"The son of the merchant who died in thy house," he replied.
They prepared for him a dinner, and placed upon the table five pigeons
and a chicken. The master of the house, his wife, two sons, and two
daughters sat with him at the table.
"Serve the food," said the landlord.
"Nay," answered the young man; "thou art master, it is thy privilege."
"I desire thee to do this thing; thou art my guest, the merchant's son;
pray help the food."
The young man thus entreated divided one pigeon between the two sons,
another between the two daughters, gave the third to the man and his
wife, and kept the other two for himself. This was his second wise act.
The landlord looked somewhat perplexed at this mode of distribution, but
said nothing.
Then the merchant's son divided the chicken. He gave to the landlord and
his wife the head, to the two sons the legs, to the two daughters the
wings, and took the body for himself. This was his third wise act.