The Two Soldiers and the Robber

　　A SHEPHERD, keeping watch over his sheep near the shore, saw the

　　Sea very calm and smooth, and longed to make a voyage with a view

　　to commerce. He sold all his flock, invested it in a cargo1 of

　　dates, and set sail. But a very great tempest came on, and the

　　ship being in danger of sinking, he threw all his merchandise

　　overboard, and barely escaped with his life in the empty ship.

　　Not long afterwards when someone passed by and observed the

　　unruffled calm of the Sea, he interrupted him and said, "It is

　　again in want of dates, and therefore looks quiet."