and asked the people why they did not use it for fuel. They said they
dared not, as the tree belonged to Moses the Prophet, and he protected
the tree, and if any one took the wood, they would _fall dead_. She
said, "Moses is in heaven, and does not live in oak trees, and if he
did, he is a good man, and would not hurt me for burning up old dry
sticks." So she asked them if she might have the wood? They said, "yes,
if you _dare_ to take it, for we are afraid to touch it." So she went to
the tree and gathered up as much as she could carry, and took it home.
The people screamed when they saw her, and told her to drop it or it
would kill her, but on she went, and afterwards went back and brought
the rest. She then talked with the ignorant women, and her father told
them about the folly of their superstitions, and read to them in the
Bible about Moses, and they listened with great attention. I have often
thought I should like to go to that village, and see whether the people
now leave the dead branches under Moses' oak, or use them for fuel
during the heavy snow storms of winter.




PART VI.


Here we are, home again at Abeih. Here are Asaad and Khalil, and several
others. I asked Khalil one day to write out for me a list of all the
games the boys play in Abeih, and he brought me a list of _twenty-eight_
different ones, and said there were many more.

I. The first is called Khatim or the Ring. A boy puts a ring on the back
of his hand, tosses it and catches it on the back of his fingers. If it