“What is the matter with you?”

“I intrusted a jar filled with gold to a Jew,” he answered, “and he only returned a jar of butter to me.  I don’t know what to do to recover my property.”

His brother replied:  “The thing is easy.  Prepare a feast and invite your friend the Jew.”

The next day the traveller prepared a feast and invited the Jew.  During this time the brother of the traveller ran to a neighboring mountain, where he captured a monkey.  During the night he entered the house of the Jew and found a child in the cradle.  He took the child away and put the monkey in its place.  When day had come the mother perceived the monkey tied in the cradle.  She called her husband with loud cries, and said to him: 

“See how God has punished us for having stolen your friend’s gold.  Our child is changed into a monkey.  Give back the stolen property.”

They immediately had the traveller summoned, and returned his gold to him.  The next night the child was taken back to the cradle and the monkey was set free.  As I can go no further, may God exterminate the jackal and pardon all our sins!

* * * * *

THE SHEIK’S HEAD

A man died, leaving a son.  The child spent day and night with his mother.  The sheik chanted a prayer every morning and waked him up.  The child went to find the sheik, and said: 

“Ali Sheik, do not sing so loudly, you wake us up every morning—­my mother and me.”

But the sheik kept on singing.  The child went to the mosque armed with a club.  At the moment when the sheik bowed to pray he struck him a blow and killed him.  He ran to his mother, and said to her: 

“I have killed that sheik; come, let us bury him.”

They cut off his head and buried his body.  The child went to the Thadjeinath, where the men of the village were assembled.  In his absence his mother killed a sheep.  She took the head and buried it in place of the sheik’s head.  The child arrived at the Thadjeinath and said to those present: 

“I have killed the sheik who waked us up every morning.”

“It is a lie,” said they.

“Come to my mother’s house and we will show you where we buried his head.”  They went to the house, and the mother said to them: 

“Ali Sidi, this child is mad.  It is a sheep that we have killed.  Come and see where we buried its head.”  They went to the spot, dug, and found a sheep’s head.

* * * * *

THE WAGTAIL AND THE JACKAL

At the time when all the animals spoke, a wagtail laid her eggs on the ground.  The little ones grew up.  A jackal and a fox came to them.  The jackal said to the fox: 

“Swear to me that the wagtail owes me a pound of butter.”

The fox swore to it.  The bird began to weep.  A greyhound came to her and asked her what was the matter.  She answered him: