them." "Oh," said
the fate, "just take the sacks off its back and then it will be free."
"I will," said the poor man. "Then I met an alligator who for twelve
years has had a great burning in its stomach." The fate said, "In its
stomach is a very large ruby, as big as your hand. If the alligator
will only throw up the ruby, it will be quite well." "Next I met a
tiger who has had for twelve years a great thorn in his foot which he
cannot take out." "Pull it out with your teeth," said the fate; and
then God withdrew the soul, and the fate became a stone again which
stood up on the ground.

Then the man set out on his journey home, and he came to the tiger.
"What did your fate say?" said the tiger. "Give me your foot and I
will take out the thorn," said the poor man. The tiger stretched out
the foot with the thorn in it, and the man pulled out the thorn with
his teeth. It was a very large thorn, as big as the man's hand. The
tiger felt grateful to the poor man, and as he was very rich, for he
had eaten a great many Rajas and people, and had all their money, he
said to the man, "I will give you some gold in return for your
kindness." "You have no money," said the man. "I have," said the
tiger, and he went into his den, and the poor man followed. "Give me
your cloth," said the tiger. The man laid it on the ground. Then the
tiger took quantities of gold and jewels and filled the cloth with
them. And the poor man took up his cloth, thanked the tiger, and went
his way. Then he met the alligator who took him across the river. The
alligator said, "Did you ask your fate why there is such burning in my
stomach?" "I did," said the man. "It is because you have a very large
ruby in your stomach. If you will only throw it up, you will be quite
well." Then the alligator threw the ruby up out of its mouth, and that
very instant the burning in its stomach ceased. "Ah," said the
alligator, looking at the ruby, "I swallowed that one day when I was
drinking." And he gave the ruby to the man, saying, "In return for
your kindness I will give you this ruby. It is a very precious stone."
(In old days every Raja possessed such a ruby; now very few Rajas, if
any, have one.) The poor man thanked the alligator, put the ruby into
his cloth, and went on his way till he came to the camel, who said,
"Did you ask your fate why I have to carry these two sacks of gold?"
"I did," said the man, and he took the sacks off the camel's back. How
happy and grate