The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-02

it lay hidden. Little Muk took his cane and wandered everywhere in the great palace gardens.
 One day the cane tapped three times. He drew his dagger, marked the sur rounding trees and went back to the palace, where he obtained a spade. As soon as night had fallen he returned to the spot.
 Muk found that digging for treasure was no easy task. His little arms were weak, the spade was heavy. He worked for two hours before he struck metal. It was the Iron lid of great chest.
 He climbed into the hole, and lifted the cover. The chest was full of gold pieces. As he could not move it ho contented himself with filling his brooches and his sash as well as his little cloak@ Had 1t not been for the clippers he could never have stirred under the weight. As 1t was. he was nearly dead when he reached his room and had hidden the treasure under his cushions.
 He began to bestow his gold with both hands. Instead of gaining favor, however, poor little Muk only succeed ed in making them more envious than ever. The chief cook Ahuli said: He Is a coiner." The overseer of slaves, Achmet. said He has swindled the King out of it." But the treasurer, who reached rather deeply himself into the Kings money chest at times, said: He has stolen It."
 They conspired more than ever to de- stroy the favorite. The chief of the cup bearers appeared before the King with such sorrow and grief that the ruler observed 1t and asked him what was the trouble.
 Alas" said the hypocrite, "I am woeful that l have lost the favor or my royal master
 S"What are you dreaming, KorchuzT replied the King. since when did cease to let the sun of my consideration shine upon you
 The chief of the cup bearers answer- ed that he was loading his dwarf run- ner with gold, but giving nothing to his other servants.
 The King was nightly surprised and asked for particulars The conspira- tors found 1t an easy task to lnstill in the Kings mind the suspicion that Muk had stolen the money from the royal treasure chamber He commanded them to watch the dwarf.
 That very night Muk crept into the garden with his spade to get new supply, as he had given away all that he had taken the first time. me coh- spirators followed him and just as hs was putting the gold Into his garments they fell upon him. tied him and eaF- ried him before the King.
 The monarch was gruR. because he had been startled from his slumoers. Angrily he held court at once. Ine chest had been brought in and set be- fore the King, and the treasurer de- ciared that he had come upon Muk just as the dwarf was burying the gold. had to say.
 Little Muk answered that he had not buried the chest, but had found 1t there. Everybody except the King laughed at this excuse. The monarch infuriated at Muk's impotence. cried: ''Miserable one! Would you have sport with your master after having robbed him? Treasurer! Declare If you recognize thIs gold as being missing from my treasurer
 1t was the very gold that was missing from the chamber. The King ordered Muk to be chained and imprisoned in A tower The treasurer took the gold ostensibly to put it into the treasure chamber, but in reality to take 1t nome. There he took it out to count n At the bottom of the chest he found note. It read
 .srhe enemy has entered my land. I hide here a part of my treasure. The curse of his King shall fall on him who finds 1t and fails to deliver 1t to
 "SADI. King"
 Little Muk engaged in sorrowful reflections in his cell. He knew that death was the punishment for stealing royal property Still he did not like to confess the secret of the cane. as he feared that he might be deprived not only of It. but also of his slippers. Unhappily the latter could not help him now. because he was chained so closely to the wall that he could not turn on his heel.
 However. when they told him the very next day that he was doomed to die, he thought 1t was better to live without the cane than to die with it.