wife in tears.

'My husband is dead,' answered she, pointing to the bed; and the
chamberlain drew back the sheet and beheld Abu Nowas lying stiff and
motionless. Then he gently replaced the sheet and returned to the
palace.

'Well, have you found out this time?' asked the Sultan.

'My lord, it is the husband who is dead.'

'But I tell you he was with me only a few hours ago,' cried the Sultan
angrily. 'I must get to the bottom of this before I sleep! Let my golden
coach be brought round at once.'

The coach was before the door in another five minutes, and the Sultan
and Sultana both got in. Abu Nowas had ceased being a dead man, and was
looking into the street when he saw the coach coming. 'Quick! quick!' he
called to his wife. 'The Sultan will be here directly, and we must both
be dead to receive him.' So they laid themselves down, and spread the
sheet over them, and held their breath. At that instant the Sultan
entered, followed by the Sultana and the chamberlain, and he went up
to the bed and found the corpses stiff and motionless. 'I would give a
thousand gold pieces to anyone who would tell me the truth about this,'
cried he, and at the words Abu Nowas sat up. 'Give them to me, then,'
said he, holding out his hand. 'You cannot give them to anyone who needs
them more.'

'Oh, Abu Nowas, you impudent dog!' exclaimed the Sultan, bursting into
a laugh, in which the Sultana joined. 'I might have known it was one of
your tricks!' But he sent Abu Nowas the gold he had promised, and let us
hope that it did not fly so fast as the last had done.

[From Tunische Mahrchen.]

Motiratika

Once upon a time, in a very hot country, a man lived with his wife in
a little hut, which was surrounded by grass and flowers. They were
perfectly happy together till, by-and-by, the woman fell ill and refused
to take any food. The husband tried to persuade her to eat all sorts
of delicious fruits that he had found in the forest, but she would
have none of them, and grew so thin he feared she would die. 'Is there
nothing you would like?' he said at last in despair.

'Yes, I think I could eat some wild honey,' answered she. The husband
was overjoyed, for he thought this sounded easy enough to get, and he
went off at once in search of it.

He came back with a wooden pan quite full, and gave it to his wife. 'I
can't eat that,' she said, turning away in disgust. 'Look! there are
some dead bees in it! I want honey that is quite pu