when it straight assumed the appearance of fresh dates. There were
some people who were greedy enough to put these dates into their
mouths, and then they found that it was dung. These women deceived
me amongst the rest with a date; when I put it into my mouth, lo
and behold it was the donkey's dung. After they had collected much
money from the spectators, one of them took a needle, and ran it
into the tail of the donkey, crying "Arrhe li dar" (Get home),
whereupon the donkey instantly rose up, and set off running,
kicking every now and then most furiously; and it was remarked,
that not one single trace of blood remained upon the ground, just
as if they had done nothing to it. Both these women were of the
very same Char Seharra which I have already mentioned. They
likewise took paper, and cut it into the shape of a peseta, and a
dollar, and a half-dollar, until they had made many pesetas and
dollars, and then they put them into an earthen pan over a fire,
and when they took them out, they appeared just fresh from the
stamp, and with such money these people buy all they want.

'There was a friend of my grandfather, who came frequently to our
house, who was in the habit of making this money. One day he took
me with him to buy white silk; and when they had shown him some, he
took the silk in his hand, and pressed it to his mouth, and then I
saw that the silk, which was before white, had become green, even
as grass. The master of the shop said, "Pay me for my silk." "Of
what colour was your silk?" he demanded. "White," said the man;
whereupon, turning round, he cried, "Good people, behold, the white
silk is green"; and so he got a pound of silk for nothing; and he
also was of the Char Seharra.

'They are very evil people indeed, and the emperor himself is