I want to cut them down.' At that there was a general outcry that it must not be.
'The trees would remain yours until the end,' I told them, 'for I would let you have the wood for your own purposes, and, in addition, you would have a pretty sum of money.' There ensued a long and whispered consultation before Muhammad abu Hasan answered me.

At length he said: 'It may not be.

Behold, we all are the descendants of one man who owned these trees in ancient days.

But we are not brothers, nor yet uncles' children, and there is jealousy among us.

We quarrel near to fighting every year about the produce of these trees, each man perceiving that he has been cheated of his proper share.