Read Exempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924) in source order, passage by passage, with the close English translation where available and the original source text for checking.
424. Three Chests.
Baba Batra, f. 58 a.
Behrnauer, 40 Veziere, p. no.
cf. Benfey, Pantschat I, 407-
Burton, Supplemental Nights. IV, p. 6.
Gaster, Anuar p. Israelis 1879, P- 22 *•
Gaster, Beitrage, p. 6ff.
Gesta Rom. No. 251. Liebrecht, Zur Volks- kunde, p. 456. Lidzbarski, Neu-Aram. p- 258.
425. In time of drought the Rabbi was informed from Heaven to appeal to a merchant for intercession. He was
— 166 —
ashamed to call upon an apparently ignorant man but none the less did so. The merchant first believed that he was mocking at him but seeing he was in earnest brought out a pair of scales and said, “These scales are symbolical of the Divine Ineffable Name. If ever I have acted dishonestly and not kept the scales even let fire consume me. But if I have acted honestly, let rain fall.,, Rain fell in torrents.
In time of drought the Rabbi was informed from Heaven to appeal to a merchant for intercession. He was
ashamed to call upon an apparently ignorant man but none the less did so. The merchant first believed that he was mocking at him but seeing he was in earnest brought out a pair of scales and said, “These scales are symbolical of the Divine Ineffable Name. If ever I have acted dishonestly and not kept the scales even let fire consume me. But if I have acted honestly, let rain fall.,, Rain fell in torrents.
426. King Solomon was an excellent chess player. He played with Benaya his general and always won. Once a noise in the street drew Solomon to the window.
Benaya took a piece from the board and won the game. Solomon surprised, reconstructed the game afterwards and found out what Benaya had done. Determined to make him confess publicly, he disguised himself and drew some thieves into the treasuries of the king and locked them in the innermost chamber. In the morning he called the Sanhedrin together, Benaya being one of the members.
He asked what punishment a man deserved for stealing some of the king’s property. Benaya believing that he was meant confessed his guilt publicly. King Solomon smiled and said, “I am referring to some thieves in the treasury,” and was satisfied that he had made him confess by this clever ruse.
426. Solomon & Chess. Maase Buch No. 230. Helvicus, Historien, I, ch. 41, p. 181.
Tendlau, Fellmeier,
No. 116.
Ginzburg, IV, p. 172. Ben Gorion III, p. 77, 302.
Clouston, Eastern Romances, p. 250, 252 ft.
427. King Solomon was asked what was the meaning of his saying, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.” (Prov. 15, 17.) He said when he was driven from his throne he was wandering about from house to house. One man recognised him, took him in and fed him with dainty food, but at every meal and on every occasion he used to say, “What a pity and what a sorrow,” and so he reminded him of his former greatness and present state of poverty and misery. Therefore he used to go away broken-hearted. Another man, very poor, also took him in, excused his meagre fare and comforted him and thus he felt happy with the dinner of herbs for love was there.
428. A king once entered a school where the master was sitting at the desk with a rod in his hand. The children
prostrated themselve before the king but the master took no notice. The king, greatly surprised, called him to come before him the next day. He came, prostrated himself and made obeisance. Then the king asked him about his behaviour of yesterday and the teacher replied, “In the school I am the king. With loss of respect discipline goes. I teach the children loyalty to the king. If I prostrate myself as well I lose their respect and my power over the children which is increased if they see that I do not recognise even the king. But here I prostrate myself.” The king greatly approved of the teacher’s attitude.
A king once entered a school where the master was sitting at the desk with a rod in his hand. The children
prostrated themselve before the king but the master took no notice. The king, greatly surprised, called him to come before him the next day. He came, prostrated himself and made obeisance. Then the king asked him about his behaviour of yesterday and the teacher replied, “In the school I am the king. With loss of respect discipline goes. I teach the children loyalty to the king. If I prostrate myself as well I lose their respect and my power over the children which is increased if they see that I do not recognise even the king. But here I prostrate myself.” The king greatly approved of the teacher’s attitude.
429. A Jew who mixed with the Gentiles, had given up everything in order to carry favour with them. Once when he was invited to the prince, an enemy of his put some boys to jeer at him and call out, “Jew, Jew.” When he heard it, the man threw some gold pieces to them.
Asked by the prince why he had done so he told him the story of a man who had squandered all his fortune and was left with one pearl. This he had pledged with a man from whom he borrowed various sums. At last the man said he preferred to buy the pearl for he could not lend any more on it. The other refused to part with it, for he wanted to be known as the owner of the pearl.
