ou
led round the town accompanied by a herald who should proclaim your
crimes."

The accident, so fatal to all his profits, had restored my brother to
his senses, and seeing that the mischief had been caused by his own
insufferable pride, he rent his clothes and tore his hair, and lamented
himself so loudly that the passers-by stopped to listen. It was a
Friday, so these were more numerous than usual. Some pitied Alnaschar,
others only laughed at him, but the vanity which had gone to his head
had disappeared with his basket of glass, and he was loudly bewailing
his folly when a lady, evidently a person of consideration, rode by on
a mule. She stopped and inquired what was the matter, and why the man
wept. They told her that he was a poor man who had laid out all his
money on this basket of glass, which was now broken. On hearing the
cause of these loud wails the lady turned to her attendant and said to
him, "Give him whatever you have got with you." The man obeyed, and
placed in my brother's hands a purse containing five hundred pieces of
gold. Alnaschar almost died of joy on receiving it. He blessed the
lady a thousand times, and, shutting up his shop where he had no longer
anything to do, he returned home.

He was still absorbed in contemplating his good fortune, when a knock
came to his door, and on opening it he found an old woman standing
outside.

"My son," she said, "I have a favour to ask of you. It is the hour of
prayer and I have not yet washed myself. Let me, I beg you, enter your
house, and give me water."

My brother, although the old woman was a stranger to him, did not
hesitate to do as she wished. He gave her a vessel of water and then
went back to his place and his thoughts, and with his mind busy over
his last adventure, he put his gold into a long and narrow purse, which
he could easily carry in his belt. During this time the old woman was
busy over her prayers, and when she had finished she came and
prostrated herself twice before my brother, and then rising called down
endless blessings on his head. Observing her shabby clothes, my
brother thought that her gratitude was in reality a hint that he should
give her some money to buy some new ones, so he held out two pieces of
gold. The old woman started back in surprise as if she had received an
insult. "Good heavens!" she exclaimed, "what is the meaning of this?
Is it possible that you take me, my lord, for one of those miserable
c