When I saw in the case of my fellow-traveller
the outcome of the plans I had formed I made
up my mind to bear my present plight bravely
and plod on with spirit, for I was in hopes that I
might chance on my roses at any turn, and by
their means be restored to myself. And I heard
the robbers saying our journey was almost done,
and that they would stay at their next haltingplace. Accordingly, we carried all that burden at
a quick pace, and before evening we came to their
house. An old woman was sitting inside, where
a great fire was burning. The robbers took all the
things we had been carrying and set them inside.
Then they asked the old woman, “Why in Heaven's

 

name are you sitting like this instead of getting our supper ready?"
"Why, everything is ready for you," said the
hag. "Plenty of bread, jars of old wine, and
some game that I have cooked for you.”
Then they fell to praising her, and, taking off
their clothes, anointed themselves before the fire.
There was a jar in the house full of warm water,
from which they drew and poured over themselves,
thus taking a hasty bath. A little later a number of young men arrived, bringing as much gold
and silver and clothing as they could carry, and a
great deal of jewelry, women's and men's. These
were accomplices of the others, and when they
had bestowed their booty within they, too, bathed
in the same manner. After this they had a bountiful supper, and there was a great deal of conversation among the cutthroats over their wine. The
old woman put barley before me and the horse,
and he set to and gulped it down in a hurry, fearing, probably, that I would share it.
But for my
part, whenever I saw the old woman go off I devoured the masters' bread.
The next day one young man was left behind
with the old woman, and all the others went off
on professional business. I bewailed my fate
and this strict guard, for I could despise the old
woman and run away under her very eyes, but the
young man was tall, and had a dangerous look,


 



moreover, and he always carried a sword and fastened the door every time he went out. 
Three days after this, almost at midnight, the
robbers came back, bringing no gold or silver or
anything else except a very beautiful young girl.
She was in tears, and her clothes were torn and
her hair dishevelled. They deposited her in the
house on the mattresses, bade her cheer up, and
told the old woman to stay inside all the time,
and keep watch over her. The girl would neither eat nor drink; she did nothing but weep
and tear her hair, so that I myself, standing near
by at the manger, wept in sympathy with the beautiful maiden. In the mean time the robbers were
supping in the vestibule. Towards morning one
of the spies, who had been chosen by lot to watch
the roads, came and reported that a stranger was
going to pass that way carrying a great deal of
treasure. The robbers rose up just as they were,
armed themselves, saddled both me and the horse,
and drove us off. I, poor wretch, knew that we
were marching out to battle and murder, and I
advanced reluctantly, whereupon they beat me
with a stick to urge me on. When we came to
the road by which the stranger was to drive, the
robbers fell upon his carriages with one accord,
killed his servants, selected the most valuable articles, and placed them on the horse and me, and
hid the rest of the things there in the wood.


 


Then they drove us homeward thus laden, and I,
being urged on and beaten with a stick, struck
my foot on a sharp stone, and received a painful
wound from the blow, which made me limp as I
paced the rest of the journey. The robbers said.
to each other, "Why do we keep this ass who
stumbles on everything? Let us throw him over
the precipice, he brings us bad luck." "Yes," said
another, "let us throw him over to be a scapegoat for the gang." And they formed to attack
me. But I, hearing their talk, walked the rest of
the way on my wounded foot as though it belonged to somebody else, for the fear of death
made me insensible to the pain of it.
 

When we came to our abiding place they took
the booty from our shoulders and put it carefully
away. Then they fell to and dined, and when
night came they went off to secure the rest of the
things. "Why do we take this wretched ass?"
said one of them. "He is useless with his
wounded hoof. We will carry some of the things
and the horse the rest." So they went off, leading the horse. It was a bright moonlit night.
Then I said to myself: "You poor wretch, why
do you stay here any longer? Vultures and the
children of vultures will dine off you. Don't you
hear what they are plotting against you? Do you
want to be thrown over a precipice? It is night
now and there is a bright moon. The robbers


 



are off on the road. Fly, and save yourself from
these cutthroat masters."
While I was thus thinking to myself I perceived
that I was not even tied to anything, but that the
halter by which they led me on the road was hanging alongside. This added circumstance spurred
me to the greatest eagerness for flight, and I
emerged at a run and was making off; but when
the old woman saw me on the point of escaping
she seized me by the tail and held on. However, I
said to myself that if I were caught by an old woman I should deserve the precipice and any other
death, and I dragged her. But she shrieked with
all her might to the captive maiden to come out.
She ran forward, and when she saw the old woman
hanging on to the ass like a second Dirke she
found courage for a brave deed and worthy of
desperate youth. She sprang onto my back, seated
herself there, and urged me on. I, fired with love
of freedom and the girl, fled with all my might and
ran like a horse, leaving the old woman behind.
The girl prayed to the gods to grant her a safe
escape, and to me she said: "If you bring me to
my father, my pretty ass, I will free you from all
labor, and you shall have a bushel of barley every
day for breakfast." I ran on, quite forgetting my
wound in my eagerness to escape my murderers,
and the hope of getting plenty of assistance and
attention if I should save the maiden.


 

 
But when we came to where the road split into
three the enemy met us on their homeward way.
They recognized their unhappy prisoners in the
moonlight while we were still at a distance, ran
up to us, and laid hold of me, saying: "Oho, my
fine madam, where are you going at this unseasonable hour, you poor, suffering thing? Aren't
you even afraid of ghosts? Come home with us
and we will hand you over to your friends." This
they said with a sardonic laugh, and they turned
me about and dragged me back. Then I remembered my lame foot and fell to limping. "What,"
said they, "are you lame now because you were
caught running away? When your mind was set
on flight you were sound and flew on wings,
swifter than a horse." These words were followed by the stick, and I got a wound on my
thigh at once as a warning.
When we turned into our lodging again we
found the old woman hanging from a stone by a
cord. Apparently she had been so afraid of her
masters when they should discover the girl's
flight that she had hanged herself. They spoke
admiringly of her courage, cut her down, and threw
her over the precipice with the cord round her
neck. The girl they tied up inside the house, and
then they supped and drank heavily.