Similarly he, the Jew, had squandered everything left him by his parents and he was glad to have been reminded that he was still the owner of the pearl, i. e., a Jew. For that he rewarded them. He then returned to his faith.
A Jew who mixed with the Gentiles, had given up everything in order to carry favour with them. Once when he was invited to the prince, an enemy of his put some boys to jeer at him and call out, “Jew, Jew.” When he heard it, the man threw some gold pieces to them. Asked by the prince why he had done so he told him the story of a man who had squandered all his fortune and was left with one pearl.
This he had pledged with a man from whom he borrowed various sums. At last the man said he preferred to buy the pearl for he could not lend any more on it. The other refused to part with it, for he wanted to be known as the owner of the pearl. Similarly he, the Jew, had squandered everything left him by his parents and he was glad to have been reminded that he was still the owner of the pearl, i. e., a Jew. For that he rewarded them. He then returned to his faith.
430. At the court of a king there lived a Jew who was very handsome. The wife of the minister fell in love with him, but he refused her advances. After a time she gave birth to a boy and so also did his own wife. The two boys looked exactly like one another and could not be distinguished one from the other. The king who heard of it took the two children and brought them up in the palace; one of them had a sign but only the king knew of it. When they had grown up the parents came to ask for their children, but no one could distinguish them so he sent for the Rabbi
and asked him to find out which was the son of the Jew and which of the minister. The rabbi told him to bring grapes, some still on the bunch and the others picked singly and put in a basket. He who took the bunch would be the Jew and so it happened. The king asked the rabbi the reason and was told, “The Jews cluster together like the grapes in a bunch. They must keep together whilst the others live separately and therefore the Jew took hold of the bunch and the other of the single grapes/'
431, A Jewish merchant sold his wares in a distant land at great profit. A man who had noticed it returned home with him in the caravan and induced him to remain a little behind. Then he robbed him of all he possessed and was on the point of killing him, saying, “If I spare your life you are sure to tell." When the Jew was dying he saw a bird on a tree, and said, “This bird will bear witness against you." The man went away with all the money and becoming richer became a favourite of the king. One day a dish was brought to the table of a rare bird shot by a hunter. On the cover being removed the man recognised the same bird and he laughed. The king pressed for an explanation and the man had to tell the truth whereupon the king ordered him to the hanged and the property returned to the family of the murdered man.
431. Bird as Witness.
cf. Yahya, Shalshelet, story of Gabirol. Maase Buch No. 218. Griinbaum, Jiid. Deutsch. Chrest. P-431, 447.
266 —
cf. Bergstrasser, Neu- Aram. Mar. Ma'lula, No. io, p. 34 ff.
Bolte & Polivka II,
P- 531-
Grimm, K. & H. M. No. 115.
Kohler to Cento Novelle, No. 33. Gott. Gel. Anzeigen, 1869, p. 768.
Kohler, Kl. Schriften, I, p. 582.
Schiller, Kraniche.
A Jewish merchant sold his wares in a distant land at great profit. A man who had noticed it returned home with him in the caravan and induced him to remain a little behind. Then he robbed him of all he possessed and was on the point of killing him, saying, “If I spare your life you are sure to tell." When the Jew was dying he saw a bird on a tree, and said, “This bird will bear witness against you."
The man went away with all the money and becoming richer became a favourite of the king. One day a dish was brought to the table of a rare bird shot by a hunter. On the cover being removed the man recognised the same bird and he laughed. The king pressed for an explanation and the man had to tell the truth whereupon the king ordered him to the hanged and the property returned to the family of the murdered man.
432. A pious man, travelling, saw a cave in the mountains and on entering, found a pool of water and behind it another small dark cavern. He went thither and was on the point of returning when he saw a man come who undressed and plunged into the pool. Then he dressed, said his prayers and went away. Whilst undressing his purse fell to the ground where it remained unnoticed. No sooner had the first man left, than a second man came in, saw the purse, picked it up and ran away. Immediately after a third man came in, who also undressed and bathed. While he was dressing the first man came back and asked for the purse; he had meanwhile noticed his loss. In spite of the third man's protestations of innocence, the first man killed him.
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The pious man in the inner cavern wondered at what he saw He fell asleep and was told in a dream that the third apparently innocent had murdered the father of the first one, who had thus avenged his father's death. This last had stolen the purse from the father of the second who had thus come back again to his property.
432. God’s Justice.
Meg. Esther (Yiddish)
*593-
Griinbaum, Jiid. Deutsch. Chrest. p. 215—18.
Behrnauer, ZDMG.
XVI, p. 762. Brockhaus, ZDMG., XIV, p. 7o6f.
