When he appeared before the judge, “My lord,” said he, “this Mussulmaun you are going to execute is not guilty.  I am the criminal.  Last night a man and a woman, unknown to me, came to my door with a sick man; my maid went and opened it without a light, and received from them a piece of money with a commission to come and desire me, in their name, to step down and look at the patient.  While she was delivering her message, they conveyed the sick person to the stair-head, and disappeared.  I went, without staying till my servant had lighted a candle, and in the dark happened to stumble upon the sick person, and kick him down stairs.  At length I saw he was dead, and that it was the crooked Mussulmaun whose death you are now about to avenge.  My wife and I took the corpse, and, after conveying it up to the roof of the purveyor, our next neighbour, whom you were going to put to death unjustly, let it down the chimney into his chamber.  The purveyor finding it in his house, took the little man for a thief, and after beating him concluded he had killed him.  But that it was not so you will be convinced by this my deposition; I am the sole author of the murder; and though it was committed undesignedly, I am resolved to expiate my crime, that I may not have to charge myself with the death of two Mussulmauns.”

The chief justice being persuaded that the Jewish doctor was the murderer, gave orders to the executioner to seize him and release the purveyor.  Accordingly the doctor was just going to be impaled, when the tailor appeared, crying to the executioner to hold his hand, and make room for him, that he might come and make his confession to the chief judge.  Room being made, “My lord,” said he, “you have narrowly escaped taking away the lives of three innocent persons; but if you will have the patience to hear me, I will discover to you the real murderer of the crook backed man.  If his death is to be expiated by another, that must be mine.  Yesterday, towards the evening, as I was at work in my shop, and was disposed to be merry, the little hunch-back came to my door half-drunk, and sat down.  He sung a little, and so I invited him to pass the evening at my house.  He accepted the invitation and went in with me.  We sat down to supper and I gave him a plate of fish; but in eating, a bone stuck in his throat, and though my wife and I did our utmost to relieve him, he died in a few minutes.  His death afflicted us extremely, and for fear of being charged with it, we carried the corpse to the Jewish doctor’s house and knocked.  The maid came. and opened the door; I desired her to go up again and ask her master to come down and give his advice to a sick person whom we had brought along with us; and withal, to encourage him, I charged her to give him a piece of money, which I put into her hand.  When she was gone, I carried the hunch-back up stairs, and laid him upon the uppermost step, and then my wife and I made the best of our way home.  The doctor coming, threw the corpse down stairs, and concluded himself to be the author of his death.  This being the case,” continued he, “release the doctor, and let me die in his stead.”