Once upon a time a mouse dwelt in the house of a merchant who owned much merchandise and great store of monies. One night, a flea took shelter in the merchant's carpet bed and, finding his body soft, and being thirsty drank of his blood. The merchant was awakened by the smart of the bite and sitting up called to his slave girls and serving men. So they hastened to him and, tucking up their sleeves, fell to searching for the flea; but as soon as the bloodsucker was aware of the search, he turned to flee and coming on the mouse's home, entered it. When the mouse saw him, she said to him,

"What brings you in to me, you who are not of my nature nor of my kind, and who can not be assured of safety from violence or of not being expelled with roughness and ill usage?" The flea answered, "Of a truth, I took refuge in your dwelling to save me from slaughter; and I have come to you seeking your protection and on nowise coveting your house; nor shall any mischief happen you from me to make you leave your home. Nay, I hope right soon to repay your favours to me with all good and then will you see and praise the issue of my words." And when the mouse heard the speech of the flea,—

When it was the One Hundred and Fifty first night

Now when the flea heard these words of the mouse, he rejoined, "I hearken to your charge and I submit myself to obey you, nor have I power to gainsay you, till life be fulfilled in this righteous intention." The mouse replied, "Pure intention suffics to sincere affection." So the tie of love arose and was knitted between them twain and, after this, the flea used to visit the merchant's bed by night and not exceed in his diet, and house him by day in the hole of the mouse. Now it came to pass one night, the merchant brought home great store of dinars and began to turn them over. When the mouse heard the chink of the coin, she put her head out of her hole and fell to gazing at it, till the merchant laid it under his pillow and went to sleep, when she said to the flea, "See you not the proffered occasion and the great good fortune? Have you any device to bring us to our desire of that dinars?" the flea said, "truly, it is not good that one strive for anything, unless he be able to win his will; because, if he lack ability thereto, he falls into that which he should avoid and he attains not his wish by reason of his weakness, albeit he use all power of cunning, like the sparrow which picks up grain and falls into the net and is caught by the fowler. You have no strength to take the dinars and to transport them out of this house, nor have I force sufficient to do this; on the contrary, I could not carry a single ducat of them; so what have you to do with them?" the mouse said, "I have made me for my house these seventy openings, from where I may go out at my desire, and I have set apart a place strong and safe, for things of price; and, if you can contrive to get the merchant out of the house, I doubt not of success, an so be that Fate aid me."

The flea answered, "I will engage to get him out of the house for you;" and, going to the merchant's bed, bit him a fearful bite, such as he had never before felt, then fled to a place of safety, where he had no fear of the man. So the merchant awoke and sought for the flea, but finding him not, lay down again on his other side. Then the flea bit him a second time more painfully than before. So he lost patience and, leaving his bed, went out and lay down on the bench before his door and slept there and awoke not till the morning. Meanwhile the mouse came out and fell to carrying the dinars into her hole, till she did not leave a single one; and when day dawned the merchant began to suspect the folk and fancy all manner of fancies. And (continued the fox) know you, O wise and experienced crow with the clear seeing eyes, that I tell you this only to the intent that you may reap the recompense of your kindness to me, even as the mouse reaped the reward of her kindness to the flea; for see how he repaid her and requited her with the goodliest of requitals. The crow said, "It lies with the benefactor to show benevolence or not to show it; nor is it incumbent on us to entreat kindly one who seeks a connection that entails separation from kith and kin. If I show you favour who art my foe by kind, I am the cause of cutting myself off from the world; and you,

O fox, art full of wiles and guiles. Now those whose characteristics are craft and cunning, must not be trusted upon oath; and whoever is not to be trusted upon oath, in him there is no good faith. The tidings lately reached me of your treacherous dealing with one of your comrades, which was a wolf; and how you did deceive him until you leddest him into destruction by your perfidy and stratagems; and this you did after he was of yours own kind and you had long consorted with him: yet did you not spare him; and if you could deal thus with your fellow which was of yours own kind, how can I have trust in your truth and what would be your dealing with your foe of other kind than your kind? Nor can I compare you and me but with the saker and the birds." "How so?" asked the fox. The crow answered, "They relate this tale of