I chose ten and put them in the road to follow my others. I had not imagined that the dervish would be so easily persuaded to part with his camels and I began to think that it would be no hard matter to get ten more: wherefore, instead of thanking him, I said to him again, “Brother, I cannot part from you without desiring you to consider once more how difficult a thing it is to govern thirty loaded camels, especially for you who are not used to such work; you will find it much better to return me as many more as you have done already.”
The dervish gave me, without any hesitation, the other ten camels; so that he had but twenty left, and I was master of sixty, and might boast of greater riches than any sovereign prince. Any one would have thought I would now be content, but the more we have, the more we want; and I became yet more greedy and desirous of the other twenty camels.
I redoubled my solicitations and importunities to make the dervish grant me ten of the twenty, which he did with a good grace: and as to the other ten he had left, I embraced him, kissed his feet, caressed and entreated him, so that he gave me these also. “Make a good use of them, brother,” said the dervish, “and remember that God can take away riches as well as give them.”
I was not yet content, though I had my forty camels again, and knew they were loaded with treasure. A thought came into my head, that the little box of ointment which the dervish
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