bad and cruel-hearted." And they quarrelled.

Then the two birds wagered their freedom with each other and
went to the prince to have their quarrel decided. And the prince
mounted his father's judgment throne, and when he had heard the
cause of the quarrel, he asked the thrush: "How are men
ungrateful? Tell the truth." Then she said, "Listen, O Prince," and
to prove her point she started to tell this story illustrating the faults
of men.

There is a famous city called Kamandaki, where a wealthy
merchant lived named Fortune. And in time a son was born to him
and named Treasure. Then when the father went to heaven, the
young man became very unruly because of gambling and other
vices. And the rascals came together, and ruined him. Association
with scoundrels is the root from which springs the tree of calamity.

So in no long time he lost all he had through his vices, and being
ashamed of his poverty, he left his own country and went to
wander in other places. And during his travels he came to a city
called Sandal City, and entered the house of a merchant, seeking
something to eat. When the merchant saw the youth, he asked him
about his family, and finding that he was a gentleman, he
entertained him. And thinking that Gate had sent the young man,
he gave him his own daughter Pearl, together with some money.
And when Treasure was married, he lived in his
father-in-law's house.

As time passed, he forgot his former miseries in the comforts of
his life, and longed for the old vices, and wanted to go home. So