380 LIEUT.-COL. D. C. PHILLOTT : 



are those in this world wilier than you." The lady understood that what had happened 

 was the work of the first young merchant and went off to her home. Then the mer- 

 chants loaded up and leaving Kirman returned to Bandar-i 'Abbas to the father of 

 Khwaja Ibrahim, to whom they related the whole adventure. The father turned to his 

 son and said, " My son, did I not tell you that the women of Kirman are deeply wily, 

 but you gave no ear to me ? Had your companions not been with you, you would 

 either have died in that chest, or else have lost all that you possessed." The son saw 

 that a mere man can fathom naught of the deceit of women, and that the wiser a man 

 is the less he knows of the subject. Out of conceit with himself, he erased his treatise on 

 the wiles of women and cast it from him.' 



II. 



THE THREE COMPANIONS. 



The Adven- Three friends joined together to go somewhere or other and, by swindles, to try to 



Scald-head ' obtain a livelihood. One had a thin beard/ one had a scald head, and one was an opium- 

 smoker. All three went to Isfahan. There they cast lots amongst themselves to see 

 who should first try his hand. By chance the lot fell on Scald-head. He went 

 out and found himself outside a cook-shop. There he stood thinking, for he owned 

 not a single farthing. He said to himself, " I'll go in and get a full meal. At the worst 

 I shall get a good drubbing." So he dashed into the shop and calling to the cook's 

 mate said, " Hie ! go and bring such and such dishes," for, said he to himself, "as I 

 am to get a beating let me at least have a really good meal." He tucked up his 

 sleeves and sat down at his ease to eat. When he had finished, the head of the 

 shop came and asked for payment. Scald-head began to look hither and thither 

 when, by chance, his eyes lighted on the cash- receipts box and he saw that there was 

 one gold coin in it. " Oh man ! " said he, "haven't I just paid you a sovereign? 

 Give me my change. Do you want to swindle me ? " The head saw that the aspect 

 of affairs was bad. He seized Scald-head with one hand by the collar, and with 

 the other by the throat, and carried him to the wall, and banged his head against it 

 till it began to bleed. As soon as Scald-head saw this he began to sham violent injuries 

 and cried out, " Help ! I'm attacked ! I'm killed ! I'm robbed ! " It chanced that the 

 Chief of the Police was passing by. When he saw this state of affairs he asked what had 

 happened. Scald-head pulled himself forward and said, " Oh master ! I took a 

 meal, and tendered him a sovereign, and now I want my change. This fellow has beat- 

 en me and broken my head. It [the sovereign] is still in his cash-box." The chief of 



1 A Persian manuscript is said to exist called the " Wiles of Women" probably a translation from the Arabic. I, however, 

 failed to obtain a copy in Persia, being assured that the work no longer existed, as the original had been destroyed as explained in 

 the conclusion of this tale. 



2 Kusa, adj., generally translated 'thin-beard,' is one with a beard on the chin only, like a Chinaman, the side whiskers being 

 either absent or sparse. 'Umar is said to have had this defect. A kusa is generally compared to a he-goat. The opposite to 

 kusa is rish-pahn ; vulgarly rlsh-chapa Tup-rish or rish-gappa is " thickly bearded ; with a thick beard." 



S Ustdd may mean either the owner of the shop or the manager. 



