“For the love of God, what is your name?”

“Ali; and yours?”

“Ou Ali.”

Another time they were walking together, and said to each other: 

“Let us go and steal.”

One of them stole a mule and the other stole a rug.  They passed the night in the forest.  Now, as the snow was falling, Ali said to Ou Ali: 

“Give me a little of your rug to cover me.”

Ou Ali refused.  “You remember,” he added, “that I asked you to put my rug on your mule, and you would not do it.”  An instant afterward Ali cut off a piece of the rug, for he was dying of cold.  Ou Ali got up and cut the lips of the mule.  The next morning, when they awaked, Ou Ali said to Ali: 

“O my dear friend, your mule is grinning.”

“O my dear friend,” replied Ali, “the rats have gnawed your rug.”

And they separated.  Some time afterward they met anew.  Ali said to Ou Ali: 

“Let us go and steal.”

They saw a peasant, who was working.  One of them went to the brook to wash his cloak there, and found it dry.  He laid the blade of his sabre so that it would reflect the rays of the sun, and began to beat his cloak with his hands as if to wash it.  The laborer came to the brook also, and found the man who was washing his cloak without water.

“May God exterminate you,” said he, “who wash without water.”

“May God exterminate you,” answered the washer, “who work without a single ox.”

The other robber watched the laborer, and had already stolen one of his oxen.  The laborer went back to his plough, and said to the washer, “Keep this ox for me while I go and hunt for the other.”  As soon as he was out of sight the robber took away the ox left in his charge.  The laborer returned, and seizing the goad by one end he gave a great blow on the plough-handle, crying: 

“Break, now.  It matters little.”

The robbers met in a wood and killed the oxen.  As they lacked salt, they went to purchase it.  They salted the meat, roasted it, and ate it.  Ali discovered a spring.  Ou Ali not being able to find water, was dying of thirst.

“Show me your spring,” he said to Ali, “and I will drink.”

“Eat some salt, my dear friend,” answered Ali.  What could he do?  Some days afterward Ou Ali put ashes on the shoes of Ali.  The next day he followed the traces of the ashes, found the spring, and discovered thus the water that his friend was drinking.  He took the skin of one of the oxen and carried it to the fountain.  He planted two sticks above the water, hung the skin on the sticks, and placed the horns of the ox opposite the road.  During the night his friend went to the spring.  At the sight of the skin thus stretched out, fear seized him, and he fled.

“I am thirsty,” said Ou Ali.

“Eat some salt, my dear friend,” answered Ali, “for salt removes thirst.”

Ali retired, and, after having eaten, ran to examine the skin that he had stretched out.  Ou AH ate the salt, and was dying of thirst.