La Montaña Dorada

The pirates thought well of this plan, and came upon the maidens’ ship, and the maidens showed them the treasures that were there. Then the princess said, "Let each man take his wife according to his station, and I will become the wife of the chieftain. But let us not all wed at once; let there be a wedding each day, and the chief shall be the last to wed."

To this they also agreed, and then she brought out her good wine and said, "This wine I had hidden until my true husband should come to take me, but now let us drink the wine!" She gave them twelve flagons of wine, and cried, "Let each man drink to all the others here!"

The pirates drank, and fell drunk asleep.

At once the princess said to her maidens, "Now go, and each of you kill her man." So they threw all the pirates into the sea; then they looked in the robbers' hiding place and found great stores of silver and gold and precious stones. The women said, "We will take no copper or silver, but only gold and jewels!" They took the silks and spices out of their ship, and filled it instead with gold and precious

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stones. And then they decided to dress themselves as men, so they made men's clothing for themselves, and wore it.

In another land there was a king who had an only son; he found a wife for his son, and gave him the kingdom to rule. One day the young ruler said to his wife, "Let us go out upon a ship so that you may be accustomed to the air of the sea, if by chance we should one day have to escape that way."

They took a great ship, and with many courtiers and companions, they went sailing on the sea. They were merry, and sang, and drank, and became hot with merriment, until the prince cried, "Let us take off our clothes!" So they took off their garments, and were all cool in the soft breeze. In jest they cried, "Who can climb to the top of the mast?" The prince said, "I will do it!" and at once he began to climb.

Just then the ship of the maidens came into the same waters, and the princess espied the other vessel; at first she feared to approach it, but when she saw that it was filled with clowns and jesters, and could not be a pirate ship, she drew closer.

Hair had fallen out of the prince's head, so that there was a small round spot that was bald. And when the princess saw the shining bald head of the naked man upon the mast, she cried to her maidens, "Look! I can throw that bald-headed man from the mast!"

They said, "How can you do it? You are so far away?"

"I'll wait until he has reached the tip of the mast, for then he will fall into the sea, while if he is lower, he will fall back on the ship," she said.

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They watched as he climbed, and when the man was at the tip of the mast, the princess took a burning-glass, and turned its rays upon the uncovered place on his head, and the rays pierced into his brain, his brain seethed, he let go his hold, and fell from the peak of the mast into the sea.

A great wail of terror arose on the prince's ship, for his people did not dare return home without their prince. Then some saw the other boat and cried, "Let us go near that ship, perhaps they have a physician who may help us."

They came to the maidens who were dressed as men, and asked if a doctor might be among them. "I am a physician," the princess said.

"Our prince has fallen into the sea, and he is dead!" they cried.

"Take him out of the sea, and let me look on him," she commanded.

They took the body of the prince from the sea; she looked at him, and felt his hand, and said, "His brain has been burned. He is dead."

When they found that the prince's brain had indeed been burned, they were amazed at the skill of the great physician and they begged, "Come back to our land, and be our king's physician."

The two vessels sailed together; meanwhile the courtiers of the first ship thought, "Let this physician marry the dead prince's bride, and be our king!" But they were ashamed to suggest to the queen that she marry a mere physician. Meanwhile the queen began to love the physician, for she did not know that he was in truth another woman; but she was afraid to marry him because the courtiers might not think it

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fitting for her to marry a man who was not a nobleman.

So neither the courtiers nor the queen spoke their thoughts, until the courtiers planned to make a festival, "and during the festival," they said to one another, "we can speak out."

So it was. They made the feast upon the physician's ship, and the physician, who was the true princess, gave them of her rare wine to drink, and they spoke their thoughts out loud. "How wonderful it would be if the queen married the physician!"

Then the physician said, "That would indeed be wonderful, but it should not be heard from a drunken mouth!"

The queen, too, spoke out and said, "It would be a beautiful marriage, if only the countrymen would consent to it!"