Gellert, Das Schicksal. Gesta Rom. Nos. 80, 127.
Gonzenbach, Sicil. Mar. No. 92.
cf. Hammer, Rosenol, I, 124.
Kohler, Kl. Schriften, I,
p- 578-
Gaston Paris, L'Ange et PHermite, p. 173 f. Rohde, Zt. f. D. Phil. 28,
P- 547-
Ratschky, Gedichte, p. 238.
433- Clever Thief.
Behrnauer, 40 Veziere, p.155. 13th Night.
Clouston, Pop. Tales & Fiction, I, p. 175.
Conde Lucanor ch. 7.
Dunlop-Liebrecht, p. 501, No. 7.
Eulenspiegel, Hist. 27, ed. Lappenberg,
p- 35 ff-
cf. Gesta Rom. No. 38.
Liebrecht, Zur Volks- kunde, Sect. II,
No. 6.
Oesterley, Shakespear's * Jest Book, No. 12, p. 22.
433. A man once caught stealing was ordered by the king to be hanged. On the way to the gallows he said to the governor that he knew a wonderful secret and it would be a pity to allow it to die with him and he would like to disclose it to the king. He would put a seed of a pomegranate in the ground and through the secret taught to him by his father he would make it grow and bear fruit overnight.
The thief was brought before the king and on the morrow the king, accompanied by the high officers of state, came to the place where the thief was waiting for them. There the thief dug a hole and said, “This seed must only be put in the ground by a man who has never stolen or taken anything which did not belong to him. I being a thief cannot do it." So he turned to the Vizier who, frightened, said that in his younger days he had retained something which did not belong to him.
The treasurer said that dealing with such large sums, he might have entered too much or too little and even the king owned that he had kept a necklace of his father's. The thief then said, “You are all mighty and powerful and want nothing and yet you cannot plant the seed whilst I who have stolen a little because I was starving am to be hanged." The king, pleased with the ruse of the thief, pardoned him.
434. A king once determined to build a town and selected a site. The astrologers approved of the place on condition that a child be walled in alive, brought voluntarily by its mother. After three years an old woman brought a child of about 10 years. When ready to be walled in, the boy said to the king, “Let me ask the astrologers three questions; if they answer correctly, then they have read the signs aright but if not they must have been mistaken." The king
170 —
granted the request and the boy asked: — "What is the lightest, what is the sweetest and what is the hardest thing in the world?” After three days the astrologers replied, "The lightest is the feather, the sweetest is honey and the hardest thing in the world is stone.” The young boy laughed and said, "Anyone could answer like that. The lightest thing in the world in an only child in its mother's arms. It is never heavy. The sweetest is the mother's milk to the baby and the hardest is for the mother to bring her child willingly to be buried alive in the wall.” The astrologers were confounded and had to own that they had read the stars wrongly and the child was saved.
434. Three Questions.
Anderson, Kaiser &Abt.
Apollodor, III, 7, 1.
Antigone.
Basile, Pen tarn. No. 35.
cf. Behrnauer, 40 Veziere, p. noff.
Birlinger, Aus Schwa- ben II, 370 — 371.
Eisel, Sagenb. d. Voigt- landes, No. 538; cf. No. 328.
Grimm, D. Mytho- logie2, II, p. 1095 f.
Habicht, 1001 Nights,
X, p. 3 ff.
— 267 —
Hahn, Griech. Marchen, No. 69.
Schleicher, Littauische Marchen, p. 20.
Burying in Foundations. Exod. R. ch. 5. cf. Arukh. s. v. Marakh. Yalk. § 169; II § 826. Heilperin, Seder Hado- rot, f. 23c, 24b.
Ey, Harzmarchen, p. 178.
Grimm, D. Mythologie p. 956 ff-
Liebrecht, Zur Volks- kunde p. 194, 286. cf. Schott, Nos. 2, 8. cf. Sainenu, monastery Adsisch.
cf. Voltaire, Zadig, ch. XXI.
Wolf, Dtsche Haus- marchen, p. 243.
435. A woodcutter once complained of his hard life. He worked and carried heavy loads and could scarcely earn enough to live. One day in the wood he prayed to God and then fell asleep. In a dream he saw a boy telling him, "Make one request and it will be granted; but be careful.” He asked that everything he touched should turn into gold. Then he awoke from his dream and touched his bundle of faggots and lo! it turned into gold. He rejoiced and took his jug to drink some water. The jug and the water turned into gold; he took up his loaf of bread and that also turned into gold. Threatened with starvation he prayed again to God. The young boy re-appeared and took back his gift. No one rejoiced more than the woodcutter.
