ed treasure. But when he had dug up the ground, what did he find?
Why, nothing but a parcel of old bones, which smelt so badly that he
could not stay there a moment longer. And his heart was filled with rage
against the dog who had played him this trick, and he seized a pickaxe
and killed it on the spot, before he knew what he was doing. When he
remembered that he would have to go with his story to the old man and
his wife he was rather frightened, but there was nothing to be gained
by putting it off, so he pulled a very long face and went to his
neighbour's garden.

'Your dog,' said he, pretending to weep, 'has suddenly fallen down dead,
though I took every care of him, and gave him everything he could wish
for. And I thought I had better come straight and tell you.'

Weeping bitterly, the old man went to fetch the body of his favourite,
and brought it home and buried it under the fig-tree where he had found
the treasure. From morning till night he and his wife mourned over their
loss, and nothing could comfort them.

At length, one night when he was asleep, he dreamt that the dog appeared
to him and told him to cut down the fig-tree over his grave, and out of
its wood to make a mortar. But when the old man woke and thought of his
dream he did not feel at all inclined to cut down the tree, which bore
well every year, and consulted his wife about it. The woman did not
hesitate a moment, and said that after what had happened before, the
dog's advice must certainly be obeyed, so the tree was felled, and a
beautiful mortar made from it. And when the season came for the rice
crop to be gathered the mortar was taken down from its shelf, and the
grains placed in it for pounding, when, lo and behold! in a twinkling of
an eye, they all turned into gold pieces. At the sight of all this gold
the hearts of the old people were glad, and once more they blessed their
faithful dog.

But it was not long before this story also came to the ears of their
envious neighbour, and he lost no time in going to the old people and
asking if they happened to have a mortar which they could lend him. The
old man did not at all like parting with his precious treasure, but he
never could say no, so the neighbour went off with the mortar under his
arm.

The moment he got into his own house he took a great handful of rice,
and began to shell off the husks, with the help of his wife. But,
instead of the gold pieces for which they looked, the rice tu