Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 5.djvu/73

55 he will come down to the city and claim the price of it, saying, “It was I found it;” nor is there any means of quitting ourselves of this but that we let him down into the cistern, to get the rest of the honey, and leave him there; so will he perish miserably, and none will know of him.’ They all fell in with this and returning to the cavern, said to Hasib, ‘Go down into the well and get us the rest of the honey.’ So he went down and passed up to them the rest of the honey, after which he said to them, ‘Draw me up, for there is nothing left.’ They made him no answer, but, loading their asses, went away and left him alone in the cistern. When they reached the city, they repaired to Hasib’s mother, weeping, and said to her, ‘May thy head outlive thy son Hasib!’ ‘How did he die?’ asked she. Quoth they, ‘We were cutting wood in the mountain, when there fell on us a great storm of rain and we took shelter from it in a cavern. Presently, thy son’s ass broke loose and fled into the valley, and he ran after it, to turn it back, when there came out upon them a great wolf, who tore thy son in pieces and ate the ass.’ When she heard this, she buffeted her face and strewed dust on her head and fell a-mourning for her son, whilst the woodcutters sold the honey, with the proceeds of which they opened shops and became merchants and passed their lives in eating and drinking and making merry; but, every day, they brought Hasib’s mother meat and drink.

Meanwhile, when Hasib found himself alone, he began to weep and call for help and say, ‘There is no god but God, the Most High, the Supreme! I shall surely perish miserably!’ As he was thus bemoaning himself, a great scorpion fell upon him; so he rose and killed it. Then he bethought him and said, ‘The cistern was full of honey; how came this scorpion here?’ Therewith he rose and examined the well right and left, till he found the crevice