The laughable stories collected by Mâr Gregory John Bar Hebræ

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THE LAUGHABLE STORIES OF BAR-HEBR^US.
into his purse he said, "Go into the place wherefrom
"thou shalt never again emerge to be troubled."
CCCCLXV. Another miser said to his servant, "Bring
"hither the table and shut the door," and the servant
said, "This is not right. I will first of all shut the
"door and then I will bring the table, lest, perad-
"venture, while I am putting the table in its place some
"one will enter before I can shut the door." His master
said unto him, " Henceforward, by reason of thine under-
"standing, thou shalt be a free man and not a slave,
"for thou behavest like a nobleman."
CCCCLXVI. Another man relates the following:
"Once when I was eating a spoonful of food out of a
"dish with a certain miserly merchant, I saw that the
"bread which was spread out on his side of the dish
"was made of fine flour, whilst that which was on my
"side was made of coarse meal."
CCCCLXVII. Another man relates the following:
"Once when I was eating in the company of a rich
"but miserly man, a cat came up, and I wanted to
"take a little piece of bread to throw to her; and he
"said to me, 'Put it down, for this doth not belong to
"us but to the neighbours.'"
CCCCLXVIII. Another miser had a very beautiful
wife, but because he did not provide her with all that
she wanted, they were continually falling out. And
it came to pass on a certain day, the man being angry
with her, that he obtained a separation from her legally,
and he gave her her dowry and expelled her from his
house. Now the rumour of her and of her beauty
spread abroad and reached the king,
and he lusted for
her, and sent to her to take her to wife. But the
woman said that she would not consent to his wish