“But I have seen no horse,” replied Abner, smiling craftily, “how therefore can I tell you where he is?”
The Master of the Horse was about to insist upon Abner explaining this apparent contradiction, when by a strange coincidence another event occurred which prevented him.
A troop of black slaves came running towards them, crying aloud, “Hath any one seen the Empress’ lap-dog? Aline, Aline, where art thou?”
“Is it not a small spaniel with a long coat, a feathery tail, and lame in the right foreleg?”
ABNER, THE JEW WHO SAW NOTHING
“They ran here and there in wild disorder”
(p. [154])
“Yes, yes,” cried the slaves, “of a certainty thou hast described the dog. The Empress is in a swoon [!-- original location of full page illustration --] [!-- blank page --] on account of the loss of her favourite and will certainly not recover until Aline is restored to her; tell us, therefore, where thou hast seen the dog!”
“I have seen no dog,” replied Abner, “neither was I so much as aware that our Empress possessed one.”
Then both the stable men and the slaves of the harem fell to abusing Abner, the shameless Jew, who did not scruple to make game of his Emperor and Empress. They seized him and dragged him before the Emperor and recounted all that had happened, suggesting that most certainly the Jew had seen and stolen the animals in question.