Page:Hebrew tales; selected and translated from the writings of the ancient Hebrew sages (1917).djvu/96

 He Who Wrongs the Dishonest under the Pretence of their Dishonesty, Renders Himself an Accomplice; or, Rabbi Huna Reproved

dealt in wine, of which he kept a large store. He had the misfortune to have four hundred barrels of his wine spoiled and unfit for sale. Rabbi Jehudah and some of the wise men went to condole with him. After expressing their sorrow at his heavy loss, they begged him to examine and review his general conduct. "My friends," said Huna, who, in fact, was a very pious man, "do you then suspect me of having committed any sin deserving of so severe a punishment?" "And do you, then," asked the sages in their turn, "imagine that the Divine Judge chastises without a cause?" "Well, then," said Huna, "if you know anything wrong of me, you had better tell me." His learned friends then told him they had been informed, that he neglected to give his gardeners the branches of the vines (then considered as their legal dues).

"It is very true," rejoined the Rabbi; "but what crime is there in that? Know ye not that gardeners are not very honest, and that they generally take much more than their due?" "True," said the wise men; "but do you forget