"Well, it is this way," answered the man: "I bought a piece of ground from this neighbor of mine, and paid him a fair price for it. Yesterday, when I was digging in it, I found a box full of gold and jewels. This treasure does not belong to me, for I bought only the ground; but when I offered it to my neighbor he refused it."
The second man then spoke up and said, "It is true that I sold him the ground, but I did not reserve anything he might find in it. The treasure is not mine, and therefore I am unwilling to take it."
The shah sat silent for a while, as if in thought. Then he said to the first man, "Have you a son?"
"Yes, a young man of promise," was the answer.
The shah turned to the second man: "Have you a daughter?"
"I have," answered the man, "—a beautiful girl."
"Well, then, this is my judgment. Let the son marry the daughter, if both agree, and give them the treasure as a wedding portion."
Alexander listened with great interest. "You have judged wisely and rightly," said he to the shah, "but in my own country we should have done differently."
"What would you have done?"
"Well, we should have thrown both men into prison, and the treasure would have been given to the king."