A certain Cuthite passed himself off as an interpreter of dreams. Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yosei heard and said: Shall I not go and see this foolish Cuthite who deceives people? He went and he sat alongside him. Someone came and said to him: ‘I saw in my dream an olive tree irrigated by oil.’ The Cuthite said to him: ‘The olive tree is light and the oil is light, you will see light in great light.’ Rabbi Yishmael said to him: ‘May the soul of that man expire; he has known his mother’ <meaning, he had relations with his mother>.35Rabbi Yishmael cursed the Cuthite dream interpreter and gave a more accurate interpretation of the dream.Another man came and said to him: ‘I saw in my dream that one of my eyes swallowed its counterpart.’ That man said to him: ‘You will see light in great light.’ Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yosei said to him: ‘May the soul of that man expire; he has two children and one of them was intimate with his counterpart.’Another man came and said to him: ‘I saw in my dream that I swallowed a certain star.’ That man said to him: ‘You will see great light. The star is light and you are light [nehor].36Your name is Nehora. That is light on light.’ Rabbi Yishmael said to him: ‘May the soul of that man expire; he killed a Jew.’ From where did Rabbi Yishmael derive this? It is from this verse: “Look now to the heavens and count the stars…[so shall your seed be]” (Genesis 15:5).Another man came and said to him: ‘I saw in my dream that I had three eyes.’ That man said to him: ‘You will see great light.’ Rabbi Yishmael said to him: ‘May the soul of that man expire; he is a baker, two are his and one is the oven’s.’37There were circular openings for pots at the top of the oven, which resemble eyes.Another man came and said to him: ‘I saw in my dream four ears and all the people heeding my words.’ He said to him: ‘You will be greatly heeded.’ Rabbi Yishmael said to him: ‘May the soul of that man expire; he is a gathererer of thorns, and when he is laden with them, all the people flee from before him.’Another man came and said to him: ‘I saw in my dream that I was carrying a ledger with twenty-four pages, on which there was writing on this side and erasures on that side, writing on this side and erasures on that side.’ He said to him: ‘That man will rise to prominence and his business will thrive and he will write on this side and erase on that side, write on this side and erase on that side.’38The Cuthite told the man that he would have success in business and need to continually write down his new transactions. Rabbi Yishmael said to him: ‘May the soul of that man expire; he has a garment with twenty-four patches. He sews one from here and it rips from here.’Another man came and said to him: ‘I saw in my dream that I was carrying a stalk with a bundle of lettuce on it.’ He said to him: ‘That man will ascend to prominence.’ Rabbi Yishmael said: ‘May the soul of that man expire; he has a storehouse of wine and all of it became vinegar. Everyone will come and take some in a jug made of gourds, to pickle their lettuce in it.’Another man came and said to him: ‘I saw in my dream the entire world pointing at me with their fingers.�� He said to him: ‘That man will ascend to prominence and all the people will point at you with their fingers.’ Rabbi Yishmael said: ‘Pay me my fee, and I will interpret it for you.’ He said to him: ‘It is already interpreted.’ Another time he said to him: ‘I saw that everyone was blowing at me with their cheeks and gesturing to me with their fingers.’ He said to him: ‘That man will ascend to prominence and all the people will laud you with their cheeks.’ Rabbi Yishmael said: ‘May the soul of that man expire; he has a storehouse of wheat. When they were pointing at him with their fingers, it was because [water] was dripping onto them. When they were blowing at him with their cheeks, it is because they were swollen.39From fermentation. When they were gesturing at you with their fingers, it is because they were growing vegetation, and that man will not receive any [benefit] from them.’