Similar precautions should be taken in admiring a horse or a donkey, and there are ways of keeping the evil eye away from them. If a man has a spirited horse which he fears the people may admire, he carries with him some salt. As he rides through the crowds he will now and then sprinkle a little salt under the feet of the horse, especially if he sees the crowd looking at it. If any one asks whether he will sell the animal he must answer yes, but if asked what he will take he makes the price so high that the man cannot buy. At such times he usually requests the would-be purchaser to stop thinking of his horse for fear it may bring misfortune. Another superstition regarding salt relates to babies at birth. It is sprinkled over their bodies to keep off the devil, and is used at all other ceremonies connected with children. The power of the evil eye is also possessed by spirits who inhabit human beings. The people here believe in one class of spirits who live underground but who are fed by those on earth. They are said to come up and take the wheat from the threshing-floors and the bread from the ovens, and the only way to keep them from doing so is to utter a sentence from the Koran or Bible as you put the bread in to bake, or spread out the grain. These same spirits hover about the fire, and if you quench it without asking Mohammed to protect you the spirits are liable to beat you or perhaps lame you for life. These underground spirits are known as the jinn. Their favourite place of residence is below the front doorsteps, for which reason women are not allowed to sit there. The jinn, or genii, are supposed to be an organized body, having a sultan, a court, and regular officials. They keep guard on the food stores and are on the whole fairly good fellows. They are said to be fond of human company. It is even whispered that they sometimes assume human shape and marry mortals. They are believed to be most common in Egypt. One may attract a jinn by whistling, and it is said that the girls here frequently whistle. Some of the men of Palestine are jealous of the jinn, thinking they have association with their wives, and some will not look at a real woman for fear the jinn girls, who they imagine are in love with them, will object.