This last belongs rather to the class of simpleton-stories; and in the following, from the Rev. J. Hinton Knowles’ Folk Tales of Kashmir (Truebner:  1888), we have a variant of the well-known tale of the twelve men of Gotham who went one day to fish, and, before returning home, miscounted their number, of which several analogues are given in my Book of Noodles, pp. 28 ff. (Elliot Stock:  1888):  Ten peasants were standing on the side of the road weeping.  They thought that one of their number had been lost on the way, as each man had counted the company, and found them nine only.  “Ho! you—­what’s the matter?” shouted a townsman passing by.  “O sir,” said the peasants, “we were ten men when we left the village, but now we are only nine.”  The townsman saw at a glance what fools they were:  each of them had omitted to count himself in the number.  He therefore told them to take off their topis (skull-caps) and place them on the ground.  This they did, and counted ten of them, whereupon they concluded they were all there, and were comforted.  But they could not tell how it was.

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That wakefulness is not necessarily watchfulness may seem paradoxical, yet here is a Persian story which goes far to show that they are not always synonymous terms:  Once upon a time (to commence in the good old way) there came into a city a merchant on horseback, attended by his servant on foot.  Hearing that the city was infested by many bold and expert thieves, in consequence of which property was very insecure, he said to his servant at night:  “I will keep watch, and do you sleep; for I cannot trust you to keep awake, and I much fear that my horse may be stolen.”  But to this arrangement his faithful servant would not consent, and he insisted upon watching all night.  So the master went to sleep, and three hours after awoke, when he called to his servant:  “What are you doing?” He answered:  “I am meditating how Allah has spread the earth upon the water.”  The master said:  “I am afraid lest thieves come, and you know nothing of it.”  “O my lord, be satisfied; I am on the watch.”  The merchant again went to sleep, and awaking about midnight cried:  “Ho! what are you doing?” The servant replied:  “I am considering how Allah has supported the sky without pillars.”  Quoth the master:  “But I am afraid that while you are busy meditating thieves will carry off my horse.”  “Be not afraid, master, I am fully awake; how, then, can thieves come?” The master replied:  “If you wish to sleep, I will keep watch.”  But the servant would not hear of this; he was not at all sleepy; so his master addressed himself once more to slumber; and when one hour of the night yet remained he awoke, and as usual asked him what he was doing, to which he coolly answered:  “I am considering, since the thieves have stolen the horse, whether I shall carry the saddle on my head, or you, sir.”

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