And the physician said, "Their consent might be asked, but soberly."

When they were no longer drunken they were at first ashamed to look at each other because of what they had said, but soon the word began to be whispered again, and at last it was said openly, "The queen will marry the physician."

So they came to the shore of their kingdom, and the people ran to meet them, for it was a long time since the prince had sailed away, and in that time his aged father had died and they were without any king. Now the people were told, "The prince died many days ago; but on the seas we took a new king to ourselves, for the queen has married again."

The people were happy that they had a king to rule them, and the king, who was really the true princess,

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ordered that a great wedding feast should be made in the palace, and commanded that to this feast should come all the exiles, and all the hunted men, and all the lost people who were in that land. This command was made known over all the kingdom.

Then the true princess disguised as physician and king declared that fountains of water should be made all over the city, so that whoever wanted to drink might find water; and she further commanded that a portrait of the new king should be placed over each well.

"Let watchmen be stationed near the portraits," she declared, "and if any man comes, and drinks, and looks on my portrait and recognizes it, and shows surprise or anger in his face, let him be taken and set in prison."

Everything was done as she had said.

And the first prince, who was her true husband, answered the command for lost people to come to the wedding; he came to the city and drank at a fountain, and when he saw her portrait over the fountain he recognized her, and cried out. Then the watchmen took him and put him in prison.

Then the merchant came, who had been her groom and had been driven from his home because of her, and he drank, and saw her portrait, and his face became clouded with anger. He was taken and put in prison.

Third, there came a king, who had been her groom, and had been driven from his kingdom because of her; and he drank, and saw her portrait, and spoke angrily; then he was taken, and put in prison.

The princess disguised as the king ordered the prisoners

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[Wedding Feast]

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Wedding Feast

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to be brought before her; they came, and did not recognize her because of her manly garments, but she knew them, all three. To one she said, "You, king, were driven from your land because of the eleven noble maidens who were stolen: here are your maidens, now return to your land and to your throne." To the second she said, "You, merchant, were driven from your home because of your ship that was stolen: here is your ship, take it and go home, and because it was borrowed from you for so long a time, you will find it filled with gold and precious stones in place of lesser wares." And to the last, she said as she arose and revealed her true self, "You, my prince, come here to me, and we two will go home together."

And so they returned to their own kingdom.

THE CRIPPLE

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THE CRIPPLE

WHO NEVER FORGOT TO WATER THE TREES

There was a Sage who, when he was about to die, called all his sons to him and gave them his last words. "Your task shall be the watering of trees," he said to them. "You may occupy yourselves with other things also, but you must never forget to water the trees." The Sage died, and left many sons. One among them was a cripple who could stand on his feet, but could not walk; and as he was unable to work for a living, his brothers gave him a share of their earnings. Their gifts were greater than his needs, so that little by little he saved a goodly sum of money. Then he thought, "I can now earn my own living by setting myself up as a merchant." As he could not walk, he bought a carriage, hired a servant and a coachman, and put all of his gold into a casket to take with him on the road to Leipzig. His brothers thought well of the cripple's plan to become a merchant, and gave him more money that he might thrive in his undertaking.

He rode forth on the highway. When the wagon came to a village the servant said, "Let us pass the night here" But the cripple wanted to go further, and commanded the servants against their wishes. They drove on, and lost their way in a forest.

Once there had been a famine in that land; then a man had come into the hungering city and cried, "Whoever would eat, let him come with me!" Many men ran to him, and he chose those of whom he had need. To one he said, "You might do as a workman," to another, "You might be a watchman," and so he

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gathered many clever young men about him and took them into the forest where he taught them to be thieves, for he said, "The highway to Leipzig and to Breslau passes through these woods, and many rich merchants go that way."

When the carriage of the cripple passed, the robbers fell upon it. The servant and the coachman, who had legs, fled; but the cripple could only remain on the wagon.

The brigands came up to him and cried, "Why are you sitting there?"

