nd fault with one another,
because they were secretly angry with themselves. Each one thought that
if his neighbour had not persuaded him to stay, he should have been up,
and have entered the city with the earliest: so high words arose between
them; and instead of helping one another, and making the best they could
of the time which remained, they only hindered one another, and made it
later and later before they were ready to begin their trading.

At length, after many hard words and much bad temper, one by one they got
away; each as soon as he was ready, and often with his goods all in
confusion; every one following his own path, and wandering by himself up
the crowded streets of the full town.

Hard work they had to get at all along it when they had passed the gates.
All the stream of people seemed now to be setting against them. The
idlers jested upon their strange dress; and if they did but try to
traffic for their lord, the rude children of the town would gather round
them, and hoot, and cry: so that they could not manage to carry on any
trade at all.

Then, as I watched them, I saw that some who had been the loudest in
talking of what they should do when they were tried, were now the first
to give up altogether making any head at all against the crowd of that
city. They packed up what goods they might have, and began to think only
of looking about them, and following the crowd, and pleasing themselves,
like any of the men around them. Then I looked after some of these, and
I saw that one of them was led on by the crowd to a place in the town
where there was a great show. Outside of it were men in many-coloured
dresses, who blew with trumpets, and jested, and cried aloud, and begged
all to come in and see the strange sights which were stored within.

Now when the servant came to this place, he watched one and another go
in, until at last he also longed to go in and see the sights which were
to be gazed on within. So he went to the door, and the porter asked him
for money; but when he drew out his purse, and the porter saw that his
money belonged to some strange place, and was quite unlike the coin used
in that town, he only laughed at it, and said it was good for nothing
there, and bid him "stand back." So as he turned away, the porter saw
the rich bundle on his back, and then he spoke to him in another tone,
and he said, "I will let you in, if you like to give me that bundle of
goods." Then for a momen