\" replied the queen. \"We are women of simple tastes, but thou art\na mighty king. If thou didst but wish to eat ordinary bread in this\nland, why didst thou desire to conquer it? Is there no more bread in\nyour own land that thou shouldst brave the dangers of the dark\nmountains to eat it here?\"\n\nAlexander bowed his head on his breast. Never before had he felt\nashamed.\n\n\"I, Alexander of Macedon,\" he said, \"was a fool until I came to the\nland beyond the Mountains of Darkness and learned wisdom from women.\"\n\nWith all haste he returned through the land of eternal night on his\nLibyan asses. But in the flight the cord was broken. He had to trust\nentirely to the asses, and many long and weary days and nights did he\njourney before he saw the light once more.\n\nAlexander found himself in a new and beautiful land. There were no\nsigns of human beings, nor of animals, and a river of the clearest\nwater he had ever seen, flowed gently along. It was full of fish which\nthe soldiers caught quite easily. But a strange thing happened when,\nafter having cut up the fish ready for cooking, they took them to the\nriver to clean them. All the fish came to life again; the pieces\njoined together and darted away in the water.\n\nAt first Alexander would not believe this, but after he had made an\nexperiment himself, he said: \"Let all who are wounded bathe in this\nriver, for surely it will cure every ill. This must be the River of\nLife which flows from Paradise.\"\n\nHe determined to follow the stream to its source and find the Garden\nof Eden. As he marched along, the valley through which the stream\nflowed, became narrower and narrower, until, at last, only one person\ncould pass. Alexander continued his journey on foot with a few of his\ngenerals walking behind. Mountains, thickly covered with greenest\nverdure, towered up on either side, the silent river narrowed until it\nseemed a mere streak of silver flowing gently along, and there was a\ndelicious odor in the air.\n\nAt length, where the mountains on either side met, Alexander's path\nwas barred by a great wall of rock. From a tiny fissure the River of\nLife trickled forth, and beside it was a door of gold, beautifully\nornamented. Before this door Alexander paused. Then, drawing his\nsword, he struck the Gate of Paradise with the hilt.\n\nThere was no answer, and Alexander knocked a second time. Again there\nwas no reply, and a third time Alexander knocked with some impatience.\n\nThen the door slowly opened, and a figure in white stood in the entry.\nIn its hand it held a skull, made of gold, with eyes of rubies.\n\n\"Who knocks so rudely at the Gate of Paradise?\" asked the angel.\n\n\"I, Alexander, the Great, of Macedon, the conqueror of the world,\"\nanswered Alexander, proudly. \"I demand admittance to Paradise.\"\n\n\"Hast thou brought peace to the whole world that thou sayest thou art\nits conqueror?\" demanded the angel.\n\nAlexander made no answer.\n\n\"Only the righteous who bring peace to mankind may enter Paradise\nalive,\" said the angel, gently.\n\nAlexander hung his head abashed; then, in a voice broken with emotion,\nhe begged that at least he should be given a memento of his visit.\n\nThe angel handed him the skull, saying: \"Take this and ponder o'er its\nmeaning.\"\n\nThe angel vanished and the golden door closed.\n\nThe skull was so heavy that, with all his great strength, Alexander\ncould scarcely carry it. When he placed it in a balance to ascertain\nits weight, he found that it was heavier than all his treasures. None\nof his wise men could explain this mystery and so Alexander sought out\na Jew among his soldiers, one who had been a student with the rabbis.\n\nTaking a handfull of earth the Jew placed it over the eyes and the\nskull was then as light as air.\n\n\"The meaning is plain,\" said the Jew. \"Not until the human eye is\ncovered with earth--in the grave--is it satisfied. Not until after\ndeath can man hope to enter Paradise.\"\n\nAlexander was anxious to hasten away from that strange region, but\nmany of his soldiers declared that they would settle down by the banks\nof the River of Life. Next morning, however, the river had vanished.\nWhere all had been beautiful was now only a desolate plain, bounded by\nbare rocky mountains, reaching to the clouds.\n\nWith heavy hearts Alexander's men began their march back.\n\n\nIII--THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD\n\nOne day a strange rumbling noise was heard, and toward evening the\narmy halted by the side of a river even more mysterious than the River\nof Life. It was not a river of water, but of sand and stones. It\nflowed along with a roaring sound and every few minutes great stones\nwere shot up into the air.\n\nAlexander asked the Jewish soldier if he could explain.\n\n\"This,\" said the Jew, \"is the Sambatyon, the river which ceases to\nflow on the Sabbath.\"\n\n\"And what lies beyond?\"\n\n\"The land of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel,\" was the answer. \"None\nhave seen this country.\"\n\n\"Cannot the river then be crossed?\" asked Alexander.\n\n\"Not by all who wish to cross.\"\n\nThe next day was Friday, and Alexander waited until the evening to see\nwhat would happen.\n\nAn hour before sunset, at the time of the commencement of Sabbath, the\nriver ceased to flow. The rumbling died down and the Sambatyon\nappeared like a broad expanse of shining yellow sand.\n\n\"To-morrow I shall cross with my army,\" said Alexander, but next\nmorning the Sambatyon was enveloped in dense black clouds.\n\nAlexander could not see a yard in front of him, and when he ventured\non to the sand, the horses sank into it. Flames were also seen in the\nclouds. After the sun had set and the Sabbath had ended, the clouds\ncleared away, the rumbling began again and the sand flowed once more\nlike a river.\n\nAlexander was disappointed for a while, but at last he consoled\nhimself with the thought that he had conquered the whole world.\n\n\"Now must I carry out my project of ascending above the clouds and\nafterward descending into the sea,\" he said, and he proceeded to carry\nout the instructions given to him in Jerusalem.