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necessary preparations, there was no cause to fear the enemy. The king fully believed in this statement, but was sorely disappointed, for not long afterwards the city was bombarded by the hostile armies. The king sent at once to the minister, told him of what had happened and enquired of him as to the arrangements he had made.
The minister responded:—"There is nothing to fear in what has come to pass. But I find that the task of ruling a kingdom is a big affair, and while I was thinking of how best to rid ourselves of this difficulty, the enemy chanced to enter and blockade the city. Let them, therefore, undergo the perils of governing the kingdom. As for me, I used to wash the cloths of about a hundred families in this city but since my elevation to the ministership I have had to give up my calling. I will now' therefore, resume it, and give you one-half the work and reserve the other half for myself; the calling being no trouble to me. On these considerations I have made no preparations for war."
