THE MILLER AND HIS WIFE
There was a miller, who had an ass to turn his mill; and he was
married to a wicked wife, whom he loved, while she hated him
because she was sweet upon a neighbour, who misliked her and held
aloof from her. One night, the miller saw, in his sleep, one who
said to him, "Dig in such a spot of the ass's round in the mill,
and thou shalt find a hoard." When he awoke, he told his wife
the vision and bade her keep the secret; but she told her
neighbour,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-eighth Night
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
miller's wife told the secret to the neighbour whom she loved,
thinking to win his favour; and he agreed with her to come to her
by night. So he came and they dug in the mill and found the
treasure and took it forth. Then he asked her, "How shall we do
with this?" and she answered; "We will divide it into two halves
and will share it equally between us, and do thou leave thy wife
and I will cast about to rid me of my husband. Then shalt thou
marry me and, when we are conjoined, we will join the two halves
of the treasure one to other, and all will be in our hands."
Quoth he, "I fear lest Satan seduce thee and thou take some other
man other than myself; for gold in the house is like the sun in
the world. I reck, therefore, it were right that the money be
all in my hands, so thou give thy whole mind to getting free of
thy husband and coming to me." Quoth she, "I fear even as thou
fearest, nor will I yield up my part to thee; for it was I
directed thee to it." When he heard this, greed of gain prompted
him to kill her; so he slew her and threw her body into the empty
hoard-hole; but day overtook him and hindered him from covering
it up; he therefore took the money and went his way. Now after a
while the miller awoke and, missing his wife, went into the mill,
where he fastened the ass to the beam and shouted to it. It went
on a little, then stopped; whereupon he beat it grievously; but
the more he bashed it, the more it drew back; for it was
affrighted at the dead woman and could not go forward. Thereupon
the Miller, unknowing what hindered the donkey, took out a knife
and goaded it again and again, but still it would not budge.
Then he was wroth with it, knowing not the cause of its
obstinacy, and drove the knife into its flanks, and it fell down
dead. But when the sun rose, he saw his donkey lying dead and
likewise his wife in the place of the treasure, and great was his
rage and sore his wrath for the loss of his hoard and the death
of his wife and his ass. All this came of his letting his wife
into his secret and not keeping it to himself.[FN#118] And I
have heard this tale of
