The Sunday Oregonian., June 06, 1915, SECTION SIX, Page 8, Image 74

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THE SFXDAY OHFOOVIAN. PORTLAND, JUNE 6, 1915.
ftfOO ARABIAN MGttTS
A CERTAIN oriental king, who was very
fond of disguising- himself and strolling
around the streets, so that he could -find
out on his own account whether the people
were satisfied with the way he ruled them, one
day came across an old blind beggar The
king, pitying the old fellow, took a gold piece
from his purse, gave it to him, and was about
to pass on when the beggar said, " Please, sir,
. give me a box on the ear. If you do not I will
be unable to accept your gift without breaking
a'solemn vow."
"This is most extraordinary!" exclaimed
the king, giving the old man a slight blow on
the ear. " I should love to know why you have
made this strange vow
" If you have the time, sir, I will be most
glad to tell you," answered the beggar.
. " Come, then, sit ' down, and tell me the
story," commanded the king, as he caught the
old man by the arm and led him to some
steps nearby.
"Well," said the beggar, "when my father
died I found myself with quite a good sized
fortune at my command. I bought a number
of camels, loaded them with goods, and began
to travel around the country, trading at the
various cities. One day while traveling be
tween two cities I stopped beneath a clump of
trees to eat my lunch. Presently an old monk
came along, and, seeing me resting in the cool
shade, joined me. During the conversation
that followed the monk told me that he knew
of a place nearby where there were such great
heaps of gold and jewels that if all my camels
I had eighty were loaded from the treasure
the amount would not be missed.
"You can imagine that I was greatly ex
cited, and I at once begged the good man to
conduct me to the spot. He told me that he
would take rre to the place where the treasure
was hidden on the condition that when the
camels were loaded with as much of the gold
and jewels as they could carry I should give
him half of them. I was a stingy, tight fisted
sort of young chap, and I hated to give up half
of my camels, even though I expected to get
many hundred times their worth from the
treasure. But as there was nothing else to do,
I had to agree to his conditions, and after a
short journey the monk led me ir.to a vallev
between two high mountains.
" When we arrived at about the middle of
the valley the monk asked me to stop the cam
els, and then, gathering a pile of sticks, he
built a fire. He waved his arms over the blaze
several times in a most peculiar manner, and at
the same time chanted a queer sort of song.
Suddenly a great cloud of. smoke puffed up
from the fire, and when it had cleared away I
saw that the side of the cliff had v nished. A
beautiful palace stood in the side of the moun
tain, and everywhere around us lay great heaps
of gold and jewels
" I was filled with great excitement, and at
once began to pack my bags full of the precious
things. Soon we had the eighty camels loaded
'with as much of the treasure as they could pos
'sibly carry in fact, some of them actually
staggered under the weight of their great
loads.
" After the camels were loaded the monk
built another fire and performed over it in the
same manner as he had the first time. A great
cloud of smoke burst from the blaze, as before,
and when it had cleared away I saw that the
cliff had closed, leaving the bare rock of the
mountain in. its place.
" As we had agreed, the monk selected forty
of the camels, and when we came to the spot
where he had met me he said good-by and took
the road in the direction of Bussorah. I had
gone only a very short distance when the de
mon of envy and ingratitude took possession
of me.
1 " ' He has the secret of the treasure,' I
thought, ' and can get as much of it as he wants
at any time. Why shouldn't I have at least ten
of his camels ? ' ,
" With this unjust thought in my heart, I de
termined to have them, if I had to take them
from him by force. I called after him as loud
as I could, giving him to understand that I had
something to say to him. He stopped, and
when I came up to him I told him that it had
just occurred to me that, as he was a monk,
and had given up his life to God, I couldn't
see what he could possibly do with so much
wealth. 'Give me ten of the camels,' I con
tinued, ' and you will still have more than
enough for your needs. .
" He seemed rather afraid of me, and at
once told me to select ten of his camels. I
picked out the ten that were loaded the most
heavily, and then, feeling bolder with my suc
cess, I asked for ten more. To my great sur
prise he readily gave them to me. This quite
turned my head, so I immediately asked for all
of his camels. He told me to take them, but
asked that he be allowed one. ' You may take
the treasure from its back,' he pleaded, 'only
give me one, so I can ride, for I have a long
journey before me, and I am very tired.'
