MOORISH STORIES AND FABLES, 475 



3. The Snake, the Hedgehog, the Man, and the Hunters. 



The Hedgehog personates the Kadi. 

 The Hunters „ the Soldiers. 



The Snake „ the People. 



The Man „ the Sanctuary. 



Once upon a time there were some hunters, who went out 

 to hunt a fairy embodied as a snake. The snake beiug pursued 

 meeting with a man passing by, said to him, ' Will you afford 

 me protection, for there are hunters following, who want to 

 catch me 1 ' The man answered, ' Very well,' and allowed the 

 snake to be concealed in his clothes ; presently the hunters came 

 up to the man and asked him whether he had seen a snake, to 

 which he answered no, and the hunters passed on in pursuit. 

 After the hunters had left, the man asked the snake to go down. 

 The snake said, ' No, and if you attempt to force me down, I 

 will kill you.' The man said to the snake, ' Very well, let us 

 go to the Kadi and hear what the law says.' The snake said, 

 ' Very well, come along.' So they went on till they came to 

 the hedgehog, who was Kadi ; and the man said, ' Your servant, 

 my lord ; here is a snake that I have saved from the hunters, 

 and I have told him to get down, but he would not.' The 

 hedgehog addressed the snake, and Said, ' I will decide the law 

 for you, but first get down.' The snake at once got down, and 

 then demanded of the hedgehog what the law said. The Kadi 

 then addressed the man as follows : ' The snake is on the ground 

 and a stick is in your hand.' The man, taking the hint, struck 

 the snake on the head and killed it. 



4. The Sheep, the Fox, the Lion, and the Shepherd. 



Once upon a time a fox met a lion, and the lion, addressing 

 the fox, said, ' WUl you be my servant to catch sheep for me 1 

 The fox said, ' I will, if you wiU give me my share.' The lion 

 said, ' No, and if you eat a single bit, I wUl kill you.' ' Very 

 well,' said the fox, ' if that is the bargain, I will agree to go 

 hunt for you.' So away went the fox and hunted about till he 

 found some sheep, one of which he killed and ate. He then 

 went off to the owner of the sheep and said, ' The lion sent me 

 to hunt your sheep for him, but I would not do so, and he came 



