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The pious man in the inner cavern wondered at what he sawHe fell asleep and was told in a dream that the third appa-rently innocent had murdered the father of the first one,who had thus avenged his father's death. This last hadstolen the purse from the father of the second who had thuscome back again to his property.
433. A man once caught stealing was ordered by the kingto be hanged. On the way to the gallows he said to thegovernor that he knew a wonderful secret and it would bea pity to allow it to die with him and he would like todisclose it to the king. He would put a seed of a pomegranatein the ground and through the secret taught to him by hisfather he would make it grow and bear fruit overnight.The thief was brought before the king and on the morrowthe king, accompanied by the high officers of state, cameto the place where the thief was waiting for them. Therethe thief dug a hole and said," This seed must only be putin the ground by a man who has never stolen or takenanything which did not belong to him. I being a thief cannotdo it." So he turned to the Vizier who, frightened, saidthat in his younger days he had retained something whichdid not belong to him. The treasurer said that dealingwith such large sums, he might have entered too much or toolittle and even the king owned that he had kept a necklaceof his father's. The thief then said," You are all mightyand powerful and want nothing and yet you cannot plantthe seed whilst I who have stolen a little because I wasstarving am to be hanged." The king, pleased with the ruseof the thief, pardoned him.
434. A king once determined to build a town and selecteda site. The astrologers approved of the place on conditionthat a child be walled in alive, brought voluntarily by itsmother. After three years an old woman brought a child ofabout 10 years. When ready to be walled in, the boy saidto the king," Let me ask the astrologers three questions;if they answer correctly, then they have read the signsaright but if not they must have been mistaken." The king