the Jew saw that the time had come, although somewhat late, when he
could answer; which, after prostrating himself three times before his
highness's throne, he proceeded to do in the following words:

"Most high and mighty Emperor, King of Kings, Sovereign of the West,
Star of Justice, Mirror of Truth, Abyss of Wisdom, you who gleam like
gold, sparkle like a diamond, and are as inflexible as iron! Hear me,
as it is permitted your slave to lift his voice in your august
presence. I swear by the God of my fathers, by Moses and the Prophets,
that I never saw your sacred horse, and the amiable dog of my gracious
empress, with the eyes of my body. But listen to my explanation.

"I walked out to refresh myself after the fatigues of the day, and in
the small wood where I had the honor to meet his excellency, the master
of the horse, and his vigilancy, the black overseer of your blessed
harem, I perceived the trail of an animal in the fine sand between the
palms. As I am well acquainted with the tracks of various animals, I at
once recognized these as the footprints of a small dog; other traces
near the prints of the fore-paws where the sand seemed to be lightly
brushed away, assured me that the animal must have had beautiful
pendant ears; and as I noticed how, at long intervals, the sand was
brushed up, I thought: the little creature has a fine bushy tail that
must look something like a tuft of feathers, and it has pleased her now
and then to whip up the sand with it. Nor did it escape my observation
that one paw had not made as deep an imprint on the sand as the others;
unfortunately, therefore, it could not be concealed from me that the
dog of my most gracious empress--if it is permitted me to say it
aloud--limped a little.

"Concerning your highness's horse, I would say that on turning into a
path in the wood I came upon the tracks of a horse. I had no sooner
caught sight of the small noble hoof-print of the fine yet strong frog
of the foot, than I said in my heart; a horse of the Tschenner stock,
of which this must have been one of the noblest specimens, has passed
by here. It is not quite four months since my most gracious emperor
sold a pair of this breed to a prince in the land of the Franks, and my
brother Ruder was there when they agreed on the price, and my most
gracious emperor made so and so much by the transaction. When I saw how
far apart these hoof-prints were, and how regular were the distances
between them,