day. You have not yet taken one
glass."

"Excuse me, I have drunk quite as much as is good for me--much more than
a glass--nearly a bottle."

"It is good till you shall drink the three glasses of Noah. Did you know
what is the glass of Noah? All right, I shall tell you."

Then he told me about Noah and the Devil.

The patriarch Noah was working in his field one day when the Devil came
along, put his arms on top of the gate, and looking over, said in a
friendly way:

"Good morning, Mr. Noah."

"Good morning, Mr. Devil," replied Noah. "And what can I do for you?"

"Do not let me interrupt; you seem busy this morning."

"Yes," replied Noah; "I am planting the vine."

"Oho!" said the Devil, "but this is rather interesting."

So he slipped inside the field and took a seat on a large white stone.
Noah went on with his work.

A lion was prowling round and came through the gate which the Devil had
carelessly left open. The Devil killed the lion and watered the vine
with its blood.

"I wish you wouldn't do that," said Noah testily.

The Devil paid no attention. A monkey dropped down from a tree and came
skipping up to them to see what was going on. The Devil killed the
monkey and watered the vine with its blood.

"Can't you leave the poor beasts alone?" said Noah, who had always
deprecated cruelty to animals, and was beginning to lose his temper.

The Devil paid no attention. A pig was wallowing in the mud close
by--there had been a good deal of rain lately. The Devil killed the pig
and watered the vine with its blood.

This was too much for Noah. He shouted: "Haven't you got any work of
your own to do, you lazy devil?" He was so angry he forgot to say "Mr."
"You had better go home; your dinner will be getting cold."

"'Hot' you mean," replied the Devil, looking for his hat, which had
fallen behind the large white stone. "What an ungrateful husbandman you
are! I have been helping you to make your wine. When you have drunk the
first glass, you will feel strong and behave furiously. When you have
drunk the second glass, you will forget how to think for yourself, you
will imitate other people and behave foolishly. When you have drunk the
third glass--Need I continue? I think not. Good morning."

Whereupon the Devil put his hands into his pockets, tucked his tail up
under his left arm and swaggered away, thinking of his next job and
whistling "La Donna e Mobile."

"And the glass of Noah," s