"I am a cripple, and cannot move," he told them. So they took away his casket of gold, and they took the horses from the wagon, and they left him sitting there alone.

The cripple ate all the food he had brought with him, but when that was gone he did not know how he would live. At last he threw himself from the wagon to the earth.

Night came; he was alone in that wilderness. There were strange noises, then everything was still, and he became so frightened that his remaining strength went from him, and he could no longer stand on his feet, but could only drag himself along the ground.

In the day, he was very hungry, and he ate the grass that grew about him. When he had eaten all the wild grain he could reach, he pulled himself farther along the ground, and ate again. And so he lived, until one day he came to a plant that was like no other plant he had ever seen. He had eaten many sorts of grass, but never found any that pleased him so much as this, and he decided to pull it out entirely by its roots. As he did so, he found a four-sided token tangled in the

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roots of the plant. On each edge of the token another message was inscribed. On one side, he read: "Whoever takes hold of this side of the token shall be carried to the place where day and night meet, and where the sun and moon come together." Since the cripple had taken hold of the token by that side when he found it in the roots of the plant, he was at once transported to the place of the sun and the moon. Then he heard the sun talking with the moon.

"There is a great tree that has many branches," said the sun, "and it is covered with leaves and fruit. Every twig, every leaf, every fruit has a power in itself. One brings wealth, another brings children, while still others heal all sorts of illnesses. If only that tree were watered, it would have a wondrous growth! But I am powerless to water the tree; instead, I shine upon it, and make it more arid and thirsty."

Then the moon said, "You are worried about others, but I have my own worries. For I have a thousand hills surrounded by another thousand hills, and there the demons live. They have no strength in their legs, for their feet are the feet of fowls; because of that, they steal strength out of my legs, and no strength remains in me. Once, I found a dust that healed my feet, but the wind came and blew the dust away."

The sun said to the moon, "I can tell you of a remedy. I know of a Way that divides into many ways; one is the path of the Tsadikim, for if the dust of that path is spread under a man's feet, and he steps upon that dust, he is at once a holy Tsadik; then there is a way of Unbelievers, for if the dust of that path is spread before a man and he walks a few steps upon it, he

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becomes an Unbeliever; and there is a way of Madmen, for the dust of that path makes men into Madmen. There are all sorts of ways, many of which heal illnesses, and among them is a path for those who have no strength in their legs. Holy men have been persecuted and led in chains by their over-lords, until their legs could support them no longer; but when their chained feet walked upon the dust of the healing way, they had new strength, and could walk. Go there, for the dust is thick on that path, and it will be a remedy for you."

All this the cripple heard; then he looked on the token that he held and saw the writing on the second side: "Whoever grasps this side of the token shall be carried to the Way that divides into many ways." He grasped the token on that side, and at once found himself at the parting of the ways.

Then he walked on the dust that was a remedy for crippled feet, and at once he was healed. He went and gathered the dust of all the different ways, and made separate packages, one with the dust of madmen, another with the dust of Tsadikim, and so with every kind of dust; he took the packages, and returned to the woods where he had been robbed.

First he chose a high tree over the robber's lane. Then he mixed some of the dust of Tsadikim with some of the madmen's dust, and spread the mixture upon the road, and climbed into his tree and waited.

The robber chief had sent some of his men out to spy upon the highway; they came, and as soon as they set foot upon the dust they were turned to Tsadikim, and they began to bemoan their days that had been

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spent in thieving and plundering, and they tore their breasts for the number of men they had murdered. But since the dust of madness was mingled with the dust of virtue, the thieves became mad Tsadikim, and one began to accuse the other of having brought them to murder, they quarrelled, and struck blows, and fought until they had killed each other, every one. Meanwhile the chieftain sent out other robbers to seek for those who had not returned, and they also walked on the same dust, and became mad Tsadikim, and fought and slew each other.

