Arabic, and written down by me a few hours after hearing. I have striven more to get the idea than the exact words, and in no case have I drawn on my imagination. The Moor who related them to me is an ordinary well-to-do villager, who has never been further from Morocco than Gibraltar, and then only for one day, and can speak no word of any language but his own. He attended the village school when a boy, but since his father's death, when he was about fifteen, was obliged to leave it, and attend to, first the cares of his farm, then his trade of a mason, and finally to enter the service of my family as groom.

I have lived the greater part of my life in Morocco, learning the language thoroughly by ear, and not by book, and associating much with the country people among whom my lot has been cast."

An interesting collection of Morocco Folklore, collected by Miss F. K. Green, was published in Temple Bar for December, 1906.-ED.]

I. THE REASON FOR ABSTAINING FROM WINE AND PORK.

THE reason we, the faithful followers of the word revealed through the agency of the holy Nebi, touch not wine nor the flesh of swine is this:

In the days when the Prophet lived on the Earth there also lived his Sohaba or disciples, holy men who are now called Saints or Shereefs likewise, though their glory is a lesser glory than that pertaining to the most glorious Si Mohammed. Among them were Sidna1 Suleyman and his father, Sidna Daoud, Sidna Alkoma, and Sidna Ali, and Sidna Mousa, and Sidna Haroun, and Sidna Aïsse, venerated by the Nasara, and many others whose names I cannot remember at the present moment, but who all did great and noble deeds and converted many unbelievers. And these Sohaba in the intervals between their Holy Wars used to hunt and feast together, and they ate

of the flesh of the pig, and drank wine even as do the Nasara to this day.

And it came to pass that one day one of these Shereefs, being inflamed with drink, hit his mother a most grievous blow, and when his drunkenness had left him he repented with a great repentance. And he drew forth his sword and was about to cut off his right hand, when the Nebi saw him and called out, "Stay, oh my son! Why art thou about to mutilate thyself thus ?" And the Sid with tears answered: "With this hand, when I was inflamed with wine, did I hit my mother." And the Prophet said: "Lo, the fault is not with thy hand, neither with thee, oh my son, but with the wine that inflamed thee. Of a truth the juice of the grape is a servant of the Evil One, and through it does he tempt the Faithful to their destruction." And he forbade his Sohaba and all their followers to drink wine again.

And for the not eating of pork, it is thus:

Once when the Prophet was away, the Sohaba had a hunting party and slew many pigs and had a feast and were very merry. And when Si Mohammed returned, one of his disciples, a poor man, came unto him and cried, "I have a claim, oh my Lord." And the Prophet said "Speak on," and the man said, "I was prevented from joining in the hunt of the other Shereefs, and when they returned and the spoil was divided as is our wont, and they sent to each man a portion, my portion they forgot. And thou knowest, oh my Lord, that I am a poor man, and a piece of meat is not easily procured in my household." Then said Sidna, "This is not right," and to the other Sohaba he said, "Give the man his portion": and they said, "It is some days since, and what was not eaten we destroyed and none is left."

Then was Sidna wroth, and he said, "Henceforth, for the sake of this my poor disciple whom ye have scorned, that portion of the pig which should have been his shall be cursed, and no true believer shall eat of it." And the Sohaba bowed their heads and said, "It is well." But when they came to think how they had divided the pig and what pieces had been

which piece should have been allotted to the poor man, and so for fear of offence they determined to abstain from the eating of pig; and thus do we also, we, their sons and followers.

2. TALE OF A LANTERN.

THERE was once a man, a rich merchant of Fez, who had a very beautiful wife to whom he was greatly devoted. He gave her all that her heart desired, and never allowed another woman, whether white or black, to share her place in his life.

One day while they two were sitting over the evening meal, he drew from his bag a pair of very beautifully wrought silver bracelets and gave them to her, saying, "See if these will fit thy arms, beloved, for this afternoon my fellow merchants refused to buy them from the auctioneer, saying, 'no woman had wrists small enough to slip them on,' and I knew in my heart that my Fatumah would find them a world too large." And Fatumah, smiling, slipt the bracelets on with ease, for surely they fitted her as though they had been made to measure.

