“Perfectly,” said the boy, who perceived that his father was indifferent as to his honesty, provided he sold fish at the highest price possible. He proceeded to the market, and he offered his fish with assiduity to every person whom he thought likely to buy it, especially to those upon whom he thought he could impose. He positively asserted to all who looked at his fish, that they were just fresh out of the water. Good judges of men and fish knew that he said what was false, and passed him by with neglect; but it was at last what he called _good luck_ to meet with the very same young raw servant-boy who would have bought the bruised melon from Francisco. He made up to him directly, crying, “Fish! Fine fresh fish! fresh fish!” “Was it caught to-day?” said the boy. “Yes, this morning; not an hour ago,” said Piedro, with the greatest effrontery. The servant-boy was imposed upon; and being a foreigner, speaking the Italian language but imperfectly, and not being expert at reckoning the Italian money, he was no match for the cunning Piedro, who cheated him not only as to the freshness, but as to the price of the commodity. Piedro received nearly half as much again for his fish as he ought to have done. On his road homewards from Naples to the little village of Resina, where his father lived, he overtook Francisco, who was leading his father’s ass. The ass was laden with large panniers, which were filled with the stalks and leaves of cauliflowers, cabbages, broccoli, lettuces, etc.—all the refuse of the Neapolitan kitchens, which are usually collected by the gardeners’ boys, and carried to the gardens round Naples, to be mixed with other manure. “Well filled panniers, truly,” said Piedro, as he overtook Francisco and the ass. The panniers were indeed not only filled to the top, but piled up with much skill and care, so that the load met over the animal’s back. “It is not a very heavy load for the ass, though it looks so large,” said Francisco. “The poor fellow, however, shall have a little of this water,” added he, leading the ass to a pool by the roadside. “I was not thinking of the ass, boy; I was not thinking of any ass, but of you, when I said, ‘Well filled panniers, truly!’ This is your morning’s work, I presume, and you’ll make another journey to Naples to-day, on the same errand, I warrant, before your father thinks you have done enough?” “Not before _my father_ thinks I have done enough, but before I think so myself,” replied Francisco. “I do enough to satisfy myself and my father, too,” said Piedro, “without slaving myself after your fashion. Look here,” producing the money he had received for the fish; “all this was had for asking. It is no bad thing, you’ll allow, to know how to ask for money properly.” “I should be ashamed to beg, or borrow either,” said Francisco.