Alexander the Great tied two eagles together with meat in front of them, so they fly upwards with him until his eyelids dropped from the cold. He then descends in a glass box to the depths of the sea, but hearing a voice saying: “The iron of the axe has been falling seven years already and lias not yet touched the bottom,” he gives it up and ascends.

5a. Alexander goes to the kingdom of Kasia, then to Karta- gena ruled by women. He is told that if he conquers it will be a shame to him and that if he is conquered the greater shame to him. He then goes to Afriki, is presented with food made of gold as he had only come for gold. He is present at a trial. A man finds a treasure in a field bought from another man, he wishes to return it to the former owner

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of the land, who refuses to accept it as he says that he sold the field with everything in it. The local king decides that the treasure shall be given as a dowry to the daughter of the one who is to marry the son of the other. Alexander is surprised for in his country the king would have confiscated the treasure and killed the owners. The local king then tells him that the sun shining and the rain falling over the country of Alexander is for the sake of the animals and not for that of the human beings.

6, In the time of Alexander the Ishmaelites claimed Palestine from the Israelites. Gaboha son of Pesisa asked permission from the Elders to plead the cause of the Jews. "If defeated you can say, that they had defeated the least among us, and if I win you say it is our Law that has won." He proved to them from the Law that Abraham had given gifts to the concubines and sent them away, thus the Ishmaelites had no claim.

6a. The people of Afriki claimed Canaan from the Israelites before Alexander. Gaboha, son of Pesisa pleaded their cause and he proved that Canaan having been declared a slave (Gen. 9, 25) the people belong to the master. He claimed on the contrary the amount of labour due which they had not rendered to the Israelites for so many years before the Israelites entered the land. They gave no reply after grace of three days and then left the country.

7, The Emperor (of Rome) said to Rabbi Joshua, the son of Hananya, "Why is your God described as as a lion, for any knight can kill a lion?" He replied: "He is likened to the lion of Debelai." He wanted to see this lion. At a distance of 300 miles it roared and all the women in Rome miscarried; at a distance of 200 miles the lion roared and the teeth of the men dropped out. The Emperor fell from the throne and the Rabbi prayed and the lion returned to its place.

8, The Emperor told Rabbi Joshua that he wished to offer a feast to God. The reply was, that he would not be able even to satisfy God’s army. He prepared for six months and the wind carried it away, then for another six months and the

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rain swamped it. These were the vanguards and so he gave it up.