he succeeded in falling asleep. When he awoke, his toothache had
passed almost entirely, and only a little inflammation had formed
over his right jaw. His wife told him that it was not noticeable at
all, but Ben-Tovit smiled cunningly--he knew how kind-hearted his
wife was and how fond she was of telling him pleasant things.

Samuel, the tanner, a neighbour of Ben-Tovit's, came in, and Ben-Tovit
led him to see the new little donkey and listened proudly to the warm
praises for himself and his animal.

Then, at the request of the curious Sarah, the three went to Golgotha
to see the people who had been crucified. On the way Ben-Tovit told
Samuel in detail how he had felt a pain in his right jaw on the day
before, and how he awoke at night with a terrible toothache. To
illustrate it he made a martyr's face, closing his eyes, shook his
head, and groaned while the grey-bearded Samuel nodded his head
compassionately and said:

"Oh, how painful it must have been!"

Ben-Tovit was pleased with Samuel's attitude, and he repeated the
story to him, then went back to the past, when his first tooth was
spoiled on the left side. Thus, absorbed in a lively conversation,
they reached Golgotha. The sun, which was destined to shine upon the
world on that terrible day, had already set beyond the distant hills,
and in the west a narrow, purple-red strip was burning, like a stain
of blood. The crosses stood out darkly but vaguely against this
background, and at the foot of the middle cross white kneeling
figures were seen indistinctly.