have held up your arms and prayed for the
deceased."--"The instruction which you have given me I will remember,"
said Nazr-Eddin, and went on his way. Presently he met a large company of
young people returning in great merriment from a wedding, dancing and
playing on drums and fifes. As he approached them he raised his hands
toward heaven and began to pray for the soul of the deceased. At this all
the young men fell upon him in great anger and gave him another awful
beating. "Can't you see," they cried, "that the prince's son has just
been married, and that this is the wedding-party? Under such
circumstances you should have put your hat under your arm and begun to
shout and dance."--"The next time I will remember," said Nazr-Eddin, and
went on. Suddenly and unexpectedly he came upon a hunter who was creeping
cautiously and silently up to a hare. Putting his hat under his arm,
Nazr-Eddin began to dance, jump and shout so furiously that of course the
hare was frightened away. The hunter, enraged at this interference,
pounded Nazr-Eddin with his gun until he could hardly walk. "What would
you have me do?" cried the mullah.--"Under such circumstances," replied
the hunter, "you should have taken off your hat and crept up cautiously,
now stooping down, now rising up."--"That I will remember," said
Nazr-Eddin, and went on. At a little distance he came upon a flock of
sheep, and, according to his last instructions, he crept cautiously up to
them, now stooping down out of sight, and then rising up, and so
frightened the sheep that they all ran away. Upon this the shepherds gave
him another tremendous beating. There was not a misfortune that did not
come upon Nazr-Eddin on account of his miserable blunders.

_The Kettle that Died._--The mullah Nazr-Eddin once went to a neighbor to
borrow a kettle. In the course of a week he returned, bringing the large
kettle which he had borrowed, and another, a small one. "What is this?"
inquired the owner, pointing to the small kettle.--"Your kettle has given
birth," replied the mullah, "and that is its offspring." Without any
further question or explanation the owner took both kettles, and the
mullah returned to his home. In course of time the mullah again appeared,
and again borrowed his neighbor's kettle, which the latter gave him this
time with great readiness. A week passed, a month, two months, three
months, but no kettle; and at last the owner went to the mullah and asked
for it. "Your