The healed cripple watched, until he knew that all the bandits had been killed, save the chief and one other. Then he went down from the tree and spread the pure dust of Tsadikim on the ground, and went back to his tree and waited.

The robber chief wondered why none of his band had returned, until at last he went out with his companion to find them. But as soon as he set foot upon the path he became a true Tsadik, and he held his head and moaned for the evil that he had done, and he tore his breast because of the murders he had committed, and he cried aloud over his sins, and begged for punishment.

Now the healed cripple came down from the tree. The chieftain ran to him begging, "Pronounce a punishment upon me!"

"First," the cripple said, "return the casket of gold that you took from me."

Each thing that was robbed, and the name of the person from whom it had been taken, was recorded in the book of the chieftain. "I'll give you your casket at once!" he cried, "and I'll give you all the other

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treasures that I have stolen! Only tell me how I may be punished!"

"You must go to the city and say that you are he who once came in time of famine and called out for men to follow you, and you must give account of the robberies you have done, and the people you have killed, and the treasures you have stolen. That is your punishment," the cripple said.

Then the robber gave him all the stolen treasures, and they went into the city, where the robber cried out all his sins.

"Let us hang him," said the people of the city, "as an example for all other robbers." So he was hanged.

Then the healed cripple thought, "I will go to the two thousand mountains of the moon." And he took hold of another side of the token, and came to a place from which he could see all that happened in those mountains; he saw that they were filled with thousands of myriads of demon families whose countless numbers grew ever greater, for demons are fruitful and multiply as men. He saw their King seated upon a throne such as no man sits upon, while his subjects tumbled and sprang before him, and jested with wild laughter, telling him of their pranks.

"I tore an arm from a man!" one demon cried.

"I tore a leg from a man!" another demon boasted.

"I tore a babe from its mother!" cried a third.

And they laughed and were joyous.

But meanwhile the cripple saw two elderly demons,

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father and mother, walking and weeping. Then they were asked why they wept.

"Each day our son would go out on his way," they said, "and return in his time; but today the time is long gone by, and he has not returned." Then they were brought before the King of Demons, and he commanded his servitors to go out over all the earth to find the missing one.

As the mother and father went from the King, they met a younger demon who had gone forth with their son, and they asked for news of their son.

"He is in torment!" the young one cried. "For we had an island on the sea, but an Emperor came who owned that island, and he wanted to build a palace there. The Emperor began to build foundations, but your son said, 'Let us tear his strength from him!' So we took away his strength. The Emperor called all his doctors, but they could not bring back his strength; then he called his magicians, and among them there was one who knew the Name of your son's family of demons, though he did not know of mine. By that Name, the magician caught your son, and he keeps him now in his power, and never ceases tormenting him."

The escaped one was brought before the King of Demons, and he told his story again. Then the great Demon said, "Let the Emperor's strength be returned to him, that the boy may be freed."

But the youthful demon said, "Among us there was one who had no strength, and we gave him the strength that we took from the Emperor."

"Take the strength back from your friend, and

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return it to the Emperor!" the King of Demons commanded.

"But our friend has become a Cloud," the youthful one said.

"Send a messenger to the Cloud, and command him to come before me!" the King of Demons decreed.

Then an emissary was sent for the Cloud. And the cripple, who had listened to the Demons all that while, thought, "I will go after the messenger, and see how an evil spirit may turn into a cloud." He went, and came to a city that lay under a vast and darksome cloud. Then the cripple asked a man in the city, "Is your city always so dark and cool?"

"There never before was a cloud over our city," the man replied. "But a short time ago this darkness came and covered the sky."

Just then the Demon's emissary called to the Cloud, and it went away with him.

"I'll follow again, and hear what they say!" the cripple thought. So he followed the Cloud, and heard it talking with the messenger.

"How did you come to take the form of a cloud over that city?" the messenger asked.

