the lady
alone, she went and solicited alms, weeping and bemoaning her sad fate
at being a lonely old woman whose husband was long since dead. She
appealed to the lady for compassion in proportion as she hoped for the
duration of the cup she and her husband quaffed in undivided
happiness. The lady was very generous to the old woman, each day
giving her something; so much so, that the thought that her good
husband might think her extravagant often gave her some uneasiness.

One day the old woman looked into the shop-door of her benefactress's
husband and planted the first evil seed by calling out:

"Ah! if men only knew where the money they work for from morning till
night goes, or knew what their wives did when they were away, some
homes would not be so happy."

The evil woman then went her way, and the good shopman wondered why
she had said these words to him. A passing thought suggested that it
was strange that of late his wife had asked him several times for a
few extra piasters. The next day, the old woman as usual solicited
alms of her victim. In the fulness of her hypocrisy she embraced the
young lady before departing, taking care to leave the imprint of her
blackened hand on her dupe's back. The old woman then again went to
the shop, looked at her victim's husband, and said:

"Oh! how blind men are! They only look in a woman's face for truth and
loyalty; they forget to look at the back where the stamp of the
lover's hand is to be seen."

As before, the old woman disappeared. But the mind of the shopman was
troubled and his heart was heavy. In this oppressed state he went to
his home, and an opportunity offering he looked at his wife's back,
and was aghast to see there the impression of a hand. He got up and
left his home, a broken-hearted man.

The devil was deeply impressed at the signal success of the old woman,
and hastened to redeem his promise. He took a long pole, tied the pair
of slippers at the end, and hurried off to the old woman. Arriving at
her house he called out to her to open the window. When she did this,
he thrust in the pair of yellow slippers, begging her to take them,
but not to come near him; they were hard-earned slippers, he said; she
had succeeded where he had failed; so that he was afraid of her and
was anxious to keep out of her way.

HOW THE DEVIL LOST HIS WAGER

A peasant, ploughing his field, was panting with fatigue, when the
devil appeared before him and said:

"