The Laughable Stories Collected by Mar Gregory John

STORIES OF MEN WHO FOLLOWED DESPISED HANDICRAFTS. 127
"unto thee that a single glass vessel remaineth unbroken
*'among these, believe him never a whit."
CCCCLXXXVI. A certain tax-gatherer having fled
and hidden himself from the king found that his blood
had become heated and excited in him, and he said
unto him in whose house he was hidden, "Go to such
"and such a blood-letter and mention my name in his
"presence; if he abuseth me say nothing further to him,
"but if he speaketh well of me bid him come to me."
And the man went and did thus, and he took the blood-
letter and brought him to him; and when he had gone
in he saluted the tax-gatherer with respect and behaved
graciously to him. And the tax-gatherer said to him,
"Cup me on the back of my neck," and when he had
cupped him and had let blood and wished to depart,
the tax-gatherer took out a dinar and gave it to him;
and the surgeon took the money and went and told
his son. Then the son rose up and went and knocked
at the door and entered the chamber of the tax-gatherer
and said to him, "I hear that thou hast been cupped
"on the back of the neck, but thou didst not require
"this, for it should have been done on thine arm." Then
he cupped him on the arm and let out some more blood,
and as he was going out the tax-gatherer gave him a
dinar also ; and he went and told his son-in-law. And
this man came also and knocked at the door, and he
entered the chamber of the tax-gatherer and said to
him, "Thou didst not require cupping except on thy
"legs." Then the tax-gatherer being afraid that [if he
refused to allow it] the man would be angry and go
forth and betray his hiding-place, said, "Do as thou
advisest;" and when he had let out some blood and
wished to go the tax-gatherer gave him a di7iar and