"Go back to the mill," said the Jackal, "and wait for me. I will just wash my face, and then I'll settle your business."
They went away, and waited a long time, but no Jackal. Late in the afternoon, they got tired of waiting for the Jackal, and determined to go and look for him. There he was still, sitting in his den and smoking a hubble-bubble.
"Why didn't you come?" asked the Miller. "We have been waiting for you all day."
"Oh, my dear sir, I was too busy," said the Jackal. "When I went to wash my face, I found that all the water had caught fire; I have only just put it out."
"You must be mad, your reverence," said the Miller. "Who ever heard of water catching fire?"
"And who ever heard," replied the Jackal, "of a mill having a young mule?"
The Miller saw that he was found out, and was so
much ashamed that he gave back the mule to
its owner, and the Merchant
went home.