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THE ROBBERS AND THE PEASANT;
Or, How he Found Them Out.
OKDS spoken at ran
dom have often proved
of more utility than the
best concerted plans;
hence it happens that
often prosper when men of
talent fail. Here is an illustra-
A poor simple peasant, of the
name of Benhassen, being tired of his
daily fare of brown bread and water, re
solved, whatever might be the conse
quence, to procure for himself, by hook
or by crook, even at the expense of a
broken head, three sumptuous meals.
Having taken this courageous and noble
resolution, the next thing was to devise
a plan to put it into execution ; and here
his good fortune befriended him. The
wife of a rich ivory merchant, in the
neighborhood of his cottage, had, during
the absence of her husband, lost a valu
able diamond ring. She offered great re
wards to any person who would recover
it, or give any tidings of the jewel; but
no one was likely to do either, for three
eunuchs, of whose fidelity she had not the
smallest doubt, had stolen it. The loss
soon reached our glutton's ears.
“ I’ll go,” cries he ; “ I’ll say I am a
conjuror, and that I will discover where
the gem is hidden on condition of first
receiving three splendid meals. I shall
fail, ’tis true. What then? I shall be
treated as an imposter; my back and
sides may say ‘ How d’ye do ?’ to the bas
tinado, but my hungry stomach will be
filled.”
To concoct his scheme and put it in
practice was but the work of a moment.
The merchant was still absent. The lady,
anxious for the recovery of her ring, ac
cepted the offered terms. A sumptuous
dinner was prepared ; expensive plates of
every sort were placed upon the side
board. How he ate ! An attentive foot
man, one of the secret thieves, filled him
sherbet; our conjurer, gorged, exclaimed :
“ 7 Tis well! I have the first!”
The servant trembled at the ambigu
ous words, and ran to his companions.
“ He has found us out, dear friends,” he
cried. “He is a cunning man. He said
he had the first. What could lie mean
but me ?”
“It looks like it,” replied the second
thief. “ I’ll<wait on him to-night; as yet
you may have mistaken his meaning.
Should he speak in the same strain, wo
must decamp.”
At night a supper fit for the caliph was
set before the greedy Benhassen, who
BURKE’S WEEKLY.
filled until he could eat no more. The
second footman watched him all the
while. When satisfied, he rose, exclaim
ing:
“The second’s in my sack, and cannot
escape me.”
Away flew the affrighted robber.
“We are lost!” he cried. “ Our heels
alone can save us !”
“Hot so,” answered the third ; “If we
fly and are caught we lose our heads.
I’ll tend him at to-morrow’s meal; and
should he then speak as before, I’ll own
the theft to him and offer some great re
ward to screen us from punishment, and
that he may deliver the jewel to the lady
without betraying us.”
They all agreed. On the morrow Ben
hassen’s appetite was still the same. At
last, quite full, he exclaimed :
“My task is done; the third, thank
Fortune, is here !”
“Oh,” said the culprit, “behold the
ring; but hide our shame, and you shall
never want good fare again.”
“Be silent!” exclaimed the astonished
Benhassen, who little thought that what
he had spoken of his meals could have
made the plunderers betray themselves.
“Be silent! I have it.”
Some geese were feeding before the
window ; he went out, and having seized
the largest, forced the ring down its gul
let, then declared that the largest goose
had swallowed the jewel. The goose was
killed, the diamond found. In the mean
time, the ivory merchant returned, and
was incredulous.
“ Some crafty knave, O wife,” said he,
“ either the thief himself, or his abettor,
has, with a well-concerted scheme, im
posed upon your easy faith. But 111
soon provide him with a meal likewise.”
Ho sooner said than done ; between two
dishes the mysterious fare was hidden.
The false conjurer was told to declare
what was the concealed cheer on pain of
being well beaten should he fail.
“ Alas !” he muttered out, “ Benhassen,
thou art a pig; thou art dead, ’ referring
to himself, and calling himself names.
“He’s right,” the merchant cried
“Give him a purse of gold. I honor tal
ents such as his.”
It was pork in the dish. Thus our
glutton, by four random speeches gain
ed three hearty meals, a heavy purse,
comfort for life, and a most brilliant re
putation as a cunning man.
The three most difficult things are
—to keep a secret, to forget an injury,
and to make good use of leisure.
&3T He who scoffs at the crooked must
needs go very straight himself.
What the Wind Says.
“Ho you knoAv what December wind
sa y s ) grandpa ?” asked a little child at an
old merchant’s knee.
“ Ho, puss, what does it say ?” he an
swered, stroking her fair hair.
“ ‘Remember the poor!’ grandpa ; when
it comes down the chimney it roars, “Re
member the poor!” when it puts its great
mouth to the key hole, it whistles, “Re
member the poor!” when it strides
through a crack in the door, it whispers
it; and, grandpa, when it blows your
beautiful silver hair in the street, and you
shiver and button up your coat, does it
not get at your ear, and say so too, in a
still small voice, grandpa ?”
“Why, what does the child mean?”
cried grandpa, who, I am afraid, had been
used to shut his ears and heart against
such works; “you want anew muff and
tippet, I reckon; a pretty way to get
them out of your poor old grandfather.”
“Ho, grandpa,” said the child earnest
ly, shaking her head; “no, it’s no muff
and tippet; it’s the poor children I am
thinking of; my mother always remem
bers them, and so do I try.”
After the next storm, the old merchant
sent fifty dollars to the Treasurer of a
Relief Society, and said, call for more
when you want it. The Treasurer start
ed with surprise, for it was the first time
he had ever collected more than a dollar
from him, and that, he thought, came
grudgingly.
“ Why,” said the rich old merchant, af
terwards, “ I could never get rid of that
child’s words : they stuck to me like glue.”
“And a little child shall lead them,”
says the Scripture. How many a cold
heart has melted, and a close heart opened
by the simple earnestness and suggestive
words of a child.
A Salutary Thought.
When I was a young man there lived
in our neighborhood a farmer who was
usually reported to be a very liberal man
and uncommonly upright in his dealings.
When he had any of the produce of his
farm to dispose of, he made it an invari
able rule to give good measure —rather
more than -would be required of him.
One of his friends observing him fre
quently doing so, questioned him as to
why he did it; he told him he gave too
much, and said it ■would bo to his disad
vantage. How mark the answer of this
excellent man :
u God has permitted me but one jour
ney through the world, and when I am
gone I cannot return to rectify mistakes.”
Think of tins. There is out one jour
ney through life.
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