Page:Folk-lore of the Holy Land.djvu/112

88 escape. Great was his joy, when, late that afternoon, he saw, at a distance, a shepherd with a large flock of sheep. He called the shepherd and persuaded him to set him free. When asked by his deliverer why he had been thus bound, he told him: “ For refusing to taste sugar.” The shepherd seemed astonished at that, observing that he himself was fond of sugar. Johha then proposed that he should take his place. The simpleton, in the hope of sugar, consented, and after they had exchanged clothes, and the shepherd had taught the buffoon his special sheep-call, the former let himself be bound to the tree, whilst Johha promised to take charge of the flock, lead it to a certain cave, and there await the shepherd’s return. He felt sure that the man would be allowed to go his way when it was discovered that he himself had escaped. This was, however, not the case, for in their haste, and owing to the darkness of the night, the whistling of the wind, the sound of the waves, and the fact that the shepherd mimicked Johha’s voice to a tone, the enemies of the latter never suspected the trick; and when the poor shepherd told them he would eat sugar, they pitched him into the sea.

Great was the surprise and terror of Johha’s enemies when, three days later, he marched cheerfully into the village followed by a fine flock of sheep. They ventured to approach and ask him how he had escaped the sea, and whence he had brought the animals. “I told you,” was his answer, “that I