Now as he walked along, Godly spied a weaver who with his wife was on his way to a neighboring city for liquor to drink, and he called out: “Look here, my good fellow! I come to you a guest, brought by the evening sun. I do not know a soul in the village. Let me receive the treatment due a guest. For the proverb says

No stranger may be turned aside

Who seeks your door at eventide;

Nay, honor him and you shall be

Transmuted into deity.

And again:

Some straw, a floor, and water,

With kindly words beside:

These four are never wanting

Where pious folk abide.

And once again:

The sacred fires by kindly word

And Indra by the chair is stirred,

Krishna by water for the feet,

The Lord of All by things to eat.”

On hearing this, the weaver said to his wife: “Go, my dear. Take this guest to the house. Treat him hospitably, giving him water for he feet, food, a bed, and so on. And stay in the house yourself. I will bring plenty of wine and meat for you.” With this he went farther.

So the wife started home with Godly, and she showed a laughing countenance, for she was a whore and had a certain swain in mind. Indeed, there is sense in the verse:

When night is dark

And dark the day,

When streets are mired

With sticky clay,

When husband lingers

Far away,

The flirt becomes

Supremely gay.

The wench cares not

A straw to miss

The covered couch,

The husband’s kiss

The pleasant bed;

In place of this

She ever seeks

A stolen bliss.

And again:

For stranger men

The slut will see

The ruin of

Her family,

The world’s reproach,

The jailer’s key

Will risk a death

She cannot flee.

Then she went home, offered Godly a rickety cot and said: “My holy sir, a woman friend has come from the village and I must speak to her. I will be back directly. Meanwhile, you may stay in our house. But please be careful.” With this she put on her best things and started to find her swain.

At this moment she ran into her husband, clasping a jug of wine. He was reeling drunk, his hair was towsled, and he stumbled at every step. She ran when she saw him, entered the house, took off her finery, and appeared as usual.

Now the weaver had seen her flee, had observed the finery, and since he had previously heard the gossip that went the rounds about her, his heart was troubled and anger overcame him. So he entered the house and said: “You wench! You whore! Where were you going?”

And she replied: “I have not been out since I left you. What is this drunken twaddle? There is sense in the proverb:

After wine and fever, these

Selfsame symptoms come:

Shaking, falling to the ground,

Mad delirium.

And again:

The setting sun and drunken man

Are both a fiery red;

They sink in naked helplessness;

Their diginity is dead.”

When he had taken the scolding and had noticed her change of dress, he said: “Whore! I have heard gossip about you for a long time. Today I have seen the proof. I am going to give you what you deserve.” So he beat her limp with a club, tied her firmly to a post and fell into a drunken slumber

At this juncture her friend, the barber’s wife, learning that the weaver was asleep came in and said: “My dear, he is waiting for you over there you know who. Go at once.” But the weaver’s wife replied: “Just see what a fix I am in. How can I go? You must return and tell my adorer that I cannot possibly meet him there at this moment.”

“My dear,” said the barber’s wife, “do not say things like that. For a wench of spirit this is no way to behave. As the saying goes:

Those who earn the name of blessed

Show a camel-like persistence

When they pluck the fruit of pleasure,

Counting neither toil nor distance.

And again:

As the other world is doubtful

And as scandal misses truth,

When you’ve hooked another’s lover,

Best enjoy the fruit of youth.

And once again:

Fate may rob him of his manhood,

He may handsome be or ugly,

Yet a wench, whate’er it cost her,

Entertains her lover snugly.”

“Very fine indeed,” said the weaver’s wife. “But tell me how I am to go when I am tied fast. And here lies my husband the brute!” “My dear,” said the barber’s wife, “he is helpless with drink and will not wake until the sun’s rays reach him. I will set you free and take your place myself. But you must hurry back when you have entertained your admirer”

This she did, and a moment later the weaver rose a little mollified, and said drunkenly: “Come, you nagger! If you will stay at home after today and stop nagging, I will set you free.” The barber’s wife said nothing, fearing that her voice would betray her. Even when he repeated his offer, she made no answer. Then he became angry and cut off her nose with a sharp knife. And he said: “Whore! Now you can stay there. I shall not be nice to you again.” So he fell asleep, muttering. Now Godly, having lost his money, was so tormented by hunger that he could not sleep, and was a witness of all that the women did.

Presently the weaver’s wife, after enjoying the full delight of love with her swain, .came home and said to the barber’s wife: ‘Well, are you all right? I hope that brute did not get up while I was gone.” And the barber’s wife answered: “The rest of me is all right. But I’ve lost my nose. Set me free quick, before he wakes up. I want to go home. If