de a fortnight's journey on purpose, and brought them to her.
We had a collation together; and, when I took my leave of her, I
brought away this apple."

This account rendered me distracted. I rose, shut up my shop, ran
home with all speed, and going to my wife's chamber, looked
immediately for the apples, and seeing only two, asked what was
become of the third. My wife, turning her head to the place where
the apples lay, and perceiving there were but two, answered me
coldly, "Cousin, I know not what is become of it." At this reply
I was convinced what the slave had told me was true; and giving
myself up to madness and jealousy, drew my knife from my girdle,
and thrust it into the unfortunate creature's throat. I
afterwards cut off her head, and divided her body into four
quarters, which I packed up in a bundle, sewed it up with a
thread of red yarn, put all together in a trunk, and when night
came, carried it on my shoulder down to the Tigris, where I sunk
it.

The two youngest of my children were asleep, the third was out;
but at my return, I found him sitting by my gate, weeping. I
asked him the reason; "Father," said he, "I took this morning
from my mother, without her knowledge, one of those three apples
you brought her, and kept it a long while; but, as I was playing
some time ago with my little brother in the street, a tall slave
passing by snatched it out of my hands, and carried it away. I
ran after him, demanding it back, and besides told him, that it
belonged to my mother, who was sick; and that you had made a
fortnight's journey to procure it; but all to no purpose, he
would not restore it. And as I still followed him, crying out, he
turned and beat me, and then ran away as fast as he could from
one lane to another, till at length I lost sight of him. I have
since been walking without the town expecting your return, to
pray you, dear father, not to tell my mother of it, lest it
should make her worse!" When he had thus spoken he fell a weeping
again more bitterly than before.

My son's account afflicted me beyond measure. I then found myself
guilty of an enormous crime, and repented too late of having so
easily believed the calumnies of a wretched slave, who, from what
he had learnt of my son, had invented that fatal falsehood.

My uncle here present came just at that time to see his daughter,
but instead of finding her alive, understood from me that she was
dead, for I concealed nothing from him; and