394 
t\ H. MALYON ON 
“ Fourthly, lay wagers with no one, for a wager is an evil thing.” 
“ P'ifthly, do not disclose your own affairs to your wife, — for women, too, are 
evil, and whatsoever they hear from you, that very hour they will repeat it to their 
lovers. As, for example, there was once a man who prayed God for riches, and his 
prayer was after this fashion, c O God, give me riches, even upon my hearth ! ’ One 
day he had gone forth, when he hurt his foot slightly. He took up a handful of soil 
(i.e. to rub it with), and as he did so, he perceived a jar of rupees (buried). But 
the man said, ‘ O God, I begged for them even upon my hearth, but thou givest 
them to me outdoors; and therefore I take them not, for if it were Thy will to 
bestow them on me, then wouldst Thou give them even upon my hearth.’ vSo the 
man left all those rupees where the}^ were ; and when he reached home, he told his 
wife of the occurrence. The woman immediately slipped off, and told her lover, 
saying, ‘ My husband found rupees in such and such a place, but the blockhead did 
not bring them. Go, then, and get them for yourself.’ The suggestion quickly 
commended itself to the lover, and off he went after the rupees. When he arrived 
at the place, he found the rupee-jar, but when he lifted the lid, lo ! the whole jar 
was full of adders and vipers. Then into the man’s mind came the thought, ‘ That 
woman must be my enemy ! ’ So he replaced the lid, and raised the jar. Now, 
above the fireplace of the man who had seen the rupees first, was a skylight ; and 
through this skylight the lover emptied (the contents of) his jar. When dawn came, 
the other man got up to perform his prayers, and what does he see but that his 
hearth is full of rupees. So he gave thanks to God, that, 1 Now thou hast given 
them to me even upon my hearth.’ ” * * * 
“ So, fellow- wayfarer,” (continued the faqir), “ you, too, may be sure of this, 
that whatsoever you tell to your wife, that matter will not remain a secret.” 
“ Very good,” said the man who was on his way back to Tirah, I will act 
accordingly.” 
Now it happened that this same man had with him a load ; and at this point of 
their journey the faqir, — the same who had received the five loaves, — separated from 
him. 
The man had gone on only a short distance further, when his bundle slipped, 
and he called out to the faqir from where he was in rear, “ Hi man ! Ho man ! 
The faqir, however, returned no answer ; but when the man fell to screaming he 
at length replied, saying, “ O you foolish fellow ! Indeed I warned you, that with 
whomsoever you find yourself in company on the road, first of all learn that man’s 
name. Why did you not take my advice ? ’ ’ 
And with that he re-adjusted the man’s load. ***** 
A few days later, our man, — he who had given the five loaves in exchange for 
counsel, — arrived on the Frontier, and directed his steps towards a village. Now in 
this village had been constructed a very pleasant (resting) place, with all manner of 
chairs there. So in the man went, and seated himself upon a chair that took his 
fancy. A moment later another man entered , and gave him a sound cuff over the 
head (demanding), “ What do you mean by sitting yourself on a chair ? 
