r dervishes; they stood up and greeted him.

"Thou comest to fetch the treasure of the poor," said one of them:
"thy desires shall be fulfilled." He immediately made a sign to the
others, and they all moved off through another door. "Men," continued
he, "certainly are complete fools; they fix their hearts on such
useless things; and the more they have the more insatiable they are."

He shook his head contemptuously. Before he had said anything more,
the remaining dervishes came back, one bringing a number of purses
filled with sequins; two others bringing precious boxes filled with
pearls; the third, two boxes with great diamonds of the finest fire; a
fourth, two boxes full of the finest emeralds; and so each one another
precious thing.

Jussuf took all the things, and hid the boxes and the purses about his
person.

"Are you satisfied?" asked the dervish who had first spoken.

And Jussuf answered, "No."

"I said so," grumbled the dervish. And, at a sign from him, the others
again went and brought, as at the first time, purses of gold and boxes
of jewels.

"Hast thou enough now?" asked the dervish.

And Jussuf, who could hardly dispose of all about him, answered, "No."

With still greater signs of displeasure, the dervish caused a fresh
burden of similar presents to be brought. And, as Jussuf could not
carry any more, he asked again, "Now hast thou not enough, at last?"

Remembering Hassan's instructions, he again answered, "No."

Then the dervish got up, and turned round on one foot angrily, and
exclaimed, "Thou shameful man, art thou insatiable? Thou canst not
take all with thee that thou hast already received, and thou must load
thy companion also with the trifles in order to convey them hence, and
yet thou hast not enough, thou glutton!"

Immediately the other dervishes surrounded him, and screamed out, as
from a cave, "Glutton! impudent creature! avaricious man!"

"And what dost thou want now?" asked the dervish.

Then Jussuf said the word that Hassan had taught him for this
occasion, "Ketlafgat."

He had hardly spoken it, when the other dervishes sat down, and he who
had asked the question went out of the summer-house. He soon came back
with a small box, which he gave to Jussuf: it was made of mean wood,
and without any ornament.

"Here is what thou desirest," said he. And, while he reached to him a
small golden key, he added, "Henceforward thou no longer needest a
guide. Go where thy inclinatio