ildren were not in
the house. They were out asking alms from their neighbors. Lucas then
hid the bulk of the money in an empty jar in the corner of the room,
and then went out to buy food for his wife and children. While he was
gone, his wife and children returned. They had not yet eaten anything.

Not long afterward a man came along selling rice. Zelima said to him,
"Sir, can't you give us a little something to appease our hunger? I'll
give you some darak [55] in exchange."

"Oh, yes!" said the man, "I'll give you some rice, but you do not
need to give me anything."

Zelima took the rice gladly; and as she was looking for something
with which to repay the man, she happened to see the empty jar in
which her husband had secretly put his money. She filled the jar with
darak and gave it to the rice-seller.

When Lucas came home, he was very happy. He told his wife about the
money he had hidden. But when he found out that the money was gone,
he was in despair: he did not know what to do. He scolded his wife
for her carelessness. As he could not endure to see the suffering of
his children, he tried to kill himself, but his children prevented
him. At last he concluded to be quiet; for he thought, "If I hurt my
wife, and she becomes sick, I can't stand it. I must take care of her."

Two months passed by, and Luis and Isco again visited their friend
Lucas. While they were walking in the street, Luis found a big piece
of lead. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. When they reached
Lucas's house, they were astonished to see him in a more wretched
condition than before. Luis asked what was the matter. Lucas related
to him all that had occurred; but Luis just said, "Oh, no! you are
fooling us. We will not believe you." Lucas was very sad. He asked
pardon of Luis for his carelessness, and said, "Don't increase the
burden of my suffering by your scolding!"

Now, Luis was by nature gentle and pitiful. He could not endure to
see his friend suffering. So he gave him the lead he had found in
the street, saying, "Now, take care of that! Maybe your wealth will
come from it." Luis accepted the lead unwillingly, for he thought
that Luis was mocking him.

When Lucas went into the house, he threw the lead away in the corner,
and went to sleep. During the night a neighbor knocked at their door,
asking for a piece of lead for her husband. The neighbor said, "My
husband is going fishing early in the morning, and he asked me to buy
h