And when they had eaten and drunk as much as they
liked, the gentleman said: 'Do you know why this woman was able to
give us such a dinner?'
"'I do not know,' said the man, 'but I should like to know, if you
care to tell me.'
"'When I was alive,' said the gentleman, 'I had three wives. And the
first wife I had would never give anything to any poor man but little
potatoes. And now she has nothing but little potatoes herself, and
she can give nothing else to anyone, till the Day of Judgment. And my
second wife would never give anything to the poor but meal and husks,
and now she has nothing but meal and husks herself, and she can give
nothing else to anyone, till the Day of Judgment. But my third wife
always gave to the poor the best that she had, and so she will always
have the best that there is in the world, and she can always give the
best in the world to anyone, till the Day of Judgment.'
"Then the gentleman took the man about and showed him his house, and
it was a palace, more beautiful than anything that he had ever seen.
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