'Aye,' I replied. 'In sh'Allah we shall cut down these three olive trees and put the house instead of them.'
At that his smile gave place to grave concern.
He said: 'That may not be.'
'Why not?' I asked.
'Because we have no right to touch these trees.'
'But the Sheykh Ali told me that this terrace was his property.'
'That is so, as to the land. The trees are different.'
'To whom, then, do these trees belong?'
'To different people.'
'How can I know which trees are ours, which theirs?'