{"collection":"folklore-oral-tradition","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/wikisource_Folk_lore_of_the_Holy_Land_Three_Proverbs/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/wikisource_Folk_lore_of_the_Holy_Land_Three_Proverbs","id":"wikisource_Folk_lore_of_the_Holy_Land_Three_Proverbs","license":"Public Domain / CC-BY-SA (see source)","rights_basis":"wikisource_site_inclusion_policy","source":"wikisource","source_url":"https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Folk-lore_of_the_Holy_Land/Three_Proverbs","summary":null,"tags":["Subpages"],"text":"III\n\nORIGIN OF THREE WELL-KNOWN SAYINGS\n\nA wealthy merchant had three sons. He himself was growing old and felt in doubt how to arrange for the management of the property after his death; because, although his sons were grown-up men, industrious and dutiful, he feared that they were\ntoo good-natured, and, having from their childhood\nbeen brought up in comfort, might not have sufficiently realised the value of money. He therefore\ntried by a trick, to find out which of his sons was\ngifted with most common-sense.\n\nHe feigned to be very ill, and sent word to his\nsons, employed in different branches of his extensive\nbusiness, that they must take turns in nursing,\nfor his days were numbered.\n\nThe eldest came at once. When he reached\nhis father\u2019s bedside the old man complained that his\nfeet were very cold. Noticing that they were uncovered the young man drew the \u201cilhaf\u201d or quilted\ncotton coverlet, which in the East takes the place\nof blankets, over them. A few minutes later, the\nfather complained that his shoulders were cold,\nso the son drew the ilhaf upwards, and observing\nthat it was too short to cover both feet and shoulders\nat the same time, wanted to fetch a longer quilt,\nof which there were plenty in the house. The old\nfellow, however, angrily refused to let him do this,\nand said that he could not bear a heavier weight\nof covering, and preferred the quilt he had to all\nothers. Unwilling either to disobey or to provoke\nhis father, the eldest son dutifully spent a whole\nday and night in drawing the scanty covering now\nover his shoulders, now over his bare feet. He\nwas quite worn out, when the second brother came\nto relieve him. The second son endured the same\nexperiences. In spite of coaxing and remonstrance,\nthe old merchant refused to let a longer quilt be brought to cover him, and yet was constantly crying\nout, now that his shoulders, now his feet, were cold.\nIt came to the turn of the third and youngest son.\nHe also tried in vain to persuade his father to let\nhim fetch a longer quilt. Then on a thoughtful\nobservation of his parent, seeing him enjoy his meals,\nand troubled with no special pain, he suspected a\ngame of some kind. He left the bedside for a minute,\ncut a good and supple rod from a pomegranate-tree in the garden, and straight returned to the sick room where he was greeted with the usual complaint of cold in the extremities. He suddenly brought down the stick within an inch of the ancient\u2019s feet, saying, \u201cVery well, father! Stretch your legs according to your coverlet.\u201d\n\nThe effect was magical. The old man jumped out of bed, completely cured. He made arrangements that at his death the supervision and management of the estate should devolve on his youngest son, who, without failing in duty, had proved himself too shrewd to let himself be imposed on even by his own father. This incident is said to have given rise to the proverb: \u201cStretch your legs according to the length of your coverlet.\u201d\n\n\u00a0\n\nAn \u201cafr\u00ect,\u201d who had grown old, feeling that his\nterm of existence was drawing to a close, resolved\nby way of turning over a new leaf to go on a pil-\ngrimage. He therefore called his friends together,\ninformed them of his conversion, and bade them\nfarewell. Now, among them was a couple who had a son for whose future they were anxious. They\nconsidered that it would be of the greatest advantage to their young devil, to travel under the wing of one so good and venerable. They therefore begged leave for their son to accompany him. He at first objected, but finally yielded to the solicitations of his friends, only stipulating that his companion should swear by the seal of Solomon, that while travelling he would do no harm to man, beast, bird, or creeping thing. To this condition the young devil and his parents very readily agreed.\n\nThe penitent then set forth with his young disciple, but the latter soon began to find the journey intolerable without the recreation of a little mischief. The \u201caf\u00e2r\u00ect\u201d always journey by night and sleep in the day. One dark, moonless night, the couple reached a large encampment of Bed\u00fb. Everything was silent, and it was clear that the whole tribe was asleep. The two devils passed through the camp without disturbing a soul; but a little later the young one begged leave to return and walk once more through the camp, declaring that he wanted to go from pure curiosity and without any mischievous intention.\n\nHe was gone but a minute, and they proceeded\non their way. But they had not made many steps,\nbefore there arose a din to wake the dead\nin the camp behind them\u2014horses neighing, dogs\nbarking, women shrieking, men shouting. The\nelder \u201cafr\u00ect\u201d turned fiercely on his pupil, crying, \u201cPerjurer! You have broken your solemn oath!\u201d \u201cYou lie,\u201d replied the youngster, \u201cI have done no harm to any living thing.\u201d \u201cWhat, then is the meaning of that noise.\u201d \u201cI cannot think; unless it be that the Sheykh\u2019s stallion has got loose. He was tethered to a tent-peg, and I thought I would see if he was securely fastened. Perhaps I loosened the peg a little.\u201d From this answer comes the saying, when someone does much mischief indirectly: \u201cHe only moved the tent-peg.