rare and delicious fruits. He remained
for some time, and glutted his appetite, when a thought occurred to him
that it was possible he might be observed, and in that case he should
pay dearly for his feast. He therefore retired to the place where he had
entered, and attempted to get out, but to his great consternation he
found his endeavours vain. He had by indulgence grown so fat and plump
that the same space would no more admit him. "I am in a fine
predicament," said he to himself. "Suppose the master of the garden were
now to come and call me to account, what would become of me? I see my
only chance of escape is to fast and half starve myself." He did so with
great reluctance, and after suffering hunger for three days, he with
difficulty made his escape. As soon as he was out of danger, he took a
farewell view of the scene of his late pleasure, and said: "O garden!
thou art indeed charming, and delightful are thy fruits--delicious and
exquisite; but of what benefit art thou to me? What have I now for all
my labour and cunning? Am I not as lean as I was before?"--It is even so
with man, remarks the Talmudist. Naked he comes into the world--naked
must he go out of it, and of all his toils and labour he can carry
nothing with him save the fruits of his righteousness.

* * * * *

From fables to parables the transition is easy; and many of those found
in the Talmud are exceedingly beautiful, and are calculated to cause
even the most thoughtless to reflect upon his way of life. Let us first
take the parable of the Desolate Island, one of those adapted by the
monkish compilers of European mediaeval tales, to which reference has
been made in the preceding sections:

_The Desolate Island._

A very wealthy man, who was of a kind, benevolent disposition, desired
to make his slave happy. He therefore gave him his freedom, and
presented him with a shipload of merchandise. "Go," said he, "sail to
different countries; dispose of these goods, and that which thou mayest
receive for them shall be thy own." The slave sailed away upon the broad
ocean, but before he had been long on his voyage a storm overtook him,
his ship was driven on a rock and went to pieces; all on board were
lost--all save this slave, who swam to an island near by. Sad,
despondent, with nothing in this world, he traversed this island until
he approached a large and beautiful city, and many people approached
him, joyously shouti