the
THREE CRUMP TWIN-BROTHERS
of
DAMASCUS.
Under the Caliphat of Watik-billah, grandson of Haroun Arreschid, there dwelt as Damascus[1] an old man called Behemrillah, who did but just get a poor livelihood by making Steel- Bows, Swords, Sabres, and Knife-Blades Of thirteen children which he had by one wife, ten died all in one year; but the three that remained were so odd a figure, that it was impossible to look at them without laughing: They are crooked both behind and before blind of the left eye, lame of the right foot, and so perfectly like one another in face, shape, and clothes which they always wore the same with one another, that even their father and mother sometimes mistook one for the other.
Of the three sons of Behemrillah, the eldest was named Ibad, the second Syanouk, and the
- ↑ Damascus is a city of Syra, at the foot of Mount Libanus, about forty leagues from Aleppo. It is mightly resorted to for its Knives, Bows and Sabres; The steel of Damascus is in very great esteem.