The Cloud answered, "Here is the story. Once there was a Sage who lived in a kingdom whose ruler was a terrible unbeliever, and that ruler demanded that all of his people become unbelievers. Then the Sage called together all his kin and said, 'You see that the King would make all the nation into unbelievers. Some of our own kind have already followed him. Then let us go into the desert, in order that we may not be torn from our faith.' All agreed, and the Sage

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uttered a Name, and they found themselves in a wilderness. But that desert did not please him, so again he uttered a Name, and they were brought to a second wilderness; this also failed to please him; a third time he spoke the Name, and now they were brought to a desert that pleased him. And that desert was not far from the two thousand mountains of the moon.

"When they had chosen their place, the Sage drew a circle about them; and no power might break through that circle. There let us leave the Sage and all his family," the Cloud said, "while we speak of the Tree.

"There is a Tree that stands just beyond the two thousand mountains, and if that Tree were watered, all of our demon kind would come to an end, for there would be no more ill on earth. In order to keep the earth's water from coming to the Tree, numbers of demons stand near that Tree and dig the earth, day and night, to make a pit around it."

"Why must they remain forever digging?" the messenger asked. "Would it not suffice to dig the pit once?"

The Cloud answered, "There are whispering demons among us who go about the earth and whisper and murmur to one king and another, until they bring the kings to make war upon each other; then the earth quakes with war, and the soil tumbles back into the pit that is digged about the Tree. Then water might come to the Tree, and end our lives. So we must stand forever digging the pit, that no water may come to the tree.

"Whenever a King is crowned among us, and

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demons tumble and make merry before him, and tell him how they have torn arms and legs from men, and torn apart infants, then the King becomes joyful and his heart feels strong; he gathers about him all the lords of his kingdom, and walks over the two thousand hills with them; he leads them to the place of the Tree, and they try to see who may have the strength to uproot that Tree and put an end to the danger that stands against our kingdom. The King strengthens his heart that he may not fear the Tree, but as soon as he approaches it the Tree sends forth a great cry, and the King is frightened, and must turn back.

"Once there was a great King among us who held a marvellous feast, and when he had heard of the deeds of all his demons his heart was filled with strength, and he went out with his princes to pull up the Tree by its roots; but as he came to it the Tree cried out so terribly that even he was frightened, and he turned away, but with awful anger. As he turned, he saw men in the wilderness, for the Sage and his family lived there. Then the King sought to vent his anger upon them, and he called his demons, and sent them to tear apart that family.

"As the people saw the demons coming they were frightened, but the Sage said, 'Have no fear.'

"The demons could not approach the people because of the magic circle about their place. The King sent more and more armies against the Sage's people, but not all the warriors among all our myriads could pierce the Sage's circle. At last the King, in great wrath, strode to the border himself, and beat against it with his sword, but he could not get in. And when

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his fury was spent, he begged, 'Let me come in within your circle.'

"At once the Sage replied, 'Since you ask, I will let you in among us. And since a King must not walk alone, you may bring a companion with you.' Then the Sage opened a little door, and allowed them to come in, and locked the circle after them.

"The King cried, 'How do you come to live upon my land?'

"'It is not your land,' the Sage replied, 'but mine.'

"The King said, 'Are you not afraid of me?'

"The Sage answered, 'I have no fear of you.'

"'You have no fear of me?' the King cried out again, and he drew himself up until his form towered to the very heavens. But the Sage replied, 'I have no fear of you at all; but if I wish it, I can make you fear me.' Then he went away and prayed, and at once a great cloud formed, and there was thunder in the heavens, and thunder is the death of demons."

All this the Cloud told the messenger. Then he continued:

"All the princes who stood outside the circle waiting for the King were killed at once by that thunder; and only the King and his companion remained alive.