' I quite heartlessly refused him and walked
away. As I tramped down the road I suddenly
remembered that I had seen the monk pick up
a small golden box while we were filling the
bags with treasure. Thinking that it might
have some strange magic charm, I made up my
mind to have it ; so, turning about, I again
called after him. He stood waiting in the road
for me, and when I came up to him I asked
him for the little golden box. The monk took
it from his pocket and handed it to me. I
raised the cover, and found that the' box con
tained a yellowish sort of paste. ;
"'Has this any : particular use?". I asked
as I raised it to my nose and sniffed cautiously.
" It has a most wonderful use,' answered
the old monk. 'If I should rub some of it
around your left eye you could immediately
see all the treasure that is buried in the earth.
If I should put some of the paste around your
right eye it would make you blind.'
" I asked him to put some around my left
eye, and when he had applied the paste I found
that he had spoken the truth, for I saw count
less treasures, and I longed to grasp them.
" It occurred to me that if the paste had the
power when applied to the'lef t eye. of showing
me this wealth, it certainly would, when ap
plied to my right eye, put the treasure at my
disposal.
' Put some on my right eye I cried", for I
thought the monk was not telling me the truth
... . . . rsv
and was trying to hide something from rm.
"He refused, telling me again that I would
become stone blind, but I was determined to
have my own way, so I drew my knife in a
very threatening manner and ordered him to
proceed. He dipped his finger in the box and
slowly rubbed it around my right eye. In
stantly everything became dark, and I knew
that he had spoken the truth.
" ' Is there nothing that will restore my
sight? ' I cried, rubbing frantically at my eyes.
" ' Miserable wretch I ' answered the monk.
' You have what you deserve. The blindness
of your mind was the cause of the loss of your ,
eyes. I will take the wealth that might have
been yours and give it to men not so ungrate
ful as yourself.' .
He waved his arms over the blaze several
limes In a most peculiar manner.".
" I was so overcome with shame I fell down
upon the ground in a dead faint. When I again
came to my senses the monk had taken my
camels and disappeared.
" Fortunately, on the next day I was picked
up by a party of merchants and carried into
Bagdad. As there was nothing for me to do
but to become a beggar, I made a vow that, for
the punishment of my selfishness and greed, I
would ask all who gave me alms to also give
me a box on the ear, so I would never forget
my wickedness or the goodness of God."
" My poor man," said the king, " as you are
repentant, you will not need to beg any longer,
for I will give you enough money each week
to keep you from want." ;
The beggar, clasping his hands, raised his
sightless eyes toward the sky, and in a trem
bling voice he cried, " O, how wonderful is the
goodness of God 1" '
(Another Arabian Nightg Mtory will appear nest Sunday.)
.
a
P
voice from the half opened door of the teenie weenie library.
us, but may I we speak to you a minute? I that is we have
cried the General, putting on his glasses and swinging
who came shyly into the room leading his blushing
ARDON me, General," came a
" I I I we pardon
something very important to tell you
Why, certainly yes, yes, certainly,"
around in his chair to look at the Teenie Weenie lover
little sweetheart by the hand
" Well, now then, what can I do for you? " asked the General, with a kindly smile at the couple.
" W-e-e why please, we the truth is we want to get married," stammered the lover.
" Well, this is important, sure enough," cried the General, as he closed the doorand placed chairs for
the lovers. " Now sit down and be comfortable while we talk it all over."
The lovers were with the General for some time, and when all three finally came out of the library it
had been decided that the young people should be married just as soon as a house could be built for them.
All the other Teenie Weenies were greatly excited over the news of the wedding, and every one was
very much interested in the plans for a house for the lovers. The teenie weenie ladies, led by the Lady of
Fashion, started in at once to sew. Every teenie weenie sewing machine was brought out, and the house
hummed like a hive of bees, and their tiny fingers fairly flew for days as they made pretty dresses, hemmed
sheets, embroidered towels, and did all the other sewing necessary for a bride.
In the meantime, the men folks discussed the new home. Since the burning of Hat House, the Shoe
House had made, the little people such a comfortable home that everybody decided an old baby shoe could be
built into a cozy, delightful home for the young couple.
The Cow Boy and the Indian scouted around for days, and finally found the very thing. Then came
days of hard work. The shoe had to be brought up under the yellow rose bush, near the other house. The
General had it jacked up on heavy boards and then rolled on lead pencils to the place where it would stand.
It was a hard task, but the Teenie Weenies all worked with a will, for everybody was interested in the " Love
Bungalow," as the Old Soldier had named the new home, and every one wanted to do something towards
building or furnishing it. rOopyrtgfct: 1915: By Win. rKmahey.