w your own business best,' said the uncle. 'And
certainly he almost worried me to death.'

So Mohammed returned to his master, carrying the cows' tails tied up in
a bundle on his back. When he came to the sea-shore, he stuck all the
tails in the sand, and went and buried the one cow, whose tail he had
not cut off, up to her neck, leaving the tail projecting. After he had
got everything ready, he began to shriek and scream as before, till his
master and all the other servants came running to see what was the
matter.

'What in the world has happened?' they cried.

'The sea has swallowed up the cows,' said Mohammed, 'and nothing remains
but their tails. But if you are quick and pull hard, perhaps you may get
them out again!'

The master ordered each man instantly to take hold of a tail, but at the
first pull they nearly tumbled backwards, and the tails were left in
their hands.

'Stop,' cried Mohammed, 'you are doing it all wrong. You have just
pulled off their tails, and the cows have sunk to the bottom of the
sea.'

'See if you can do it any better,' said they; and Mohammed ran to the
cow which he had buried in the rough grass, and took hold of her tail
and dragged the animal out at once.

'There! that is the way to do it!' said he, 'I told you you knew nothing
about it!'

The men slunk away, much ashamed of themselves; but the master came up
to Mohammed. 'Get you gone!' he said, 'there is nothing more for you to
do! You have killed my mother, you have slain my children, you have
stolen my sheep, you have drowned my cows; I have now no work to give
you.'

'First give me the strip of your skin which belongs to me of right, as
you have broken your contract!'

'That a judge shall decide,' said the master; 'we will go before him.'

'Yes, we will,' replied Mohammed. And they went before the judge.

'What is your case?' asked the judge of the master.

'My lord,' said the man, bowing low, 'my shepherd here has robbed me of
everything. He has killed my children and my old mother; he has stolen
my sheep, he has drowned my cows in the sea.'

The shepherd answered: 'He must pay me what he owes me, and then I will
go.'

'Yes, that is the law,' said the judge.

'Very well,' returned the master, 'let him reckon up how long he has
been in my service.'

'That won't do,' replied Mohammed, 'I want my strip of skin, as we
agreed in the contract.'

Seeing there was no help for it, the master cut a bit of skin, and g