"the merchant was very glad. on returning to his house, he at once sent the dog back to its old master with a letter rolled under the collar, wherein he had written about the sagacity of the beast, and begged his friend to forget the loan and to accept another five thousand rupees as a present. when this merchant saw his dog coming back again, he thought, 'alas! my friend is wanting the money. how can i pay him? i have not had sufficient time to recover myself from my recent losses. i will slay the dog ere he reaches the threshold, and say that another must have slain it. thus there will be an end of my debt. no dog, no loan.' accordingly he ran out and killed the poor dog, when the letter fell out of its collar. the merchant picked it up and read it. how great was his grief and disappointment when he knew the facts of the case!