thou hast ruined me and thy children; thou hast given away great wealth to that clay selling fellow!” Then I told her all that had betided me, of the coming of the two friends and how I had hidden the hundred and ninety Ashrafis within the bran-jar; and she, on hearing this wept sore and beat her breast and tore her hair crying, “Where now shall I find that clay-seller?  The wight is a stranger, never before did I see him about this quarter or this street.  Then turning to me she continued, “Herein thou hast dealt right foolishly, for that thou didst not tell me of the matter, nor didst place any trust in me; otherwise this mishap would never have happened to us; no, never.”  And she lamented with loud lamentation and bitter whereat I said, “Make not such hubbub nor display such trouble, lest our neighbours overhear thee, and learning of our mishap peradventure laugh at us and call us fools.  It behoveth us to rest content with the will of Almighty Allah.”  However the ten Ashrafis which I had taken from the two hundred sufficed me to carry on my trade and to live with more of ease for some short while; but I ever grieved and I marvelled much anent what could be said to Sa’di when he should come again; for inasmuch as he believed me not the first time I was assured in my mind that now he would denounce me aloud as a cheat and a liar.  One day of the days the twain, to wit, Sa’d and Sa’di, came strolling towards my house conversing and, as usual, arguing about me and my case; and I seeing them from afar left off working that I might hide myself, as I could not for very shame come forth and accost them.  Seeing this and not guessing the reason they entered my dwelling and, saluting me with the salam, asked me how I had fared.  I durst not raise my eyes so abashed and mortified was I, and with bended brow returned the greeting; when they, noting my sorry plight, marvelled saying, “Is all well with thee?  Why art thou in this state?  Hast thou not made good use of the gold or hast thou wasted thy wealth in lewd living?” Quoth I, “O my lords, the story of the Ashrafis is none other than this.  When ye departed from me I went home with the purse of money and, finding no one was in the house for all had gone out somewhere, I took out therefrom ten gold pieces.  Then I put the rest together with the purse within a large earthen jar filled full of bran which had long stood in one corner of the room, so might the matter be kept privy from my wife and children.  But whilst I was in the market buying me some hemp, my wife returned home; and at that moment there came in to her a man which sold fuller’s earth for washing hair.  She had need thereof withal naught to pay with; so she went out to him and said, ’I am clean without coin, but I have a quantity of bran; say me, wilt thou have that in change for thy clay?’ The man agreed and accordingly my wife took the earth of him, and gave him in exchange the jarful of bran which he carried away with him and ganged his gait.