435. Foolish Wish.
Benfey, Pantschat. I,
495 ff-
Grimm, D. Mythologie, XXXVII.
Grimm, K. & H. M. Ill, p. 310.
Kirchhof, Wendunmuth I, 180.
Kuhnert, Midas.
Midas, Ovid, Metam. II,
P. 85—193-
436. A pious woman used to bake four loaves of bread every day; three she gave to the poor and one she kept for her household. One day four beggars came and she gave all the four. She then took her corn to the grindstone by the sea-shore and ground a sackful of flour. While carrying it home on her head a storm arose and blew the sack of flour into the sea. Greatly surprised at the misadventure, she went to the college to consult the rabbi. Whilst she was there sitting in a corner, ten men carrying ten gold bags came in. They wanted to give it to the person to whom they owed their lives. Their ship had sprung a leak when close to the harbour and would have sunk but the waters
- iyi -
suddenly stopped coming in and on examining the ship they found that a sack of flour had filled up the hole and the flour being turned into dough had prevented the water from coming in. The woman, who had told her story the rabbis, then received the reward. Because of her the miracle had happened and she was rewarded for her pious deeds.
437. A rich man, having confidence in his son gave him all his property in his lifetime. After a while the son commenced to neglect his father, ill-treating him and sending him away to be among the beggars. One day the old man, clad in tatters, met his grandson and asked him to beg of his father to let him have a mantle to cover himself, as it was so cold.
After much begging the father sent his son up to the loft and told him to fetch a certain mantle which was hanging on a hook. Whilst on the loft the boy took a knife and cut the mantle in half. The father, wondering what the boy was doing all that time, went to find out. The son told him that he had been busy cutting the mantle in half and added that he would give his grandfather one half and keep the other half for his own father when he grew old.
The man was greatly surprised at this reply and recognising the wickedness of his action, took his father back and treated him with all honour.
437. Half the Mantle.
Bolte & Polivka, II,
p. 135 f-; HI,
p. 167 ff.
Clouston, Pop. Tales & Fictions, II, p. 372 to 378.
Grimm, K. & H. M.
Nos. 78, 145.
Jacques de Vitry, ed.
Crane, p. 121; 260. Kohler, Kl. Schriften, I, p. 473ff.
Wright, Latin Stories, No. 26.
A rich man, having confidence in his son gave him all his property in his lifetime. After a while the son commenced to neglect his father, ill-treating him and sending him away to be among the beggars. One day the old man, clad in tatters, met his grandson and asked him to beg of his father to let him have a mantle to cover himself, as it was so cold. After much begging the father sent his son up to the loft and told him to fetch a certain mantle which was hanging on a hook.
Whilst on the loft the boy took a knife and cut the mantle in half. The father, wondering what the boy was doing all that time, went to find out. The son told him that he had been busy cutting the mantle in half and added that he would give his grandfather one half and keep the other half for his own father when he grew old. The man was greatly surprised at this reply and recognising the wickedness of his action, took his father back and treated him with all honour.
438. A man once said that if he wanted to lose his property nobody could stop him. Another replied that no one could fight against God's providence. The man, however, said he would try. He took a shipload of dates and carried them to the place of their origin, where he said he would sell them at a loss. He sold at random and put the money in a box. When he opened it he found that he had got double the price which he had paid. Again he took a shipload of dates to the place of their origin, determined to obtain things which were dear there but cheap in his own country. So he took in exchange for his dates sacks of peppercorn. On opening the first sack he found a pearl, probably dropped in by one of the merchants when filling the sacks. It was worth twice the value of all his dates. Again he took a ship-
172 —
load of dates to the place of origin, and decided this time to buy corn which was dearer there than in his own country. This he was going to pour openly into the hold. But when he wished to set sail war had broken out between his country and the neighbouring one and he had to wait six months before peace was signed and he could return home. Meanwhile plague and locusts had destroyed the harvest and again he realised a large fortune. This time he gave up the attempt to fight against Providence.
A man once said that if he wanted to lose his property nobody could stop him. Another replied that no one could fight against God's providence. The man, however, said he would try. He took a shipload of dates and carried them to the place of their origin, where he said he would sell them at a loss. He sold at random and put the money in a box. When he opened it he found that he had got double the price which he had paid. Again he took a shipload of dates to the place of their origin, determined to obtain things which were dear there but cheap in his own country. So he took in exchange for his dates sacks of peppercorn. On opening the first sack he found a pearl, probably dropped in by one of the merchants when filling the sacks. It was worth twice the value of all his dates. Again he took a ship-
load of dates to the place of origin, and decided this time to buy corn which was dearer there than in his own country. This he was going to pour openly into the hold. But when he wished to set sail war had broken out between his country and the neighbouring one and he had to wait six months before peace was signed and he could return home. Meanwhile plague and locusts had destroyed the harvest and again he realised a large fortune. This time he gave up the attempt to fight against Providence.
