There he had a friend, yet poorer than himself, who only attained to
prosperity when a plague fell on the village. The sanitary authorities put
a cordon around it to prevent the spread of the plague, and hired this man
among others to throw disinfectants and things into any drains that
happened to exist. Thus Osman Effendi's brother's friend became a
Government servant.
Now Osman Effendi's brother had a sore leg. When he heard of his friend's
new work he thought he saw a way to avoid any doctor's fees. So he went to
him and said, "I hear that you are now a doctor." His friend, proud but
truthful, said he was perhaps hardly that, but he was certainly put to
administer drugs. Osman's brother pointed out that his leg was sore and
suggested that it should be healed. The other looked doubtful, then
produced a lump of his disinfectant. "This," said he, "is a powerful drug
and, who knows? it may cure your leg." It was a friendly act; but Osman's
brother swallowed the lump and shortly afterwards died.
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