he took a spade, and went into his garden to bury them. (e) It so happened that one of his neighbors was looking out of the window at the time, and seeing Casem poking about the earth in his garden, he ran to the cadi, and told him that his old friend had discovered a treasure. Nothing more was requisite1 to excite the cupidity of the judge. He allowed the miser to aver, as loudly as he pleased, that he was burying his slippers, and had found no treasure, but at the same time demanded the treasure he had found. Casem talked to no purpose. Wearied out at last with his own asseverations,3 he paid the money, and departed, cursing the very soles of the pantofles. Determined to get rid of these unhappy movables, our hero carried them some distance from the city, and threw them into a reservoir, hoping he had now seen the last of them; but his evil genius, not yet tired of tormenting him, guided the pantofles precisely to the entrance of the conduit.* 1 Requisite, necessary. 2 Aver, tell. 4 3 Asseverations, declarations. Conduit (kon'-dit), water pipe. From this point they were carried along into the city, and sticking at the mouth of the aqueduct, they stopped it up, and prevented the water from flowing into the basin. The overseers of the city fountains, seeing that the water had stopped, immediately set about repairing the damage; and at length dragged into the face of day the old reprobate1 slippers, which they immediately took to the cadi, complaining loudly of the damage they had caused. The unfortunate proprietor was now condemned to pay a fine still heavier than before but far was he from having the luck of losing his chattels. The cadi, having delivered the sentence, said, like a conscientious magistrate, that he had no power to retain other people's property, upon which the slippers, with much solemnity, were faithfully returned to their distracted owner. (a) He carried them home with him, meditating as he went, as well as he was able to meditate, how he should destroy them; at length he determined upon committing Chattels, property. 1 Reprobate, evil. 2 them to the flames. Accordingly he tried to do so, but they were too wet; so he put them on the terrace to dry. But his evil spirit, as aforesaid, had reserved a still more cruel accident than any before; for a dog, whose master lived hard by, seeing these strange wild fowl of a pair of shoes, jumped from one terrace to the other, till he came to the shoes, and began to play with one of them; in his sport he dropped it over the balustrade, and it fell, heavy with hobnails and the accumulated guilt of years, on the tender head of an infant, killing him on the spot. The parents went straight to the cadi and complained that they had found their child dead, and Casem's pantofles lying by it, upon which the judge condemned him to pay a very heavy fine indeed. Casem returned home, and taking the pantofles, went back to the cadi, crying out with an enthusiasm that convulsed1 everybody, "Behold! Behold! See here the fatal cause of all the suffering of Casem, these accursed pantofles, which have at length brought 1 Convulsed, overcome with laughter. ruin upon his head. My lord cadi, be so merciful, I pray you, as to give an edict that may free me from all blame for any accident which these slippers may henceforth occasion, as they certainly will cause some evil to anybody who ventures into their accursed leather." The cadi could not refuse this request, and the miser learned to his cost the ill effects of his miserliness in not buying a new pair of shoes. GASPER Gozzi. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY (a) Page 313.- What does this mean? (b) Page 314.- Why does the author say, "for a beard is not made of dear stuff"? Narrate Casem's different experiences with his slippers. Did they "serve him right"? Do you sympathize with him? What was the cause of all his trouble? Rewrite in simpler language paragraph (c) on page 315, and paragraph (d) on page 316. Does the use of "large words" in this simple, humorous tale add to the humor of it, or does it produce the opposite effect? |