"Good-day," I said. "Good-day," he answered; "is it possible that
you do not recognise me?" Then I looked at him closely and saw he
was my brother. I made him come into my house, and asked him how he
had fared in his enterprise.

"Do not question me," he replied, "see me, you see all I have.
It would but renew my trouble to tell of all the misfortunes that
have befallen me in a year, and have brought me to this state."

I shut up my shop, paid him every attention, taking him to the bath,
giving him my most beautiful robes. I examined my accounts, and found
that I had doubled my capital--that is, that I now possessed two
thousand sequins. I gave my brother half, saying: "Now, brother,
you can forget your losses." He accepted them with joy, and we
lived together as we had before.

Some time afterwards my second brother wished also to sell his business
and travel. My eldest brother and I did all we could to dissuade him,
but it was of no use. He joined a caravan and set out. He came
back at the end of a year in the same state as his elder brother.
I took care of him, and as I had a thousand sequins to spare I gave
them to him, and he re-opened his shop.

One day, my two brothers came to me to propose that we should make
a journey and trade. At first I refused to go. "You travelled,"
I said, "and what did you gain?" But they came to me repeatedly,
and after having held out for five years I at last gave way.
But when they had made their preparation, and they began to buy
the merchandise we needed, they found they had spent every piece
of the thousand sequins I had given them. I did not reproach them.