The laughable stories collected by Mâr Gregory John Bar Hebræ

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THE LAUGHABLE STORIES OF BAR-HEBR^EUS.
the sea, and he had a few ziize in his hand. And as
he looked,
he saw on the garment of one of those who
were with him an orange, and he stretched out his
hand and laid hold of it with his two fingers, but
wishing to throw the orange into the sea he threw the
zuze instead, and kept fast hold on the orange. And
when he was rebuked for doing this, he said, "I was
"afraid that it might run away and stick in our gar-
"ments again."
DCV. Another fool seeing an Arab minaret from
which men were calling [the people] to prayer, said to
his companion, "How very tall the men who built this
"minaret must have been!" His friend replied, "O
"silly man, how could any man be as tall as this?
"They built it first of all on the ground, and then set
"it up [on its end]."
DC VI. Certain stupid husbandmen came to the
governor and began to complain, saying, "The taxes
"laid upon us are too heavy, and if thou canst not
"diminish them we must leave [our lands] and go away."
The governor said to them, "What now do ye wish
"me to do for you?" and they replied, "We wish that
"thou wouldst tax us one fifth and that thou shouldst
"not take tithe from us, for we cannot pay tithe." The
governor said to them, "Your wishes shall be carried
"out," and so this custom came upon them even to this day.
DCVII. Another fool said, "I saw a man with a
"long beard who was riding upon an ass which he
"was beating, and he said to him, "O cursed one, if
"thou didst not wish to be ridden why didst thou be-
"come an ass?"'
' Var. "was asking in the market, 'Has there not passed before
you a red old man with a red helmet on his head?'"