a fine capon was placed upon the
table, which the master desired his guest to carve for the company. The
young man took the capon, and began to carve and distribute it thus: To
the master of the house he gave the head; to the mistress, the inward
part; to the two daughters, each a wing; to the two sons, each a leg;
and the remainder he took for himself. After supper the master of the
house thus addressed his visitor: "Friend, I thought thy carving at
dinner somewhat peculiar, but thy distribution of the capon this evening
seems to me extremely whimsical. Give me leave to ask, do the citizens
of Jerusalem usually carve their capons in this fashion?"

"Master," said the youth, "I will gladly explain my system of carving,
which does appear to you so strange. At dinner I was requested to divide
five chickens among seven persons. This I could not do otherwise than
arithmetically; therefore, I adopted the perfect number _three_ as my
guide--thou, thy wife, and one chicken made _three_; thy two daughters
and one chicken made _three_; thy two sons and one chicken made _three_;
and I had to take the remaining chickens for my own share, as two
chickens and myself made _three_." "Very ingenious, I must confess,"
said the master. "But how dost thou explain thy carving of the capon?"
"That, master, I performed according to what appeared to me the fitness
of things. I gave the head of the capon to thee, because thou art the
head of this house; I gave the inward part to the mistress, as typical
of her fruitfulness; thy daughters are both of marriageable years, and,
as it is natural to wish them well settled in life, I gave each of them
a wing, to indicate that they should soon fly abroad; thy two sons are
the pillars of thy house, and to them I gave the legs, which are the
supporters of the animal; while to myself I took that part of the capon
which most resembles a boat, in which I came hither, and in which I
intend to return." From these proofs of his ingenuity the master was now
fully convinced that the stranger was the true son of his late friend
the merchant, and next morning he delivered to him his father's
property.[85]

[85] The droll incident of dividing the capon, besides being
found in Sacchetti, forms part of a popular story
current in Sicily, and is thus related in Professor
Crane's _Italian Popular Tales_, p. 311 ff., taken from
Prof. Comparetti's _Fiabe, Novelle, e Racconti_