f
one of the three companions. It must be done by night; so let them
draw lots, and let him on whom the lot fell run to the town to fetch
bread and wine, while the other two guarded the treasure carefully till
the night came, when they might agree whither to transport it.

The lot fell on the youngest, who forthwith went his way to the town.
Then one of those who remained with the treasure said to the other:
"Thou knowest well that thou art my sworn brother, and I will tell thee
something to thy advantage. Our companion is gone, and here is a great
quantity of gold to be divided among us three. But say, if I could
manage so that the gold is divided between us two, should I not do thee
a friend's turn?" And when the other failed to understand him, he made
him promise secrecy and disclosed his plan. "Two are stronger than
one. When he sits down, arise as if thou wouldest sport with him; and
while thou art struggling with him as in play, I will rive him through
both his sides; and look thou do the same with thy dagger. After
which, my dear friend, we will divide all the gold between you and me,
and then we may satisfy all our desires and play at dice to our hearts'
content."

Meanwhile the youngest rioter, as he went up to the town, revolved in
his heart the beauty of the bright new florins, and said unto himself:
"If only I could have all this gold to myself alone, there is no man on
earth who would live so merrily as I." And at last the Devil put it
into his relentless heart to buy poison, in order with it to kill his
two companions. And straightway he went on into the town to an
apothecary, and besought him to sell him some poison for destroying
some rats which infested his house and a polecat which, he said, had
made away with his capons. And the apothecary said: "Thou shalt have
something of which (so may God save my soul!) no creature in all the
world could swallow a single grain without losing his life thereby--and
that in less time than thou wouldest take to walk a mile in." So the
miscreant shut up this poison in a box, and then he went into the next
street and borrowed three large bottles, into two of which he poured
his poison, while the third he kept clean to hold drink for himself;
for he meant to work hard all the night to carry away the gold. So he
filled his three bottles with wine, and then went back to his
companions under the tree.

What need to make a long discourse of what followed? As