Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 5.djvu/370

336 stomachs when they all died. Now tell me, O King, whose was the fault in this case?’ Some said, ‘It was the fault of the company, who drank the milk, without examining it.’ And other some, ‘That of the girl, who left the jar uncovered.’ But Es Sindibad said to the prince, ‘What sayest thou, O my son?’ ‘I say,’ answered the prince, ‘that the folk err; it was neither the fault of the damsel nor of the company, for their appointed hour was come, with the exhaustion of their divinely-decreed provision, and God had fore-ordained them to die thus.’

When the courtiers heard this, they marvelled greatly and lifted up their voices, calling down blessings on the prince and saying, ‘O our lord, thou hast made a peerless answer, and thou art the wisest man of thy time.’ ‘Indeed, I am no sage,’ answered the prince; ‘the blind sheikh and the three-year-old child and the five-year-old were wiser than I.’ ‘O youth,’ said the bystanders, ‘tell us the stories of these three who were wiser than thou.’ ‘With all my heart,’ answered he, ‘I have heard tell that THE SANDAL-WOOD MERCHANT AND THE SHARPERS.

There was once a rich merchant, who was a great traveller. One day, being minded to journey to a certain city, he asked those who came thence what kind of goods brought most profit there, “Sandal-wood,” answered they; “for it sells at a high price.” So he laid out all his money in sandal-wood and set out for the city in question. When he arrived there, it was the close of the day, and he met an old woman driving her sheep. Quoth she to him, “Who art thou, O man?” and he answered, saying, “I am a stranger, a merchant.” “Beware of the townsfolk,” said she, “for they are cheats and robbers, who impose on strangers