Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 5.djvu/371

337 that they may get the better of them and devour their substance. Indeed, I give thee good counsel.”

Then she left him and on the morrow there met him a man, who saluted him and said to him, “O my lord, whence comest thou?” “From such a place,” answered the merchant. “And what merchandise hast thou brought with thee?” asked the other. “Sandal-wood,” replied he; “for I hear it is high of price with you.” Quoth the townsman, “He erred who told thee that; for we burn nothing but sandal-wood under our cooking-pots, and its value with us is but that of firewood.” When the merchant heard this, he sighed and repented and knew not whether to believe him or not. Then he alighted at one of the khans of the city and when it was night, he saw a merchant make a fire of sandal-wood under his cooking-pot. Now this was the man who had spoken with him and this was a trick of his. When the townsman saw the merchant [looking at him,] he said to him, “Wilt thou sell me thy sandal-wood for a measure of whatever thy soul shall desire?” “I sell it to thee,” answered the merchant, purposing to take gold, and the buyer transported all the wood to his own house and stored it up there.

Next morning, the merchant, who was a blue-eyed man, went out to walk in the city; but, as he went along, one of the townsfolk, who was also blue-eyed and had but one eye, caught hold of him, saying, “Thou art he who stole my eye and I will never let thee go [till thou restore it to me].” The merchant denied this, saying, “I never stole [thine eye]: the thing is impossible.” Whereupon the folk collected round them and besought the one-eyed man to grant him till the morrow, that he might give him the price of his eye. So the merchant procured one to be surety for him, and they let him go. Now his shoe had been rent in the struggle with the one-eyed man; so he stopped at a cobbler’s stall and bade him mend it, VOL. V.