"Then the King begged the Sage to put an end to the thunder; and the thunder ceased. The King was grateful and said, 'Since you are indeed a noble man, I will give you a book in which the Names of all our families of Demons are written. Among mankind there are masters of Names who know how to call one family, and not even all of that family. But you will know us every one, for even the Names of the newborn are written in the book of the King.' Then the

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[paragraph continues] King sent his companion, and thus it was shown how wise the Sage had been to cause him to bring a companion; and the book was brought. The Sage opened the book and saw that it was filled with thousands of myriads of Names.

"The King promised also that not one of the Sage's people should ever be harmed by demons. 'I will keep in my kingdom a portrait of each of your family,' the King said, 'and whenever a new babe is born among you, his image too shall be with us, so that the demons may know not to harm him.' Then the King went out of the circle, and returned into the hills.

"At last the time came for the Sage to leave the world, and he called his children to him and said, I leave you this book of Names, but know that although I have the power to use this book in purity, I have not made any use of it; and you also, even if one of you may have the power to use it in purity, let him make no use of it, but take his strength only from his belief in the Wonderful Name.'

"The Sage died, and his grandson became heir to the book. He, too, had the power to use it in purity, and yet he did not do so, but relied only upon the power of the Wonderful Name.

"But once the evil whisperers came to him, and spoke to him of his daughters. 'You have grown daughters, and no wealth with which to dower them. Make use of the book,' they said. He did not know that they who spoke were demons, but believed it was the voice of his own heart. Nevertheless he was uneasy, and he went to the grave of his grandfather, the Sage.

"He called to the grave and said, 'Grandfather, I

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remember well your command that the book should never be used, and I have until now relied upon my belief in the Wonderful Name. But now my heart tells me to make use of the Demon's book!'

"Then his grandfather spoke to him from the grave, saying, 'Even though you have power to use the book in purity, shun it, and rely only upon your belief in the Wonderful Name. Then the Name will help you.' The grandson returned, and did not touch the book.

"Then there came a day when the Emperor of that land where the Sage's family lived became sick, and no physician could cure him, for he suffered from the heat that was over his city. At last he commanded the Jews to pray for him to make him well.

"Then there was consternation among the Sage's people, for they feared the wrath of the Emperor if they could bring no cure for his illness.

"But our own King of Demons learned that the Sage's grandson had never made use of the book of our Names, although he had power to do so in purity. And our King was grateful to that man, who had power over us, but brought no hardship upon us. And our King desired to reward the Sage's grandson, and all his people, by helping them out of their danger. So the King commanded me to become a cloud and to hang over that city, that it might become cool, and that the Emperor might be healed of his illness. Therefore I became a cloud."

The cripple heard the Cloud tell this story, and then he saw the Cloud brought before the King of Demons. And the King took away all the Cloud's strength and returned it to that first Emperor who

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was building a palace on his island. That Emperor's magician released the imprisoned young demon, who returned to his father and mother. But the young demon was weak because of the punishment he had undergone, and in wrath at the magician who had tormented him. So he plotted with all his family of demons to revenge himself upon that magician.

But there are Whisperers among the demons; they heard the plot and warned the magician. He called to him other wizards who knew the Names of families of demons, and they made ready to do battle.

Then, in the two thousand hills of the moon, it was learned that the Whisperers had betrayed their own kind. And there came a division among the demons; some were with the Families, and some were with the Whisperers.

Once it happened that several of the Whisperers had to stand watch together with several demons of of the Families. Then the Demons of the Families made a plot, and went to the King with a false accusation against the Whisperers, saying they had whispered treason. The King believed the accusation, and at once caused the death of several of the Whisperers.

Now all the remaining Whisperers were furious at this injustice, and they went up on earth and brewed trouble among all the kings of earth, so that there was hunger, and pestilence, and death everywhere among men and among demons of the earth; then the whole world shook with the violence of battle, and earthquakes came of war. And then the walls of the Demon's pit fell inward, and the soil filled the pit and pressed against the Tree, and the water passed through the earth to the Tree, and the Tree drank.

And all the Demons perished.

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"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

"The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away."

