etely full of gold pieces. His feeble wisdom, however,
did not teach him to lift up the pot; but he put in his pantaloons
and girdle as much as he could carry, filled his cloak, and then
carefully covering up the rest, placed the load upon his back. But,
indeed, if he had not had the slippers on his feet, he could not have
stirred, so heavily did the gold weigh him down. Then, unobserved, he
reached his room, and secured the money under the cushions of his
sofa.

When the little man saw so much gold in his possession, he thought the
tables would now be turned, and that from among his enemies at court,
he could gain many well-wishers and warm friends. But even in this,
one could see that the good Muck had enjoyed no very careful
education; otherwise he would not have imagined that he could buy true
friends with gold. Ah! that he had then put on his slippers, and with
his mantle full of gold, scampered away!

The gold which from this time Little Muck distributed with lavish
hand, awakened the envy of the other court-attendants. The
kitchen-master, Ahuli, said, "He is a counterfeiter." The
slave-overseer, Achmet, said, "He has cajoled the king." But Archaz,
the treasurer, his most wicked enemy, who himself, even, now and then
put his hand into his lord's coffers, exclaimed, "He is a thief." In
order to be sure of the thing, they consulted together, and the head
cup-bearer, Korchuz, placed himself one day, with a very sorrowful and
depressed air, before the eyes of the king. He made his wo so
apparent, that the king asked him what was the matter.

"Ah!" answered he, "I am sorry that I have lost the favor of my lord!"

"Why talkest thou idly, friend Korchuz?" rejoined the monarch. "Since
when have I veiled from thee the sun of my favor?"

The cup-bearer answered, that he loaded his private Oberleiblaeufer
with money, but gave his poor faithful servants nothing. The king was
much astonished at this accusation, had the story of Muck's
gold-distribution told him, and the conspirators soon aroused in him
the suspicion that the dwarf had, in some way or other, stolen the
money from the treasure-chamber. Very pleasant was this turn of the
matter to the treasurer, who would not otherwise have willingly
submitted his accounts to examination. The king thereupon commanded
that they should secretly watch all the movements of the dwarf, in
order, if possible, to surprise him in the act. When, now, on the
night which followed the f