“After a moment, a noise like that made by the mouth when some one is masticating, struck my ears.  I exclaimed, ’O creatures of God, who are ye; tell me for God’s sake?’ They laughed, and said, ’This is the great Solomon’s prison, and we are prisoners.’  I asked them, ‘Am I really alive?’ They again laughed heartily, and replied, ‘You are as yet alive, but will soon die.’  I said, ’You are eating; what would it be if you were to give me some?’ They then got angry, and gave me a dry answer, but nothing else.  After eating and drinking, they fell asleep.  I through faintness and weakness, fell into a swoon, and wept and dreamed of God.  Mighty sire, I had been seven days in the sea, and so many days since without food, owing to my brothers’ false accusation; yea, instead of food, I had got a beating, and was now ingulfed in such a prison, that not the least appearance of release came even into my imagination.

“At last, life was leaving me; sometimes it came, and sometimes it left me.  From time to time some person used to come at midnight, and let down by a rope some bread tied up in a handkerchief, and a jar of water, and used to call out.  Those two men who were confined near me used to seize it and eat and drink.  The dog constantly witnessing this circumstance, exerted his intelligence, thus, ’In the way in which this person lets down water and bread into the pit, do thou also make some contrivance whereby some food may reach this destitute one, who is thy master, then may his life be saved.’  Thus having reflected, he went to the city, [and saw that] round cakes of bread piled up on the counter at a baker’s shop; leaping up, he seized a cake in his mouth, and ran off with it; the people pursued him, and pelted him with clods, but he would not quit the cake; they became tired [of pursuing him], and returned; the dogs of the city ran after him; he fought arid struggled with them, and having saved the cake, he came to the well, and threw in the bread.  There was sufficient light for me to see the cake lying near me, and I heard, moreover, the dog bark.  I took up the cake; and the dog, after throwing down the bread, went to look for water.

“On the outskirts of a certain village, there was an old woman’s hut; jars and pots filled with water stood [at the door], and the old woman was spinning.  The dog went up to the pot, and attempted to seize it; the old woman made a threatening noise, and the pot slipped from the dog’s mouth and fell upon an earthenware jar which was broken; the rest of the vessels were upset and the water spilt.  The old woman seized a stick, and rose up to beat [the animal]; the dog seized the skirt of her clothes, and began to rub his mouth on her feet, and wag his tail; then he ran towards the mountain; again having returned to her, he sometimes seized a rope, and sometimes having taken up a bucket in his mouth, he shewed it [to her]; and he rubbed his face against her feet, and seizing the hem of her garment, he continued pulling her.  The Almighty inspired the old woman’s heart with compassion, so that she took up the rope and bucket and went along with him.  He keeping hold of the end of her clothes, after coming out of the hut, kept going on before her.