to me everybody is the same. I
love them all, and I am not enchanted by anything that glisters."

"My friend," said Isco, "our conversation is becoming serious. Let
us take a walk this afternoon and see how these theories work out in
the lives of men."

That afternoon Luis and Isco went to a town called Cohija. On their
way they saw a rope-maker, Lucas by name, who by his condition showed
his great suffering from poverty. He approached Lucas and gave him a
roll of paper money, saying, "Now, Lucas, take this money and spend
it judiciously."

Lucas was overjoyed: he hardly knew what to do. When he reached home,
he related to his wife Zelima what had happened to him. As has been
said, Lucas was very poor and was a rope-maker. He had six little
children to support; but he had no money with which to feed them, nor
could he get anything from his rope-making. Some days he could not
sell even a yard of rope. When Lucas received the money from Luis,
and had gone home and told his wife, he immediately went out again
to buy food. He had one hundred pesos in paper money. He bought two
pounds of meat, and a roll of canamo; [54] and as there was some more
money left, he put it in one of the corners of his hat. Unfortunately,
as he was walking home, an eagle was attracted by the smell of the
meat, and began flying about his head. He frightened the bird away;
but it flew so fast that its claws became entangled in his hat,
which was snatched off his head and carried away some distance. When
he searched for the money, it was gone. He could not find it anywhere.

Lucas went home very sad. When his wife learned the cause of his
sorrow, she became very angry. She scolded her husband roundly. As
soon as the family had eaten the meat Lucas bought, they were as poor
as before. They were even pale because of hunger.

One day Luis and Isco decided to visit Lucas and see how he was
getting along. It happened that while they were passing in the same
street as before, they saw Lucas weeping under a mango-tree near his
small house. "What is the matter?" said Luis. "Why are you crying?"

Poor Lucas told them all that had happened to him,--how the money was
lost, and how his wife had scolded him. At first Luis did not believe
the rope-maker's story, and became angry at him. At last, however,
when he perceived that Lucas was telling the truth, he pardoned him
and gave him a thousand pesos.

Lucas returned home with delight, but his wife and ch