\n\nFour huge eagles were caught and chained to a big box. At each end of\nthe box was a pole, and on the end of each a brilliant jewel was\nplaced. When all was in readiness, Alexander entered the box and\ncarefully closed the doors.\n\n\"Thus did Nimrod ascend into the sky,\" he said, \"but he was a fool. He\nshot arrows into the air, and when the angels returned them stained\nwith blood, he thought he had killed God. I desire only to see the\nheavens, not to conquer them.\"\n\nHe gave the signal, and the heads of the eagles chained to the poles\nwere uncovered. The moment they saw the dazzling jewels they tried to\nsnatch them, but could not. So they continued to rise higher and\nhigher until the box was carried above the clouds. By looking through\nthe windows at the top and bottom of the box, Alexander could see how\nhigh he was. For a long time he saw nothing but clouds, which appeared\nlike a vast sea beneath him, but when these cleared away, he saw the\nearth again.\n\nSo high was he that the world looked like a ball. Until then he had\nnot known the earth was round. The seas enveloping the greater part of\nthe globe looked like writhing serpents.\n\n\"Now I can understand,\" he said, \"why the wise rabbis say that the\ngreat fish, the leviathan, surrounds the world with its tail in its\nmouth.\"\n\nThen he looked above. The sun seemed further away than ever.\n\n\"Heaven is not so near as I thought,\" he said, and seeing himself but\na tiny speck miles above the earth and still further away from the\nheavens, he grew afraid for the first time in his life. With a stick\nhe knocked the jewels from the poles outside the box, and the eagles,\nseeing them no longer, began to descend. Alexander breathed more\nfreely when he was safe on the ground again, but he would not tell his\ngenerals what he had seen.\n\n\"Wait until I have descended into the sea,\" he said.\n\nUnder his orders, a diving bell of clear thick glass, bound with iron,\nhad been constructed. Alexander entered the bell, all the joints were\nthen tightly secured with pitch, and the bell lowered from a ship into\nthe ocean by means of chains.\n\nBefore he entered, Alexander took the precaution to put on a magic\nring, which his wife, Roxana, had sent him. This, she said, would\nprotect him against the monsters of the deep.\n\nDown, down into the watery deep sank the bell, and for some time\nAlexander could see nothing. When his eyes grew accustomed to the\nstrange, greenish light, he noticed multitudes of queer fish darting\nround about the bell. Many were of a shape never conjectured by man,\nsome were so tiny that he could scarcely see them, and others so large\nthat one of these monsters actually tried to swallow the bell. But\nAlexander showed the magic ring which glowed like a blazing star and\nthe monster darted away.\n\nSo deep down sank the bell that no light could at last penetrate from\nthe sun. Most of the fish, however, were luminous, and Alexander was\nalmost dazzled by the changing of the brilliant lights as the denizens\nof the deep swam swiftly around the bell. Shells of wondrous beauty\ndid he see, together with pearls of great size. The treasures of the\ndeep were revealed to him, and he saw that the riches on land were as\nnothing compared with them. He saw the coral insects at their work of\nbuilding, and of entrancing beauty growing in the oozy bed of the\nocean.\n\n\"I wonder,\" said Alexander, \"if I dare venture forth and take some of\nthese beautiful gems back with me. The ring will protect me.\"\n\nAlexander was one of the bravest men that ever lived, and he\nimmediately set about trying to open the bell. In doing so, he rattled\nthe chains by which it was lowered, and Robus, the officer in charge,\ntook this as a signal to raise the bell.\n\nIn his excitement he dropped the chains into the sea, and they fell\nwith a big crash on the bell and smashed it to pieces. When Robus saw\nwhat had happened, he cast himself into the sea in a gallant endeavor\nto rescue his master.\n\nDown below in the glittering depths of the ocean, Alexander saw the\nfish hurrying away in great fear and he heard the rattling of the\nchains as they dropped through the water. He looked up and saw them\ncrash on the bell. A terrible, buzzing sound filled his ears, a\nthousand dazzling colors danced before his eyes and made him giddy.\n\nWith great presence of mind he remembered his ring, and immediately a\nbig fish swam underneath him, raised him from the wreckage of the bell\nand rose swiftly to the surface. Alexander emerged just as Robus dived\ninto the sea. At once he showed the fish his ring and it dived and\nbrought his gallant officer safe to his side.\n\n\"I have seen enough,\" said Alexander, when he was safe on land, \"more\nthan mortals should see. I have learned that the earth is for man and\nthat the air above and the waters beneath are for the other and more\nwonderful creatures of God.\"\n\nHe made preparations to return to Macedon, but his army was wearied\nwith long marching and begged of him to let them rest. Accordingly, he\nhalted outside Babylon. Sickness seized him, but he remembered the\nwarning of the rabbis and would not enter the city. For days he\nwandered around until his soldiers showed signs of mutiny. Then,\nthrowing caution to the winds, Alexander entered Babylon.\n\nAt once his illness took a serious turn, and in a few days he died.\nWhen the Jews heard the news, they mourned him sincerely, for they\nknew that they had lost a good friend. All that remains as a memorial\nof Alexander is the city of Alexandria, which he founded in Egypt. It\nstands to this day.\n\n\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\n    +-----------------------------------------------------------+\n    | Typographical errors corrected in text:                   |\n    |                                                           |\n    | Page 129: 'I, Balam, am' replaced with 'I, Bilam, am'     |\n    | Page 132: 'in his graden' replaced with 'in his garden'   |\n    | Page 217: 'I preceive' replaced with 'I perceive'         |\n    |                                                           |\n    +-----------------------------------------------------------+","title":"Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":51538}