The laughable stories collected by Mâr Gregory John Bar Hebræ

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THE LAUGHABLE STORIES OF BAR-HEBR^US.
of a certain widow; and [on his departure] he said to
her, "This time, if the king giveth me a thousand
"dinars, I will give thee one dinar!' And having
gone to the king he gave him five hundred dinars,
and on his return the nobleman saw the woman and
gave her half a dinar, saying, "Even this half a dinar
"ought not to come to thee by right, for I did not
"say to thee, 'If he giveth me five hundred,' and the
"promise was made in respect of the thousand dinars
"only."
CCCCLVIII. When a certain man went to the house
of a miser he gave him old wine to drink on an empty
stomach; and when he had taken the cup he said
"Ugh!" And they said unto him, "What is it? Why
"dost thou not speak?" He replied, "If I were to
"speak the master of the house would die when he
"heard of it, for I want something to eat; and if I am
"silent I shall die by reason of the strength of this
"wine."
CCCCLIX. A certain miser was in the habit of not
eating except at midnight, and when he was asked
why he behaved thus, he replied, "At this time the
"flies have all settled to rest, and a man may re-
"main undisturbed by him that knocketh at the door
"[begging]."
CCCCLX. A certain philosopher said unto a miser,
"Thou imaginest that thou art a miser and a skin-
"flint, but behold, thou art the most liberal of men.
"For after a short time thou wilt distribute thy wealth
"among thy heirs who have pleased thee, and also
"among those who have not pleased thee."
CCCCLXI. A certain miser fell sick, and the day of
the crisis of the disease came and he did not sweat.