Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/252

222 heard of Malik, on the authority of Ez Zuhri, who had it of Abdallah ibn Salim, on the report of Saïd ben Zeid, that the Apostle (whom God bless and preserve) said, “Whoso revivifies a dead land, it is his.”’ And the Meccan answered, ‘Sufyan tells us, on the authority of Abou Zenad, who had it of El Aarej, on the report of Abou Hureireh, that the Apostle of God said, “The game is his who catches it, not his who starts it.”’ But the Irak girl pushed them both away and taking it to herself, said, ‘This is mine, till your contention be decided.’ THE MILLER AND HIS WIFE.

There was a miller, who had an ass to turn his mill; and he was married to a wicked wife, whom he loved; but she hated him and loved a neighbour of hers, who liked her not and held aloof from her. One night, the miller saw, in his sleep, one who said to him, ‘Dig in such a spot of the ass’s circuit in the mill, and thou shalt find a treasure.’ When he awoke, he told his wife the dream and charged her keep it secret; but she told her neighbour, thinking to win his favour, and he appointed with her to come to her by night. So he came and they dug in the mill and found the treasure and took it forth. Then said he to her, ‘How shall we do with this?’ ‘We will share it equally between us,’ answered she; ‘and do thou leave thy wife and I will cast about to rid me of my husband. Then shalt thou marry me, and when we are united, we will add the two halves of the treasure, one to the other, and it will be [all] in our hands.’ Quoth he, ‘I fear lest Satan seduce thee and thou take some man other than myself; for gold in the house is like the sun in the world. Meseems, therefore, it were better that