Of a miscellaneous pocketful of things, such as a boy might carry, they say, _Mithl jerab il-ḳurdy_, “Like the Kurd’s pocket.” This is from the story told of a Kurd who had lost his wallet-pocket by theft. When the thief was found the Kurd was asked in court to describe the pocket and its contents. He described the pocket accurately enough, but in telling the contents he named over thing after thing until he had mentioned a catalogue of much that the world contains. With reference to the infection of yawning the story is told of a man who was riding a camel in the desert. The camel yawned and then the rider yawned. The rider said to the camel, “I took my yawn from you; from whom did you take yours?” In a class of native youth learning the English language one of the boys lost his bearings and was unable to follow what the rest of the class was saying, so he mumbled _Mithl akhras fy zeffeh_. He meant, “I am like a dumb man at a wedding procession.” On such occasions a ready tongue is quite necessary. When one does a foolish or witless thing, another is apt to say impatiently to him, _Kathîr minnâk thîrân_, that is, freely, “There are many oxen of your kind.” When one shows lack of grace, they quote, “The bear stood up to dance and killed seven or eight persons.” An ignorant or dull person is accused of not knowing his elbow from his wrist. A rather cynical and unsentimental way of describing the effect on a man of the loss of his wife is that, “It is like knocking his funny-bone.” Of course rain would never be expected in July. Such a thing would be called _zelket fyt tammûz_, “a slip in July,” and this expression is used proverbially to describe any prodigy or any very surprising occurrence. That good actions may be spoiled is expressed by the statement, “If a cow yields a large quantity and then kicks over the milk-pan she is not praised.” An obstinate person is described by _râs-hu yâbis_ or _râs-hu ḳawy_, “His head is dry or hard.” Gift-taking, that is, bribery,[189] is described as a sickness to which all officials are proverbially subject. Such a man is described by _Butnhu wâsi‛a, byokul kathîr_,[190] “He has an expansive stomach, he eats a great deal.”[191] Of an official whose power is limited they say, “His arm is short.”[192] Orders from headquarters in Constantinople not carried out by an under-official are said to have been “put under the carpet.” ----- ----- “When the salt blossoms” denotes improbabilities, for which the following is also heard, though I should not want to vouch for its absolute impossibility, “When the goat climbs to the top of the minaret.” I have seen goats in very unlikely places. The following list of proverbs gives a sample of expressions in common use among the peasantry of central Palestine. _Abu Ḥashîsh fy ḥâlat ghalbân_: “Abu Ḥashîsh is overcome of his own matters.” This is used when a man already crowded with duties is asked to do something more.