So When The Chamber Was Finished, The King Stored His Money In
It, And After Some Time The Builder, Being
Near the end of his life,
called to him his sons (for he had two) and to them he related
How he
had contrived in building the treasury of the king, and all in
forethought for them, that they might have ample means of living. And
when he had clearly set forth to them everything concerning the taking
out of the stone, he gave them the measurements, saying that if they
paid heed to this matter they would be stewards of the king's
treasury. So he ended his life, and his sons made no long delay in
setting to work, but went to the palace by night, and having found the
stone in the wall of the chamber they dealt with it easily and carried
forth for themselves great quantity of the wealth within. And the king
happening to open the chamber, he marvelled when he saw the vessels
falling short of the full amount, and he did not know on whom he
should lay the blame, since the seals were unbroken and the chamber
had been close shut; but when upon his opening the chamber a second
and a third time the money was each time seen to be diminished, for
the thieves did not slacken in their assaults upon it, he did as
follows: - having ordered traps to be made he set these round about the
vessels in which the money was; and when the thieves had come as at
former times and one of them had entered, then so soon as he came near
to one of the vessels he was straightway caught in the trap:
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