Now , in a small village in his kingdom there lived an old widow who had no children or relations of any kind . She made her living mostly by selling the milk of a flock of goats ; but she was very , very poor , and not very strong , and often used to wonder how she would live if she got too weak or ill to attend to her goats . Every morning she drove the goats out into the desert to graze on the shrubs and bushes which grew there , and every evening they came home of themselves to be milked and to be shut up safely for the night . One evening the old woman was astonished to find that her very best nanny-goat returned without a drop of milk . She thought that some naughty boy or girl was playing a trick upon her and had caught the goat on its way home and stolen all the milk . But when evening after evening the goat remained almost dry she determined to find out who the thief was . So the next day she followed the goats at a distance and watched them while they grazed . At length , in the afternoon , the old woman noticed this particular nanny-goat stealing off by herself away from the herd and she at once went after her . On and on the goat walked for some way , and then disappeared into a cave in the rocks . The old woman followed the goat into the cave and then , what should she see but the animal giving her milk to a little boy-baby , whilst on the ground near by lay the sad remains of the baby 's dead mother ! Wondering and frightened , the old woman thought at last that this little baby might be a son to her in her old age , and that he would grow up and in time to come be her comfort and support . So she carried home the baby to her hut , and next day she took a spade to the cave and dug a grave where she buried the poor mother . Years passed by , and the baby grew up into a find handsome lad , as daring as he was beautiful , and as industrious as he was brave . One day , when the boy , whom the old woman had named Nur Mahomed , was about seventeen years old , he was coming from his day 's work in the fields , when he saw a strange donkey eating the cabbages in the garden which surround their little cottage . Seizing a big stick , he began to beat the intruder and to drive him out of his garden . A neighbour passing by called out to him -- ` Hi ! I say ! why are you beating the pedlar 's donkey like that ? ' ` The pedlar should keep him from eating my cabbages , ' said Nur Mahomed ; ` if he comes this evening here again I 'll cut off his tail for him ! ' Whereupon he went off indoors , whistling cheerfully .
It happened that this neighbour was one XXXXX those people who make mischief by talking too much ; so , meeting the pedlar in the ` serai , ' or inn , that evening , he told him what had occurred , and added : ` Yes ; and the young spitfire said that if beating the donkey would not do , he would beat you also , and cut your nose off for a thief ! '
after as at for if in into of that upon