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THE BULL AND THE RAM

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THE BULL AND THE RAM

WHO ENDED THE REIGN OF THE TYRANT KING

Once in a far country there was a king who issued a decree commanding all the Jews in his kingdom to be converted to his faith; those who would not be converted lost all their possessions and were driven into exile.

Many Jews gave up all their riches and in poverty fled the land; others could not part with their possessions, and became converted; and still others pretended to become converted, but in secret continued to be Jews. Every day they would go to a synagogue hidden underground, and they would bind over their arms the phylacteries made of bull's hide, and put over their shoulders the prayer-shawl with fringes of tam's wool, and they would say the morning prayer. There, in secret, they performed the rites of marriage, of circumcision, of holiday.

After a short time, the king died, and his son ruled. The son was a clever tyrant; he governed well, but with a strong hand; and those powers that had formerly belonged to the noblemen, he took to himself, until the noblemen of the kingdom came to hate him bitterly for robbing them of their ancient rights. Then the barons came together and formed a conspiracy. "We will murder the king, and all his family, and we will rule in his stead," they whispered, one to the other.

But in the band of noblemen there was one of the wealthy Jews who had only pretended to be converted in order to remain in the kingdom, and now he thought: "Of what use is my life of lies? I pretended

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[CIRCUMCISION]

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conversion because I could not part with my riches, or bear to leave the court of the king. But if the king is killed the country will fall into turmoil and I will lose everything, for a country cannot exist without a king, and one man will swallow up another."

So he decided to go secretly to the king and warn him of the plot against him. The king set spies, to make sure that the former Jew had told the truth, and the night came on which the noblemen had planned to murder the young king, his infant son, and all the royal family.

Then the conspirators crept into the king's chamber, with their knives drawn; but the king lay awake, and his spies were hidden all about the room; the murderers were captured, and they were all punished as befitted their intended crime. But the king remembered the converted Jew who had warned him of their plot, and he desired to reward the Jew.

"What reward shall I give you?" he asked of the loyal man. "I cannot give you nobility, for you are already a nobleman; and gold would be no gift to you, for you are already exceedingly rich. Then tell me what you want me to do for you, and I will do it."

The nobleman said, "Will you indeed give me whatever I ask?"

"Whatever you ask!" declared the king.

"Will you swear by your crown and your kingdom?"

The king placed his hand upon his crown and said, "I swear it by my crown and by my kingdom."

"Then," said the pretended convert, "let me again be a Jew before all the world, let me wear my

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prayer-shawl and phylacteries in the morning, and practise my religion in freedom."

When the king heard this he was angry, for in all his land there was not one Jew who dared wrap himself in a praying-shawl, or wear phylacteries against the former king's decree. Nevertheless, as he had sworn by his crown and his country, he was forced to grant the Jew his request.

The next morning, and every day thereafter, the Jew stood where all might see, and wrapped in the splendour of his praying-shawl, with the phylacteries on his arms and forehead, he prayed as his fathers had prayed.

And there came a time, and that king died, and his son reigned in his stead. Now the son remembered how his father had been a tyrant, and how the noblemen had plotted to kill him, so the son instead was a mild and good king, and a learned man; his country prospered, and he took many other countries and ruled over them.

When a son was born to him in his turn, the king remembered the plot to kill all his father's family, and he wanted to make his crown secure for his own son, so he called all the seers of the kingdom into his palace and said, "Tell me, by what power may my seed be cut off, that I may be warned against it."

The seers consulted the stars, and answered, "No power can destroy your family, but you must beware of the bull and the ram."

Then this was written in the Book of the King: "Beware of the Bull and the Ram." When he was old, the king gave the book to his son, and he said to his

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son, "Rule gently, and with wisdom." Then the third king died, and his son ruled in his stead.

But the fourth king was like the second king, harsh in his ways, and a tyrant; he too captured many other nations and added them to his kingdom. He remembered the warning in the Book of Kings, and in order to make sure that no harm could come to him and his seed, he commanded that every bull and every ram should be driven from his kingdom. And this was done, until not a bull or ram remained in all that land.

