Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 5.djvu/106

 from Al-Aaraj, from Abu Horayrah, that the Apostle of Allah said: The quarry is his who catcheth it, not his who starteth it.  But the Irak girl pushed them both away and taking it to herself, said, This is mine, till your contention be decided.  And they tell a tale of 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, while she hated him because she was sweet upon a neighbour, who misliked her 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 round in the mill, and thou shalt find a hoard.  When he awoke, he told his wife the vision and bade her keep the secret; but she told her neighbour, -- And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-eighth Night

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the millers wife told the secret to the neighbour whom she loved, thinking to win his favour; and he agreed 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 he asked her, How shall we do with this? and she answered; We will divide it into two halves and will share it equally between us, 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 conjoined, we will join the two halves of the treasure one to other, and all will be in our hands.  Quoth he, I fear lest Satan seduce thee and thou take some other man other than myself; for gold in the house is like the sun in the world. I reck, therefore, it were right that the money be all in my hands, so thou give thy whole mind to getting free of thy husband and coming to me.  Quoth she, I fear even as thou fearest, nor will I yield up my part to thee; for it was I directed thee to it.  When he heard this, greed of gain prompted