Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 29, 1918.djvu/218

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The Provenience of

city." The poor brother told him how he saw the robbers come out of the rock as well as how he got the money. The rich brother said, "You must take me there to get some money." "Yes, I will take you. Yes, go and come at midnight, we will go." The man went home, but as he was in a hurry to get the money he came back at ten, he crowed like a rooster. His brother said, "Go home. You are not a rooster. When it is time, I will call you." He went, in half an hour he came back. His brother said, "It is still too early, but let us go." The rich brother took five donkeys, the other took two. They went to the same place, they sat down to wait. When it was time out came the seven robbers. The poor brother counted them. When all seven had gone and left, he said, "Rock, open." They went in, they collected the money together. There was a bar of gold. The rich brother said, "I will take it with me." The poor brother said, "No, don't take it. It's the only one here. They would discover it, they would miss it." The rich brother took it, however, he put it in his sack. Next day he did not wait for his brother, he went alone with twenty donkeys. The robbers had not missed the gold bar. He loaded his donkeys, he left. The next day he took forty donkeys. After he came there, six robbers came out, they left one there to catch the man who came there to steal. He counted "One, two, three, four, five, six, six, it can't be six, it's seven." He counted again. "That's six, but I'm going to make it seven. . . . Rock, open." He went in, he filled his sack. The robber who was inside caught him. He put irons on his hands and feet, he left him until the other robbers came. They took him, they skinned him, they cut him up joint by joint, they left him there. A day passed, he did not come home. His wife went to the house of her brother-in-law. She said to him, "If you don't go get your brother, I'll denounce you in the city." He answered, "I'll go for him, but I believe