oth very much; I
thought of that, and wept on her account.' The Cogia thinking that what
she said was truth, took a spoonful of the broth, and burning his mouth
began to cry and bellow. 'What is the matter with you?' said his wife;
'why do you cry?' Said the Cogia, 'You cry because your mother is gone,
but I cry because her daughter is here.'

One day the Cogia's wife went to the hall of preaching; and, after
listening to the sermon, came home. Said the Cogia, 'O wife, what did
the preacher say?' 'He said,' replied the wife, 'that if any one has a
night's copulation with his lawful wife the Almighty God will build for
him a mansion in paradise.' After they had gone to bed the Cogia said,
'Come, let us build a house in paradise.' Thereupon they copulated.
Shortly afterwards the wife said, 'O Cogia, you have built a house for
yourself, pray now build a house for me!' Said the Cogia, 'I could
easily build a house for you, but I fear that I should have to build
houses for your father and mother, and not only for them, but for all
your family and relations, so that the Master Builder above would become
angry. Come, one house must suffice for us two.'

One day the Cogia met a company of young students and said unto them,
'Pray come along with me to our house.' So he led them to the door of
the house and then said, 'Pray stay here a little, whilst I go in.' Then
going in he said, 'O wife, pray go and send those people away.' Whereupon
the wife went and said, 'The Cogia is not come home.' Said the students,
'What do you mean by talking so? The Cogia came hither in our company.'
'He did not come,' said the wife. 'But he did,' said the students, and
made a great outcry. The Cogia hearing a noise from above, thrust his
head out of the window, exclaiming, 'Holloa, my men: what is all this
dispute for? You must know that this house has two doors. No sooner did
I come in by one than I left the house by the other.'

One day the son of the Cogia said, 'O Father, I know that I was begotten
by you.' His mother becoming very angry, said, 'What nonsense is the
brat talking that he calls himself the son of a whore?' Said the Cogia,
'O wife, don't be angry, he is a wise son if he knows what he says he
does.'

Once on a time there was a drunken Governor of Siouri Castle. It
happened one day that he lay in a state of drunkenness in the garden; and
the Cogia taking a walk in the garden with Amad, came up and found him
l