Then the king thought of a plan by which he might capture all the world, and without a single battle. For this king too was very learned, and he knew that the whole world was divided into seven parts, while seven planets went round the heavens, one to light each day, and each planet went with one of the world's seven continents; and he knew that each of the seven parts of the world possessed one of the seven kinds of metal of which the world is made, so that each metal possessed the light of the planet that went with its continent!

Then the king sent messengers to all parts of the earth, commanding that the seven metals of the earth be brought to him. They brought him silver and copper and gold, and with the gold they brought all the golden portraits of all the kings on earth; then they brought all the other metals, and he took them, and had them made into the figure of a man. The head of the figure was of gold, the throat was of silver, and the trunk of the body and each limb was of another metal, so that in all the image was composed of the earth's seven metals. The king placed the statue upon

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the edge of a high mountain, and all the seven planets of the heavens turned around the image, and shone their light into it.

Then all over the world people knew that the image had a wondrous power, for if any man needed to know whether to do or not to do a certain thing, he would travel until he came to the statue on the mountain, and he would place himself before the part of the statue that was made of the metal of that part of the earth from which he came, and he would ask the statue whether or not he should do this thing. If the metal that was from his continent shone with light, then the answer was "yes!" and if the metal remained dark, its answer was "no!" And through the fame and power of this marvellous image, all the world came and paid homage to the king who had caused it to be made; and they brought him all their riches.

But yet he was not satisfied. And one night when the sky was dark with great clouds that stumbled one over the other, and the air was dank and cold, the king went out alone from his palace and climbed to the top of the mountain. There he stood before the giant that was made of the earth's seven metals. The shape could hardly be seen in the darkness. The king placed his hands upon it; the metal was cold, and his fingers felt frozen against it.

Then he cried out, "You that contain all riches and all wisdom! Answer me, can I become ruler of this world?"

Suddenly the great image became a column of glowing white fire; it was as though lightning stood before him. The face, the limbs, and every part of

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the moulded form, the gold, the silver, and every other metal glowed brilliantly in the cold darkness, and overhead amongst the clouds there was a terrific clash as of hailing trumpets.

The king was frightened, and then he was pleased, and he cried, "How may I become ruler of the world?"

Then the statue opened its golden mouth, and it spoke: "Humble the mighty, and raise the lowly."

It was silent; and the glow went out of the image. The king shivered. All about him was dark, and the air pressed against him as earth in a pit. He found his way back to the palace.

The words spoken by the golden mouth remained with him. "It is well," he thought, "if I cut down the mighty, for no one will remain to have power against me." Then he issued a decree. From all the noblemen, he took away their nobility; he dismissed all generals from their commands; he deprived the judges of their power to judge; and he made his governors into slaves. Even those men who had their titles of nobility from ancient times, and those officials who had won their honours from his father and his grandfather, lost their titles and their rights; all the mighty were cut down.

"So," the king thought, "I alone must have power. And I will raise no lowly man into power."

Then he called before him all those who remained who still had honours and rights, the proud lords of ancient lineage, and the mightiest generals: those among them who would not come were brought by force, and they were thrown upon their knees before him, and all were deprived of their rank. But among

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those whose names were written in the former king's book of honour was that Jew who had saved the royal family. And when this man was brought before the fourth king of that family, he was asked:

"What title have you?"

"None," the Jew replied.

"Then what command have you?"

Again he answered, "None."

"Then what privilege have you, that makes you higher than other men?"

"I am not higher than other men," said the aged Jew. "Only, many years ago, in the time of your highness's grandfather, I learned of a plot to kill the king and all the royal family, and because I warned him of that plot the king gave me back the right to worship freely and openly as a Jew, and to wear my praying-shawl and phylacteries, as my father had done before me."

The young king said, "This privilege shall be taken from you. You must become a convert, as you were."