439. A pious and rich man had an only son. He was a merchant but for a long time the son showed no wish to trade. Urged by his friends, he one day asked his father to give him 1000 dinars with which to travel abroad and trade. He came to a town and found the people in great uproar. A pious and good man had died but his creditors would not allow him to be buried until his debts had been paid. A fire had destroyed his warehouse and therefore he had been unable to pay. The young man paid the debts and gave him a proper burial, spending the 1000 dinars on it. On his return his father was quite satisfied. Again he took 1000 dinars and went away to trade. This time he ransomed a captive girl and paid 1000 dinars for her and brought her home. His father was again satisfied. The girl grew up and they became betrothed. She was the daughter of a king and the young man asked his father to allow them to go to her parents to abtain their consent to be married. It was a very distant country but at last the father agreed. They sailed for 30 days when the ship foundered not far from the shore. All were drowned except these two. A fisherman got hold of them and dragged them to the strand. He then told them to go to an inn, to send messengers to the king and on the eighth day of the wedding to come at midnight to the same spot bringing with them picks, shovels, planks of wood and a straw mat. Everything happened as he had foretold and at midnight on the eighth day all suddenly fell asleep except these two who came to the spot where the man was waiting for them. He told them to dig a deep
- 173 -
hole, to line it with planks, for he said he wanted to catch fish and put them in it. When the hole was deep he got in, as he said he wanted to see whether it was large enough. He lay down and stretched himself out, told them to wrap round him with the straw mat and cover him all over with earth with the exception of his head. When they had done so, he told them that he was the dead man whom the young man had saved from disgrace. When the ship had been foundering, at his request, God allowed him to come down and save them. He had now requited his benefactor and he asked them to fill up the grave and give him proper burial. They did so and returned to the young man’s home.
440. [Another variant.]
A great scholar, who spent his time studying with his pupils, got a son in his old age. He kept him in the house, never allowing him to go out but gave him more and more of his time. The pupils became jealous of the young boy and one day they took him out of his father’s house and showed him the world of which he knew nothing. On his return, he reproached his father who henceforth went out with him and showed him everything. The students used to go to a distant country to trade for a month every year, and with the profit they made they used to live for the remaining n months. They persuaded the young man to go with them. The father gave him 1000 dinars, and no sooner had they reached the foreign country, than they left him. He wandered about in search of his companions. A merchant took him in and the next morning he saw a great commotion in the market-place. The rabbi had died and the sultan would not allow the burial unless the Jews paid him a debt of 1000 dinars. The young man went to the sultan, found favour in his eyes, paid the money and obtained permission to bury the rabbi. The father was greatly satisfied. Next year, again urged by his father’s pupils, the young man asked for 10,000 dinars. They left him again and again the merchant took him. The next morning, he bought by auction for 10,000 dinars a Spanish
174 -
ship captured by the sultan’s ships. It was sold as it stood, no one knowing whether anything was in it. He found it quite empty when suddently he heard a voice crying. A panel opened and he found a small room and in it a young beautiful girl. She told him that she was the daughter of the king of Spain. War had broken out and not knowing what would be the outcome of it she had manned the ship with provisions and had hidden there. Now she was a prisoner. She also told him that she had taken a large amount of jewels and precious stones hidden in wine bottles some of them filled with wine. The people jeered at him, thinking the ship was empty but he hired sailors and returned home. His father came on board and learnt what had happened and was advised to tell the governor that the son had gone mad and spent 10,000 dinars on an empty ship and bottles of wine, and in order to cover his madness, to ask permission to carry the bottles home secretly in the dead of night which he did. Thus no one knew of the great treasures. The princess married him and they had two sons. She was very clever and made some tapestry and embroidery, unknown in that country. A merchant took advantage of the young man’s ignorance of the value of the tapestry, bought them and sold them in distant lands. Some reached Spain and the king saw and recognised in them the work of his daughter, found out where they had come from and disguising himself, came to that country. There he paid a higher price for them than the merchant, won the confidence of the young man and invited himself to his house. One day he sent the young man out, made himself known to his daughter and forced her to flee with him and her children to Spain. The young man in despair went to the harbour and found there a boat with two men in it. They promised to take him to Spain and to help him on condition that afterwards they would share everything equally. He consented and was quickly transported to Spain. Outside the town where the king’s palace was there was a large heap of refuse as big as a hill. Advised by the boatmen, the young men bought
175 -
the refuse heap to the great surprise of the king. On the morrow a huge palace with magnificent gardens stood in its place. The people wondered, went there to see it, and the princess heard of it and also went there after having obtained permission from her father who had kept her locked up in the palace. She recognised her husband and promised to flee with him. After 30 days she was able to bring her two children and a large amount of treasure. The boatmen waited for them and then carried them swiftly home. In the morning the people found that the palace and gardens had disappeared and the refuse heap was again there. When they approached the port, the two boatmen asked the young man to divide the spoils according to arrangement. He was to take one, either the treasure, or the wife or children; the other two belonged to them. He willingly gave up the treasure, but neither wife nor children.
