her head with his own hands, and permitted her to exercise the powers of a judge. Presently Omer and the Jew entered the Court, Omer, unable to suppress his tears. The beardless Cadi examined the two litigants, and, after having obtained full information, gave judgment in favour of the Jew. "Hast thou brought a razor?" enquired the Cadi. "Certainly," replied the Jew. "Well then, cut," said the Cadi, "but take heed, lest thou cuttest more than one drachma, for know, that if thou should'st cut more or less than the bond permits, thou canst not justify thyself." The Jew, finding himself outwitted, yielded at once. "I know that thou art accustomed to give judgment by the book," said he; "I will leave him his thirty purses. I will leave him his piece of tongue. We are very good friends." Then the Cadi: "Send hither the executioner forthwith, that I may teach this hound of a Jew to obey the decree of the Court; cut instantly!" The wretched Jew fell on his knees and besought the Cadi, but the judge was inflexible. "Cut the drachma of tongue, infidel," quoth he, "or stretch out thy head for the executioner!" Finally the matter was arranged by the Jew paying thirty purses to the Cadi. The trial being over, Meira reached home before her husband. When Omer entered, she jestingly addressed him: "Ah, here is Omer with his tongue cut!" "Thou art mistaken," said her husband, "God and the wise Cadi (he is pretty as a woman, God keep him from all harm!) have saved me, and caught the Jew in a snare." "Was he prettier than I?" said Meira, showing him the thirty purses. Omer wept for joy, and three times kissed the fair forehead of his clever spouse.
A second Serbian tale (M. Stojanovic, Pucke prip. i pjesme, Zagreb, 1867, p. 176) is almost identical with the tale just quoted, even the names Omer, Issachar, are the same. I shall therefore at once proceed to the third tale.
This is a Solvene tale from Carniola (Gr. Krek, Einleitung in die slav Literaturgeschichte, 1887, p. 771). This tale
