“Who thinks to take another in
Is oft in his turn taken in.”
TWO townsmen and a countryman, on a pilgrimage to Mecca, agreed to share provisions till they should reach Mecca. But the victuals ran short, so that they had nothing left but a little flour—enough to make a loaf. And the townsmen, seeing that, said one to the other: “We have but little food, and our companion eats much, how shall we bring about that he shall eat none of the bread, and that we alone eat it?” And they took this counsel—they would make the loaf, and whilst it was baking should all go to sleep, and whoever dreamed the most marvellous thing in that time, he should alone eat the bread. This they did, thinking to betray the simple rustic, and they made the loaf and put it to bake, and then lay down to sleep. But the rustic saw through their treachery, and when the companions were sleeping took the half-baked bread, ate it, and turned to sleep. Then one of the townsmen awoke as one dreaming and afraid, and called to his companion; and the other said, “What hast thou?”
“I saw a marvellous vision: methought two angels opened the gates of heaven, and bore me before the face of God.”
And his companion said, “Marvellous is that vision. But I dreamed that two angels seized me, and, cleaving the earth, bore me to hell.”
The rustic heard all this and pretended to sleep, but the others called out to him to awake, and he discreetly, as one amazed, replied, “Who are ye that are calling me?”
They replied, “We are thy companions.”
And he said, “Have ye returned?”
And they said, “Whence wouldst thou have us return?”
And the rustic said, “But now methought I saw two angels take the one of you to heaven, and then two other angels take the other to hell; and seeing this, and thinking you would neither return, I got up and ate the loaf.”