Page:The jade story book; stories from the Orient (IA jadestorybooksto00cous).pdf/41

Rh the riches which would have fallen to my share."

So the sick merchant, overjoyed at his good fortune, received both the lady and her wealth, and returned with her to Bagdad.

After a while ill-fortune came to the merchant of Egypt, and he was without home or money. Then said he: "I will go to my friend of Bagdad, from whom I am sure to receive aid."

So he went to Bagdad, and as he reached that city during the night, he did not like to awaken his friend, thinking that, poorly dressed, desolate and destitute as he was, he might not know him, so he decided to wait until the next day. Happening to look toward a burial-ground, he saw that the doors of the mosque there were open, so here he determined to remain for the night.

He had not been in the mosque long before two men entered. They were quarrelling, and soon began to fight, and in the end one killed the other, and fled.

The alarm was spread, and went through the whole city. "Where is the murderer?" was the general cry.