\u201d\n\n\u00a0\n\nKarakoz and \u2019Iweyz were two rogues who had long lived on terms of the closest amity, sharing\nthe toils and dangers, as well as the fruits, of rascality. But a time came when they spoke no more to one another.\n\n\u2019Iweyz was sitting one day in his dwelling, cudgelling his brains for some new trick by which to fill his empty purse when there came to him one of his acquaintance, a youth whose father had just died. After the usual salutations, the visitor told \u2019Iweyz that his father had left him one thousand dinars, but that he had not yet made up his mind what to do with them. Meanwhile he was anxious to find some honest person who would take charge of them for him, till he, the owner, could decide upon a line of business; and he asked \u2019Iweyz whether\nhe would do him the favour. Though inwardly delighted at the offer, the rogue assumed the greatest aversion, crying, \u201cNo! no! no! go and find someone else to take charge of your money, I cannot be troubled with so great a responsibility.\u201d On\nhearing this emphatic refusal the young man became more importunate. \u201cMy father told me on his dying bed,\u201d said he, \u201cnot to trust any one who showed an eagerness to accept the offer of having the money given into his charge, but, on the other hand, to leave it with full confidence in the hands of any one who showed a dislike of the responsibility.\n\nAs you are such a person, I beseech you to take\nit from me.\u201d \u201cNo! no! no!\u201d repeated Iweyz,\nwith yet greater vehemence, \u201cdo what you like\nwith your money, bury it, throw it in a well, but\ndo not leave it in my keeping.\u201d \u201cI shall leave\nit here,\u201d said the youth, producing a bag of money.\nAnd though \u2019Iweyz yelled at him to take it away,\nhe placed the bag on the diwan, without having\ntaken receipt or summoned witness. When the\nyoung man was gone, \u2019Iweyz took the bag, locked\nit up safely, and felt very happy. An hour later,\nKarakoz came in, and, struck, with his friend\u2019s\nunusual gaiety, enquired its cause. \u201cI have secured\nuncontrolled possession of a thousand dinars,\u201d\nsaid \u2019Iweyz, and related what had happened. \u201cThat is very fine,\u201d remarked Karakoz, \u201cbut you cannot \u2018eat up\u2019 the money, even though it has been placed in your hands without either receipt or witnesses, for you may be forced to take your oath concerning it at the \u2018maz\u00e2r\u2019 or shrine of some saint, who will torment you in case you swear falsely. What will you give me if I show you a way out of the difficulty?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy dear friend,\u201d answered \u2019Iweyz with some warmth, \u201cyou know that we are comrades and share\nequally in all that \u2018En Nus\u00ecb\u2019 sends us. I shall, of course, let you have half the money, that is, five hundred din\u00e2rs.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Karakoz, \u201cthe expedient I\nwould recommend is a simple one. Whoever asks\nyou about the money, whether the fool who left\nit with you, or the Kadi, or anyone, be sure in every case, to answer: \u2018Sh\u00fbr\u00fbl\u00fbb.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cYour advice is good, and I shall follow it,\u201d\nsaid \u2019Iweyz.\n\nSeveral months passed, and at last one day, the\nyoung man to whom the money belonged came to\n\u2019Iweyz and asked him for it, as he had the intention of starting business.\n\n\u201cPth, tth, th,\u201d said the rascal \u2019Iweyz, stammering\nand spluttering, \u201c\u2018 pth, tth, th, sh, th, sh\u00fbr\u00fbl\u00fbb.\u201d\n\nHis visitor was surprised, but explained again\nthat he wanted the money.\n\n\u201cPth, tth, th, sh, th, sh\u00fbr\u00fbl\u00fbb,\u201d answered \u2019Iweyz\ngravely.\n\n\u201cMy money, give me back my money!\u201d shouted the youth.\n\n\u201cPth, tth, th, sh, th, sh\u00fbr\u00fbl\u00fbb,\u201d replied the\nhypocrite with a look of surprise and deprecation.\n\n\u201cIf you do not give me back my money at once,\u201d\nangrily said the owner, \u201cI shall accuse you to\nthe Kadi.\u201d\n\n\u2018\u201c\u2018Pth, tth, th, sh, th, sh\u00fbr\u00fbl\u00fbb,\u201d retorted \u2019Iweyz\nassuming an air of the greatest indifference.\n\nFinding that all entreaties, expostulations, and threats were useless, and that the only answer he\ncould get was the spluttering and stammering, ending with the meaningless expletive \u201csh\u00fbr\u00fbl\u00fbb,\u201d the injured youth went and complained to the Kadi.\n\n\u2019Iweyz, on being summoned, appeared promptly\nand in silence; but the only answer he gave to all\nquestions and cross-questionings, even when they\nwere emphasised by a severe flogging, which he bore\nwithout flinching, was \u201cpth, tth, th, sh, th, sh\u00fbr\u00fbl\u00fbb.\u201d\n\nSo absurd did the case become that at last the\nKadi and his court were in fits of laughter, and dismissed the accused, after severely blaming the\nplaintiff for having neglected the simple precaution of depositing the money in the presence of witnesses, if, as he confessed he had done, he insisted on leaving it with a man who refused all responsibility.\n\n\u2019Iweyz went home and was chuckling over his\nsuccess, when Karakoz came and asked for his share\nof the booty.\n\n\u201cPth, tth, th, sh, th, sh\u00fbr\u00fbl\u00fbb,\u201d said \u2019Iweyz.\n\n\u201cNow, \u2019Iweyz,\u201d pleaded Karakoz in surprise,\n\u201cdon\u2019t play the fool with me after I have shown\nyou the way to secure this great fortune. You\nsurely are not going to cheat an old friend and\ncomrade!\u201d\n\n\u201cPth, tth, th, sh, th, sh\u00fbr\u00fbl\u00fbb,\u201d replied \u2019Iweyz\nwith a mocking gesture.\n\nThe common expression \u201cto swallow trust-money\nsh\u00fbr\u00fbl\u00fbb\u201d is said to be derived from this incident.","title":"Folk-lore of the Holy Land/Three Proverbs","tradition":"folklore-oral-tradition","translated_text":null,"word_count":1821}