Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 7, 1896.djvu/260

 234 "O my Lord, provide me with sufficient to maintain myself, my husband, and my household." "Follow me," he said, "and bring wagons, horses, and asses, and what animals you can with you, and I will load you with silver and gold, with precious stones and pearls." They followed him until he brought them to a forest, the name of which was Ilai. Into the depth of this forest they penetrated. The scorpion began to whistle, and there forthwith presented themselves before him all the wild beasts of the world, serpents, scorpions, &c. Every one of which brought a present of silver and gold, precious stones and pearls, and cast them before him, just as people bring presents to a king.

And the scorpion said to Jochanan and his wife: "Go and fill your sacks and wagons, fill whatever you possess, so that you may have abundance of everything." They did so. Jochanan then said to the scorpion: "Be not angry with me if I ask thee to tell me who thou art and from whence thou hast come." It replied: "I am the son of Adam. I am getting smaller during a period of 1000 years, and during the next 1000 years I gradually grow. I was not included in the command: 'On the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Jochanan then said: "Since thou art the son of Adam, do thou bless me." He said: "May God deliver thee from the evils which will come upon thee." Jochanan in amazement asked: "What are these evils which are to come upon me?" But he gave no reply, and departed peacefully; and Jochanan returned to his house a very rich and wise man, and there was not a man whose wisdom was as great as his.

The king, having heard of his profound wisdom, sent for him to ask him to solve difficulties on very many subjects, and found him to be exceedingly clever and well versed in everything. The king therefore loved him more than all the other wise men. Now this king had not married. One day his counsellors came to him and said: "It cannot be pleasant to thee to live in this state, without any heir to succeed to the throne after thee. For when thou art dead the kingdom will remain without an heir and will fall to a stranger, because thou wilt not have a son to succeed thee. Therefore let a beautiful girl be sought for the king in all the provinces of the kingdom, or thee to take to wife." But the king refused to listen to them. They, however, came a second and a third and a fourth time, until he said: "Well, since you really wish me to marry, give me three days' time, and I will then reply whether it is right to marry or not." They did so. On the second day, while he was sitting in his courtyard in deep meditation, a raven perched upon him and brought between its legs a very beautiful golden hair, which fell upon the king. On the third day he brought this hair to his counsellors, and said: "You wish me to marry. Well, if you can bring that woman to whom this hair belongs I shall be pleased to marry her; but if not, I will execute you." "Give us," they said, "three days' time to know what to do." He gave it to them. They thereupon counselled together and found that there was not any man in existence able to do this, except Jochanan; for he was skilled in all languages, and his equal was not to be found in all the land. On the third day they came to the king, and said: "There is a certain wise man