this huge-bodied creature is the son of Adam; I shall bar his way. Then he made ready to pounce upon him, and prepared his teeth to devour him. And the lion said, "Halt! Who are you?"

The camel answered, "I am the camel. I beg you, let me pass, for I am fleeing from the son of Adam, and I fear he may overtake me and seize me. For if he did, he would pierce my nose and set in it a ring of iron tied to a rope, then hand my halter to a small child who would drive me and move me about however he pleased. Oh no — I want none of that. Let me pass. Farewell."

The lion shook his head and said, "Just let this son of Adam dare to come here!" And hardly had he finished his words when a dust cloud appeared on the horizon and parted, and there appeared a puny man — a puny, thin, bald-headed man, carrying on his shoulder a basket in which he had put some carpenter's tools, and bearing on his head six boards of wood and a pouch full of nails. When the man saw the lion, he threw down his

load and began wiping the sweat from his brow. Then he looked at the lion and said, a droll smile upon his lips, "Hello there... how are you?"

The lion said, "I am in the best of health. Who are you?"

The man answered, "I am the carpenter."

The lion asked him, "What are you doing here? Are you too fleeing from that one they call the son of Adam, of whom and of whose tyranny everyone speaks?"

The man nodded his head in assent and said, "Yes, indeed I am. I have taken refuge in this forest to be safe from this son of Adam, far from him and his mischief; and I shall build myself, out of these wooden boards, a house to protect me from him and from his aggression."

The lion said, "I swear by my life that this shall never happen. I am the son of the king of the beasts of forest and plain, and I permit no one to build himself a house in this forest before I do."

The carpenter said, "As you

command, O son of the king of the forest. Take me to the spot where you wish me to build a house for you."

The carpenter took five of the wooden boards and made from them a box, fastening it with nails until it was strong and solid. The sixth board he made into a lid for this box, and set the nails ready in it so as to shut it whenever he wished — while the lion watched him with keen interest as he went about his work. Then the man said, "And now, Your Highness, will you be so kind as to step into your house, so that I may see whether it suits you or not?"

The foolish lion went into the carpenter's box, and the man made haste to set the lid upon the box, drove in the nails, and fixed the lid fast.

The lion roared and raged and cursed the carpenter for his cunning and his deceit, and cursed himself for his simplicity and his stupidity. And the carpenter, laughing, said to him:

"Fate has dropped you into my hands. Beware of trusting one whose name you do not know, whose face you have not seen, and whose voice you have not heard."