t of the tree, and another on his back, and so on, until the
upper one should reach Ibn Adam, and throw him down to the ground. Now
the Lion whose back was burned and blistered, from his great fear of man
demanded that he should stand at the bottom of the tree. To this all
agreed. Then the Camel mounted upon the Lion's back, the Horse upon the
Camel, the Buffalo upon the Horse, the Bear upon the Buffalo, the Wolf
upon the bear, and the Donkey upon the Wolf, and so on in order, until
the topmost animal was almost within reach of the Carpenter, Ibn Adam.
Now, when he saw the animals coming nearer and nearer, and almost ready
to seize him, he shouted at the top of his voice. Bring the glue pot of
boiling pitch to the Lion! Hasten! Hasten! Now when the Lion heard of
the boiling pitch, he was terrified beyond measure and leaped one side
with all his might and fled. Down came the pile of beasts, tumbling in
confusion, the one upon the other, and all lay groaning bruised and
bleeding, some with broken legs, some with broken ribs, and some with
broken heads. But as soon as the clamor of their first agony was over,
they all called out to the Lion, why did you leap out and bring all
this misery upon us! The Lion replied:

The story's point he never knew,
Who never felt the burning glue!

Monsoor, who has just been to Damascus, says that if he can have another
pipe, and a cup of Arab coffee, he will tell the story of the famous Jew
Rufaiel of Damascus. So he begins:

The story of Rufaiel, the rich Jew of Damascus, and the Moslem Dervish.

Once there lived in Damascus a rich Jew named Rufaiel. He had great
wealth in marble palaces and rich silk robes, and well stored bazaars,
and his wife and daughters were clad in velvets and satins, in gold and
precious stones. He had also great wit and cunning, and often helped his
fellow Jews out of their troubles. Now the Pasha of Damascus was a
Mohammedan, who had a superstitious fear of the holy Moslem Dervishes,
and they could persuade him to tax and oppress the Jews in the most
cruel manner. In those days there came to Damascus a holy Dervish who
had long, uncombed black hair, and although he was a vile and wicked
man, he made the people believe that he was a holy saint, and could
perform wonderful miracles. The Pasha held him in great reverence, and
invited him often to dinner, and when he came in, he would stoop and
kiss the Dervish's feet! And what was most wonderful of all,