Page:Jewish Fairy Book (Gerald Friedlander).djvu/33

Rh The King was greatly pleased by these modest remarks, and he told Jacob that he was satisfied with him.

&quot;But,&quot; he said, &quot;I should just like to know the nature of your treatment.&quot;

&quot;At first your gracious Majesty will become worse, you will feel sick, weak and very depressed. This is the first stage, for leprosy must be very acute before it can be radically cured.

&quot;Stay,&quot; cried the King, &quot;if I become worse I shall die.&quot;

&quot;Not so, your Majesty! You will die if you do not become worse; for there is no cure for your disease in its present form. I will cure your Majesty if you will submit to my treatment."

&quot;I agree,&quot; the King said, &quot;and now proceed with your cure.&quot;

Jacob asked for a supply of sugar, two knives, and two plates. When these things were brought to him, he took from his pocket one of the silver apples and cut it up into small pieces. He put sugar over these pieces and gave the plate to the King, saying,—

&quot;Your Majesty will be good enough to eat this sour apple, every piece: I have added sugar to make the taste more palatable. You will feel very uncomfortable for a while, but as I have already said, this is absolutely necessary.&quot;