Story of the Blind Baba-Abdalla 1

I was born, Commander of the Faithful, in Bagdad, and was left an orphan ¹ while I was yet a very young man, for my parents died within a few days of each other. I had inherited from them a small fortune, which I worked hard night and day to increase, till at last I found myself the owner of eighty camels. These I hired out to travelling merchants, whom I frequently accompanied on their various journeys, and always returned with large profits. , ,One day I was coming back from Balsora, whither I had taken a supply of goods, intended for India, and halted at noon in a lonely place, which promised rich pasture for my camels. I was resting in the shade under a tree, when a dervish, going on foot towards Balsora, sat down by my side, and I inquired whence he had come and to what place he was going. We soon made friends, and after we had asked each other the usual questions, we produced the food we had with us, and satisfied our hunger. , ,While we were eating, the dervish happened to mention that in a spot only a little way off from where we were sitting, there was hidden a treasure so great that if my eighty camels were loaded till they could carry no more, the hiding place would seem as full as if it had never been touched. , , ,Certainly my offer does not sound very magnificent, but it was great to me, for at his words a wave of covetousness⁴（贪婪） had swept over my heart, and I almost felt as if the seventy-nine camels that were left were nothing in comparison. , ,The dervish saw quite well what was passing in my mind, but he did not show what he thought of my proposal. , ,The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大
。,That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。