, and attempted to seize it;
the old woman made a threatening noise, and the pot slipped from the
dog's mouth and fell upon an earthenware jar which was broken; the rest
of the vessels were upset and the water spilt. The old woman seized
a stick, and rose up to beat [the animal]; the dog seized the skirt
of her clothes, and began to rub his mouth on her feet, and wag his
tail; then he ran towards the mountain; again having returned to her,
he sometimes seized a rope, and sometimes having taken up a bucket
in his mouth, he shewed it [to her]; and he rubbed his face against
her feet, and seizing the hem of her garment, he continued pulling
her. The Almighty inspired the old woman's heart with compassion,
so that she took up the rope and bucket and went along with him. He
keeping hold of the end of her clothes, after coming out of the hut,
kept going on before her.

"At last, he guided her to the very mountain; the old woman imagined,
from the dog's conduct, that his master was confined in the well,
and that he, perhaps, wanted water for him. In short, conducting the
old woman, he came to the mouth of the well. The old woman filled the
bucket with water and let it down by a rope. I seized the vessel and
ate a morsel of the cake. I drank two or three gulps of the water,
and satisfied my hunger and thirst. [303] I thanked God [for this
timely supply], and retired to a corner, and waited with patience
for the interference of the Almighty, saying, "Now let us see what
is to come about." In this manner, this dumb animal used to bring
me bread, and by means of the old woman, he used to supply me with
water to drink. When the bakers perceived that the dog always carried
off bread [in this way], they took compassion on him, and made it a
rule to throw him a cake whenever they saw him; and if the old woman
neglected to carry the water, he used to break her pots; so that she,
being helpless, used to let down a bucket of water every day. This
faithful companion removed all my apprehensions for bread and water,
and he himself always lay at the mouth of the prison. Six months
passed in this manner; but what must be the condition of the man
who was confined so long in such a prison, where the air of heaven
could never reach him? Only my skin and bones remained; life became
a torment to me, and I used to say in my heart, 'O God, it would be
better if my life became extinct!'

"One night, the two prisoners were asleep; my heart overflo