When they saw his despair, they comforted him and told him that he could keep all; they had only put him to the test and would take nothing, for one of the boatmen was the dead rabbi whom he had ransomed from the Sultan and brought to honourable burial and the other, his companion, was none other than the prophet Elijah who had been allowed by God to accompany him and reward him for his pious deeds. It was he who had built the palace and then made it disappear again. Henceforth, the young man his wife and children all lived happily together.
441a. A man carrying a jug of milk heard a snake crying. It was thirsty. The man gave it to drink and the snake promised him a treasure. After it had drunk it showed him a spot under a stone where the man found a great treasure. Then the snake coiled itself round his neck and wanted to kill him, because he had robbed it of its treasure. They came to Solomon for judgment. The snake pleaded justification by referring to the words in Scripture, “Thou shalt bruise his heel/' Solomon ordered it to get down as they must both be standing equal in the court. When the snake
— 176 —
got down, Solomon told the man to “bruise its head” and the man killed it on the spot.
441b. A man found a snake frozen on the ground and picked it up and put it in his bosom. The snake, quickened to life through the warmth, coiled itself round the man and tried to kill him. To requite evil for good, the shake said, was the way of the world. They brought the case before King David. On the way they met an ox, who decided in favour of the snake. So also did an ass and finally King David did likewise, for it is written that the ‘Snake shall bruise the heel’. When they left the court, they found Solomon, still a lad, playing near the well. His stick had fallen into the water and no one could succeed in getting it. Solomon then ordered his servants to widen the conduit; thus the water would fill the well. It rose and they were able to take the stick. Greatly impressed, the old man aske Solomon for advice. He obtained the permission of David to judge the case. Asked by Solomon, the snake replied that it had acted according to the word of the Lord and then Solomon said, “Abide by the Word of the Lord,” which commands the two parties to stand before the judge. The snake was to uncoil itself and stand apart from the old man on the ground before him. The snake did so and Solomon told the old man to “bruise its head” with the stick which he was holding, for so it was written in the Law. He did so and killed the snake.
440. Grateful Dead.
Farhi, O. P. Ill, f. 11 to 1 7.
Burton, Supplemental Nights, IV, p. 325.
Wife making Tapestry.
cf. Gas ter, Gypsy Tales. Scala Celi, s. v. Clema- sina.
Simrock, Gute Gerhard, p. 106 ff.
Wolf, Dtsche Haus- marchen, p. 243ft.
4413.. Man & Snake.
Tanh. B. Intro.
P* I37*
Tendlau, Fellmeier,
No. iob.
Griinbaum, Jiid. Dtsch.
Chrest p. 41 1.
Ben Gorion III, p. 82, 302.
Aesop. Fur. 130.
Benfey, Pantschat, I, p. H3ff.
Bolte & Polivka, II, p. 414.
Brugman, Litauische Marchen, No. 2. Woll- ner's note to same. Clouston, Pop. Tales & Fiction, I, p. 262. Gesta Rom. No. 174. Gonzenbach, Sicil. Mar. No. 69.
Grimm, K. & H. M. No. 99.
Griinbaum, Neue Bei- trage, p. 236.
Kohler, Archiv f. slav.
Phil. I, 279.
Kohler to Gonzenbach, No. 69. p. 247.
Korais, No. 170.
Kohler, Kl. Schriften I, p.412, 581.
Pedersen, Zur Albanes.
Vlksd. No. 7. Salzberger, Salomo Sage, p. 62.
441 b. Man & Snake.
Maase Buch, No. 144. Helvicus, Historien, II, ch. 38, p. 115.
[Another variant.]
