"'We do not wish it, O Sheik; if we do not die, we do not go to heaven.'
"This made me stare: the infidel to go to Jinnah! with the true believer?
"'Would it not be better,' said I, 'to enjoy God's blessings in this world as long as we can, in case of missing the road to the other?'
"'God is merciful,' said he; so not wishing to hurt his feelings, I thought of the pig, and said nothing."
Yusuf, however, thought it as well to put in a word for infidels in general. "Yes," said he, "O Sheik! God is merciful, and is it not written in the gloss of the great Saint Abd el Kader Jilelly, 'Behold three sit at the gate of Paradise, Sidna (our lord) Mohammed, Sidna Moosa, and Sidna Aisa, and when one cometh and it is asked of him, 'What art thou?' he answereth, 'I am a Moslem,' and behold Sidna Mohammed openeth the gate and saith, 'Enter.' And another cometh and saith, 'I am a Jew,' and Sidna Moosa openeth the gate and saith, 'Enter.' And another cometh and saith, 'I am a Christian,' and Sidna Aisa openeth the gate and saith, 'Enter.' And a fourth cometh and saith, 'I am a Renegade, I have changed my faith,' so no one openeth unto him, he is accursed!"
"Did our lord, Abd el Kader write that?" said Ayoub, "wonderful is the mercy of God; but no doubt, in his days, Christians did not eat pig. But where was I? I remember. Well, then, the young infidel with blue eyes took me by the sleeve, and said, 'Come with me, and I will show you _such_ a horse as you have not seen in the Sultan's stud;' what could I do? I followed him with alacrity, so we went down into the court-yard, and oh, what a horse! I would walk three days' journey on foot to see such another; his coat was mottled like the ripple of the stream, his neck like a rainbow, his mane, like a curtain of silk, reached to his knees, eyes and legs like the antelope, and broad breasted like a houri; what can I say? I sat down by the wall and blessed him. He was as quiet as a lamb, but when the Christian mounted him he became like a lion, his eye saw everything, his ear heard everything, his hoof disdained everything, and as he paced along, I could have thrown myself under his feet, and let him walk over me.
"'You are a judge of horses,' said the merchant, 'what do you think of him?'