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.