A great scholar, who spent his time studying with his pupils, got a son in his old age. He kept him in the house, never allowing him to go out but gave him more and more of his time. The pupils became jealous of the young boy and one day they took him out of his father's house and showed him the world of which he knew nothing. On his return, he reproached his father who henceforth went out with him and showed him everything. The students used to go to a distant country to trade for a month every year, and with the profit they made they used to live for the remaining n months. They persuaded the young man to go with them. The father gave him 1000 dinars, and no sooner had they reached the foreign country, than they left him. He wandered about in search of his companions. A merchant took him in and the next morning he saw a great commotion in the market-place. The rabbi had died and the sultan would not allow the burial unless the Jews paid him a debt of 1000 dinars. The young man went to the sultan, found favour in his eyes, paid the money and obtained permission to bury the rabbi. The father was greatly satisfied. Next year, again urged by his father's pupils, the young man asked for 10,000 dinars. They left him again and again the merchant took him. The next morning, he bought by auction for 10,000 dinars a Spanish
ship captured by the sultan's ships. It was sold as it stood, no one knowing whether anything was in it. He found it quite empty when suddently he heard a voice crying. A panel opened and he found a small room and in it a young beautiful girl. She told him that she was the daughter of the king of Spain. War had broken out and not knowing what would be the outcome of it she had manned the ship with provisions and had hidden there. Now she was a prisoner. She also told him that she had taken a large amount of jewels and precious stones hidden in wine bottles some of them filled with wine. The people jeered at him, thinking the ship was empty but he hired sailors and returned home. His father came on board and learnt what had happened and was advised to tell the governor that the son had gone mad and spent 10,000 dinars on an empty ship and bottles of wine, and in order to cover his madness, to ask permission to carry the bottles home secretly in the dead of night which he did. Thus no one knew of the great treasures. The princess married him and they had two sons. She was very clever and made some tapestry and embroidery, unknown in that country. A merchant took advantage of the young man's ignorance of the value of the tapestry, bought them and sold them in distant lands. Some reached Spain and the king saw and recognised in them the work of his daughter, found out where they had come from and disguising himself, came to that country. There he paid a higher price for them than the merchant, won the confidence of the young man and invited himself to his house. One day he sent the young man out, made himself known to his daughter and forced her to flee with him and her children to Spain. The young man in despair went to the harbour and found there a boat with two men in it. They promised to take him to Spain and to help him on condition that afterwards they would share everything equally. He consented and was quickly transported to Spain. Outside the town where the king's palace was there was a large heap of refuse as big as a hill. Advised by the boatmen, the young men bought
the refuse heap to the great surprise of the king. On the morrow a huge palace with magnificent gardens stood in its place. The people wondered, went there to see it, and the princess heard of it and also went there after having obtained permission from her father who had kept her locked up in the palace. She recognised her husband and promised to flee with him. After 30 days she was able to bring her two children and a large amount of treasure. The boatmen waited for them and then carried them swiftly home. In the morning the people found that the palace and gardens had disappeared and the refuse heap was again there. When they approached the port, the two boatmen asked the young man to divide the spoils according to arrangement. He was to take one, either the treasure, or the wife or children; the other two belonged to them. He willingly gave up the treasure, but neither wife nor children.
When they saw his despair, they comforted him and told him that he could keep all; they had only put him to the test and would take nothing, for one of the boatmen was the dead rabbi whom he had ransomed from the Sultan and brought to honourable burial and the other, his companion, was none other than the prophet Elijah who had been allowed by God to accompany him and reward him for his pious deeds. It was he who had built the palace and then made it disappear again. Henceforth, the young man his wife and children all lived happily together.
A man carrying a jug of milk heard a snake crying. It was thirsty. The man gave it to drink and the snake promised him a treasure. After it had drunk it showed him a spot under a stone where the man found a great treasure. Then the snake coiled itself round his neck and wanted to kill him, because he had robbed it of its treasure. They came to Solomon for judgment. The snake pleaded justification by referring to the words in Scripture, “Thou shalt bruise his heel/' Solomon ordered it to get down as they must both be standing equal in the court. When the snake
got down, Solomon told the man to “bruise its head” and the man killed it on the spot.
A man found a snake frozen on the ground and picked it up and put it in his bosom. The snake, quickened to life through the warmth, coiled itself round the man and tried to kill him. To requite evil for good, the shake said, was the way of the world. They brought the case before King David.
On the way they met an ox, who decided in favour of the snake. So also did an ass and finally King David did likewise, for it is written that the ‘Snake shall bruise the heel’. When they left the court, they found Solomon, still a lad, playing near the well. His stick had fallen into the water and no one could succeed in getting it.
Solomon then ordered his servants to widen the conduit; thus the water would fill the well. It rose and they were able to take the stick. Greatly impressed, the old man aske Solomon for advice. He obtained the permission of David to judge the case.
