The youth laid his ear to the ground and at once reported: ‘An old man is saying to his wife, “Heaven be praised that we have got rid of Moscione, for perhaps, when he has been out in the world a little, he may gain some common sense, and return home less of a fool than when he set out.”’
‘Enough, enough,’ cried Moscione. ‘You speak the truth, and I believe you. Come with us, and your fortune’s made.’
The young man consented; and after they had gone about ten miles, they met a third man, to whom Moscione said: ‘What’s your name, my brave fellow; where were you born, and what can you do?’
The man replied, ‘I am called Hit-the-Point, I come from the city of Perfect-aim, and I draw my bow so exactly that I can shoot a pea off a stone.’
‘I should like to see you do it, if you’ve no objection,’ said Moscione.
The man at once placed a pea on a stone, and, drawing his bow, he shot it in the middle with the greatest possible ease.
When Moscione saw that he had spoken the truth, he immediately asked Hit-the-Point to join his party.
After they had all travelled together for some days, they came upon a number of people who were digging a trench in the blazing sun.
Moscione felt so sorry for them, that he said: ‘My dear friends, how can you endure working so hard in heat that would cook an egg in a minute?’
But one of the workmen answered: ‘We are as fresh as daisies, for we have a young man among us who blows on our backs like the west wind.’