Page:Hebrew tales; selected and translated from the writings of the ancient Hebrew sages (1917).djvu/41

Rh for joy. Then did we taste those heavenly pleasures which are the lot of the good and charitable. But now, alas! we cannot relieve the fatherless, nor him who wants help; we are ourselves poor and wretched. Seest thou not yonder good men coming to make the charitable collection? They will call—but what have we to give them?" "Do not repine, dear husband," rejoined his virtuous wife, "we have still one field left; suppose we sell half of it, and give the money for the use of the poor?" A beam of joy overspread the good man's countenance. He followed his wife's advice, sold half the field, and when the collectors called, he gave them the money. They accepted it, and as they departed, said to him: "May the Lord restore thee to thy former prosperity!" Abba Judan resumed his former spirits, and with it his wonted diligence. He went to plough the small spot of ground still left him. As he was pursuing his work, the foot of the ox that drew the ploughshare sunk into the ground, and the beast was maimed. In endeavoring to relieve the animal from its perilous situation, he saw something glittering in the hollow which the foot had made. This excited his attention; he dug the hole deeper, and, to his great astonishment and no less joy, found an immense treasure concealed in the very spot. He took it home, removed from the