Then said Fatumah, "Oh my lord, grant me one request." And he said, "It is granted, on my head be it." And Fatumah said, "Should it please the Almighty that I should die before my lord, will my lord promise that he will wed again she whom these bracelets, his munificent gift, will fit"? And the merchant promised. "Nay," said she, "but thou shalt swear, and Dada here shall be witness." And he swore a solemn oath, and the old black woman, who had been Fatumah's nurse, was witness.

And shortly after it was decreed that Fatumah should give birth to a daughter, and die.

But the babe lived, and to it was given the name of Shumshen N'har,1 and the old Dada cared for her and brought her up, even as the daughters of Sultans are brought up. And she grew daily more beautiful so that she surpassed even the loveliness of her mother, and her father regarded her as the apple of his eye. Now when Shumshen N'har had reached the age of fourteen, the relations and friends of her father spoke to him very seriously, 1 Shumshen N'har, Light of Day; Aurora.

saying, "It is necessary that thou shouldst marry again, oh Tajur.1 Behold thy daughter is growing up and she ought to have a husband found for her, and who could arrange for her wedding so fittingly as her stepmother would? Wouldst thou leave such an important matter to the Dada? Moreover, when thy daughter is married, thy house will be empty and thou wilt require more than ever a wife to cherish thee and care for thy welfare." And the merchant saw that they spoke the truth, and said, "It is well. I will wed." That evening when the Dada stood before him to give an account of her stewardship that day and to hear his wishes, he told her what his friends' advice was, and that he had determined to follow it. Then said the Dada, "Has my lord forgotten the oath which he swore to the Lilla Fatumah, on whose soul be peace?" And the merchant said, "Nay, prepare thou the bracelets, so that when I hear of a suitable bride, thou mayest take them to her and see if they will fit her arms, and if they do, we will know that she is the wife Allah has destined for me, and if not, we will seek further." And the Dada kissed his hand and said, "On my head be it."

Soon after the merchant told the Dada, "Go to the house of such a one. I hear he seeks a husband for his daughter. Maybe she is the one who will do for me." And the Dada went even as her lord commanded, but in vain. When the young girl tried to put the bracelets on, they stuck on her thumb bone, though she pushed until her hand was as white as milk. And thus it happened many times, so that the Dada grew weary of going from house to house with the bracelets; and all who saw them marvelled at their beauty, and at the smallness of the wrists for which they had been made.

And it came to pass that when the Dada returned from her tenth or twelfth essay, it was late in the evening, and she put down her haik, and the handkerchief containing the bracelets in one corner of the kitchen while she hastened to prepare the evening meal. And the Lilla Shumshen N'har entered the kitchen to speak with her and to help her. And she said, "I will fold thy haik for thee, oh Dada, and put it away lest

it get soiled." And when she lifted the haik, she saw the handkerchief knotted in a parcel. Then she said, "Lo, what has Dada here?" and she opened the handkerchief, and when she saw the bracelets she admired them exceedingly and examined them carefully and then she tried them on, for she thought they must be a pair prepared for her by her father, and lo, the bracelets slipt on to her wrists and rested on her arms as though they had been made to her measure. Then did Shumshen N'har clap her hands and call to her servant, saying, "See, Dada, how beautiful these bracelets are, and how well they fit me. Did my father buy them for me?" And the Dada came with haste and looked, and fell on the floor in a swoon, for she feared greatly.

And Shumshen N'har called the other maids, and they poured water on her face and rubbed her hands till she revived; but she would not tell them what ailed her, but groaned heavily, and then the voice of the master was heard, and Shumshen N'har ran to her own apartments with the bracelets forgotten on her arms, for she feared she knew not what. night, when the household was quiet, the Dada stood before her master and recounted to him what had befallen.

And that

Then was that merchant greatly perplexed, and the next day he called all his chief friends and the learned men and the Kadi, and laid all things before them. And for a long time they talked and wondered, and sought to find a way out of the difficulty, but they found none.

Then did the Kadi say to the merchant, "Oh my son, seeing that thou hast sworn this solemn oath to thy wife, on whose soul the Almighty have mercy, before witnesses that thou wilt marry the woman whom these bracelets will fit, and seeing that these bracelets fit only thy daughter, Shumshen N'har, though thou hast tried them on other maidens, it seemeth unto me that thou must marry her. And if it does not please the AllWise one to open a door of escape for thee before the wedding, thou canst but divorce her the day after the marriage ceremony and perchance thus thou may accomplish what is written in the Book of Fate." And the merchant bowed his head and agreed