I set before the gods, whereupon they
disputed among themselves who should eat first, and the tallest god
broke all the rest into pieces with the hammer." "What fable is this
thou art telling me?" exclaimed Terah. "As for the god thou speakest of,
is he not the work of my own hands?' Did I not carve him out of the
timber of the tree which I cut down in the wilderness? How, then, could
he have done this evil? Verily _thou_ hast broken my idols!" "Consider,
my father," said Abraham, "what it is thou sayest--that I am capable of
destroying the gods which thou dost worship!" Then Terah took and
delivered him to Nimrod, who said to Abraham: "Let us worship the fire."
To which Abraham replied: "Rather the water that quenches the fire."
"Well, the water." "Rather the cloud which carries the water." "Well,
the cloud." "Rather the wind that scatters the cloud." "Well, the wind."
"Rather man, for he endures the wind." "Thou art a babbler!" exclaimed
Nimrod. "I worship the fire, and will cast thee into it. Perchance the
God whom thou dost adore will deliver thee from thence." Abraham was
accordingly thrown into a heated furnace, but God saved him.[94]

[94] After Abraham had walked to and fro unscathed amidst the
fierce flames for three days, the faggots were suddenly
transformed into a blooming garden of roses and
fruit-trees and odoriferous plants.--This legend is
introduced into the Kuran, and Muslim writers, when they
expatiate on the almighty power of Allah, seldom omit to
make reference to Nimrod's flaming furnace being turned
into a bed of roses.

* * * * *

Alexander the Great is said to have wept because there were no more
worlds for him to conquer; and truly says the sage Hebrew King, "The
grave and destruction can never have enough, nor are the eyes of man
ever satisfied" (Prov. xxvii, 20), a sentiment which the following tale,
or parable, is designed to exemplify:

_The Vanity of Ambition._

Pursuing his journey through dreary deserts and uncultivated ground,
Alexander came at last to a small rivulet, whose waters glided
peacefully along their shelving banks. Its smooth, unruffled surface was
the image of contentment, and seemed in its silence to say, "This is the
abode of tranquility." All was still: not a sound was heard save soft
murmuring tones which seemed to whisper in the ear of the weary
traveller, "Come, and parta