The laughable stories collected by Mâr Gregory John Bar Hebræ

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THE LAUGHABLE STORIES OF BAR-HEBR/EUS.
"ventrem postremus exonerare expetentem te ipsum
"cohibuisti." Cui nobilis subridens, "Di te accusent!
"Mihi enim evenit quemadmodum narras."
DCXXXVIII. Whilst another lunatic was sitting down
and weeping it was said to him, "Why weepest thou?
"And why art thou sad?" He replied, "How can I help
"weeping? for behold the winter hath come and I have
"no tunic." And they said to him, "Be not in tribulation,
"God will not leave thee without a tunic," and he replied,
"True, but last year He not only left me without
"a tunic, but also without a cloak and without a loin
"cloth."
DCXXXIX. Another lunatic was sitting in the market
and eating baked meat, and a certain man said to him,
"Give me some of that which thou art eating, so that
"I also may eat like thee." He replied, "This doth
"not belong to me, but a certain nobleman commanded
"me to eat it all for his sake, and I am afraid to trans-
"gress his commandment."
DCXL. To another lunatic, round about whom a large
number of boys were gathered together, it was said,
"Go and lie down in a certain place so that these
"boys may go away from thee;" and he replied, "When
"they are hungry they will depart."
DCXLI. Another lunatic was a Jacobite, and a certain
Greek said to him, "Wilt thou take a zuza and curse
"Jacob Burde'aya?"' And he replied, "No, but give
"me the half of one and I will curse thee and Leo^
"who is much more honourable than Jacob, and to
' Born at Edessa A.D. 154, died A.D. 222.
^ /. e., Leo 'the Pope; he was born about A.D. 400, and died
about A.D. 461.