tory of the Badinjan or Egg Plant.

Once there was a great Emir or Prince who had a very abject and
obsequious servant named Deeb (Wolf). One day Deeb brought to the Emir
for his dinner a dish of stewed badinjan, which pleased the Emir so much
that he complimented Deeb, and told him that it was the best dinner he
had eaten for months. Deeb bowed to the earth and kissed the feet of the
Emir, and said, "may God prolong the life of your excellency! Your
excellency knows what is good. There is nothing like the badinjan. It is
the best of vegetables. Its fruit is good, its leaf is good, its stalk
is good, and its root is good. It is good roasted, stewed, boiled,
fried, and even raw. It is good for old and young. Your excellency,
there is nothing like the badinjan." Now the Emir was unusually hungry,
and ate so bountifully of the badinjan that he was made very ill. So he
sent for Deeb, and rebuked him sharply, saying, "you rascal, you Deeb,
your name is Wolf, and you are rightly named. This badinjan which you
praised so highly has almost killed me." "Exactly so," said Deeb, "may
your excellency live forever! The badinjan is the vilest of plants. It
is never eaten without injury. Its fruit is injurious, its leaf is
injurious, its stalk is noxious, and its root is the vilest of all. It
is not fit 'ajell shanak Allah,' for the pigs to eat, whether raw,
roasted, stewed, boiled or fried. It is injurious to the young and
dangerous to the old. Your excellency, there is nothing so bad as the
badinjan! Never touch the badinjan!"--"Out with you, you worthless
fellow, you Deeb! What do you mean by praising the badinjan when I
praise it, and abusing it when it injures me?" "Ah, your excellency,"
said Deeb, "am I the servant of the badinjan, or the servant of your
excellency? I must say what pleases you, but it makes no difference
whether I please the badinjan or not."

The wedding party is now over, and the guests are departing. Each one on
leaving says, "by your pleasure, good evening!" The host answers, "go in
peace, you have honored us." The guests reply, "we have been honored,
Allah give the newly married ones an arees," (a bridegroom). They would
not dare wish that Shaheen and Handumeh might some day have a little
baby _girl_. That would be thought an insult.

We will walk up the hill to our mountain home, passing the fountain and
the great walnut trees. Here comes a horseman. It is Ali, who has been
spending a month among the Bed