On a certain day there were twelve men of Gotham that went to fish, and some stood on dry land; and in going home one said to the other, “We have ventured wonderfully in wading:  I pray God that none of us come home and be drowned.”  “Nay, marry,” said one to the other, “let us see that; for there did twelve of us come out.”  Then they told (i.e., counted) themselves, and every one told eleven.  Said one to the other, “There is one of us drowned.”  They went back to the brook where they had been fishing, and sought up and down for him that was wanting, making great lamentation.  A courtier, coming by, asked what it was they sought for, and why they were sorrowful.  “Oh,” said they, “this day we went to fish in the brook; twelve of us came out together, and one is drowned.”  Said the courtier, “Tell [count] how many there be of you.”  One of them said, “Eleven,” and he did not tell himself.  “Well,” said the courtier, “what will you give me, and I will find the twelfth man?” “Sir,” said they, “all the money we have got.”  “Give me the money,” said the courtier, and began with the first, and gave him a stroke over the shoulders with his whip, which made him groan, saying, “Here is one,” and so served them all, and they all groaned at the matter.  When he came to the last, he paid him well, saying, “Here is the twelfth man.”  “God’s blessing on thy heart,” said they, “for thus finding our dear brother!”

This droll adventure is also found in the Gooroo Paramartan, a most amusing work, written in the Tamil language by Beschi, an Italian Jesuit, who was missionary in India from 1700 till his death, in 1742.  The Gooroo (teacher) and his five disciples, who are, like himself, noodles, come to a river which they have to cross, and which, as the Gooroo informs them, is a very dangerous stream.  To ascertain whether it is at present “asleep,” one of them dips his lighted cheroot in the water, which, of course, extinguishes it, upon which he returns to the Gooroo and reports that the river is still in a dangerous mood.  So they all sit down, and begin to tell stories of the destructive nature of this river.  One relates how his grandfather and another man were journeying together, driving two asses laden with bags of salt, and coming to this river, they resolved to bathe in it, and the asses, tempted by the coolness of the water, at the same time knelt down in it.  When the men found that their salt had disappeared, they congratulated themselves on their wonderful escape from the devouring stream, which had eaten up all their salt without even opening the bags.  Another disciple relates a story similar to the so-called AEsopian fable of the dog and his shadow, this river being supposed to have devoured a piece of meat which the dog had dropped into it.  At length the river is found to be quiescent, a piece of charred wood having been plunged into it without producing any effect like that of the former experiment; and they determine to ford it, but with great caution.  Arrived on