volume 2 - Robert Bedrosian's Armenian History Workshop

64 Saba' and the Beggar Worhan.
out some old bedding walked round and round on it
and then settled himself down to sleep. He had a short
head, good teeth, and very powerful jaws, and a thick
ruff of white hair. We thought he was a former inhabitant
of the court, and that he had, like the horse,
found his way back to his old home, but no one knew
him and no one had seen him before. It was quite
evident that he intended to stay with us, and he did,
and after a few days' rest and feeding he began to fill
out and improve in appearance, and he kept the court
clear of town dogs, cats and chickens. We called him
" Saba'," i.e., the " lion." He disapproved strongly of the
beggars who came each morning for their bread-cakes,
and watched all their movements with suspicion. One
morning when our water-carriers and several other men
were in the court, a beggar-woman, with her face closely
covered, came in and pushed her way behind the inen
to the kitchen door, and Hanna gave her two breadcakes.
To get out of the court she had to pass close
to the dog and he growled at her, and the woman began
to abuse him in very unwomanly language and shrieked
at him, " nijis, nijis," " unclean, unclean." The dog
stood up and his hair bristled, but he did not move.
The woman turned quickly to get away and the end of
her ragged garment flapped in his face. In a moment
the dog seized the end in his teeth, and as the woman
moved on he pulled backwards. The woman clutched
at her garment trying to keep her face hidden, but the
dog tugged and backed with the result that bit by bit
she was unwound, and in a few seconds her garment
left her, and she stood there with nothing on but a rag
or two about her. Hanna tried to get her into his
kitchen, but she stood there denouncing us all in violent
language for several minutes, whilst the dog tore her
ragged garment into little bits. One of the men in thecourt
threw his cloak about her, but we did not get rid
of her until I sent a man to the bazar who bought
enough stuff to make her a new garment. She forgave us
and paid us many visits, for H anna's bread-cakes were
much appreciated, but whether the dog was in the