Asked by Solomon, the snake replied that it had acted according to the word of the Lord and then Solomon said, “Abide by the Word of the Lord,” which commands the two parties to stand before the judge. The snake was to uncoil itself and stand apart from the old man on the ground before him. The snake did so and Solomon told the old man to “bruise its head” with the stick which he was holding, for so it was written in the Law. He did so and killed the snake.
442. Widow Comforted. Berahya, No. 80.
Maase Buch No. 108. Helvicus, Historien, II, ch. 33, p. 104. Steinschneider, Hebr.
Bibl. XIII, p. 77 ff. Steinschneider, ZDMG, 27, P- 563*
Griinbaum, Jiid. Dtsch.
Chrest. p. 405!.
Ben Gorion III, p. 240, 315-
Benfey, Pantschat, I, 460.
Bolte, Z. V. Vlksd. 1919, XXIX, p. 69.
Dunlop, Hist. Prose Fiction I, pp. 94 f. in. 2.
Dunlop2, vol. I, pp. 94 to 95, n. 2.
Dunlop- Liebrecht, p. 41. Note 85.
Grisebach, Treulose Wit we.
Jacques de Vitry, ed. Crane, No. 232, p. 96; 288 — 9.
Landsberger, Jhrb.
Achaiva II, 138. Lebrecht, Heb. Bibliographic p. 12 1.
— 269
Der Neue Orient. Voltaire, Zadig, ch. II.
A woman was weeping and mourning over the grave of her dead husband for a long time. Close by stood a gallows and a watchman was appointed by the king to see that none of the bodies should be stolen. He saw the woman there, spoke to her and induced her to do his bidding. Whan he returned to the gallows he found that the body had disappeared. So he came back to the woman and told her that he feared for his life, since the king would surely kill him. The woman then told him to take the body of her dead husband and hang it up instead, and she assisted him in dragging the body from the grave.
443. Three Questions.
Maase Buch No. 227. Anderson, Kaiser &Abt. Caland, Z. V. Vlksd.
XXIV, p. 88 ff. Cosquin, Contes, No. 51.
II, p. 133 ft.
Hertel, Z. V. Vlksd.
XXIV, p. 317.
Cod. G. 942, f. 15 b.
444 [Cod. G. 274 (Ladino)].
A poor pious man bought flour for 3 silver pieces for his household. As he was carrying it home, the wind blew it out into the sea. The man, therefore, went to David and asked for justice. King David gave him a gold piece and sent him away. At the door he met Solomon who advised him to return the money and insist on a trial. King David
1 2
gave him another gold piece and again sent him away. Again he met Solomon who advised him to insist on his rights. Then David, finding that Solomon was advising him, called the latter and asked him how much he was to give to the man. Solomon replied, “Do not give money but call the wind to justice." David then made a conjuration and the spirit of the wind appeared. Asked why it had blown the poor man's flour into the sea, it replied that a ship on the high seas with many Jews on board, had sprung a leak and was on the point of foundering. The sack of flour would form a dough and stop the leak. The men had vowed a third of their possessions if saved. Six days later the ship came into port and the travellers gave the poor man a third of their possessions which they had vowed as a thank-offering.
445.,,One Pursuing a Thousand.”
Wizard & Jew Literature.
Hasdeu Cuvinte din Batrani II.
Cod. G. 1060, f. 37 a.
An apostate led the king to the synagogue when the people were reading the verse in Deut., “How can one pursue a thousand and two ten thousand?" He told the King that the Jews were boasting that one could kill ten thousand. The king, enraged, called the teacher to explain the meaning. The latter said this referred to those who came out of Egypt. The king then called the wise men and the elders and ordered them as the descendants to prove the truth of the statement. He gave them a year, after which they would either be killed or driven out of the country. After six months of fasting and weeping, a man came and offered to go to the Children of Moses beyond the river Sambatyon and bring one of them who would prove it. They gave them money and he travelled five months and crossed the river on the Sabbath. The people there condemned him to death for breaking the Sabbath; he, however, showed them the letter which he had brought and they then sent a young girl with him, and within one day they were back in the city, thus in time. They told the king they were ready to prove the case and asked him to bring out the army. He gathered all the people in the field and the young girl, dressed as a
man met him. She asked the king to make two heavy millstones, from a big mountain nearby. They were made and weighed 600 tons. She uttered the Ineffable Name of God, the millstones rose on the air and ground the whole army to dust. When the king saw this, he said, “If this can merely be done by word of mouth, how much greater the power when done by hand?” He acknowledged the truth and the Jews rejoiced, after which the girl returned to her people.
