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But, first to his surprise, and then to his grief, Nadan was not thankful for the riches and love lavished upon him. He neglected his lessons and grew proud, haughty and arrogant. He treated the servants of the household harshly and did not obey the wise maxims of Ikkor.
It shows thee that Ikkor would deliver this country to thine enemy." The king was very angry and would have sent for Ikkor at once, but Nadan counseled patience. "Wait until the tenth of next month, the day of the annual review, and thou wilt see what will surprise thee still more," he said. Then he wrote the second letter.
Nabu Samak was a great friend to Ikkor and it grieved him to have to carry out the king's order. "Ikkor," he said, "I am certain that thou art innocent, and I would save thee. Hearken unto me. In the prison is a wretched highwayman who has committed murder and who deserves death. His beard and hair are like thine, and at a little distance he can easily be mistaken for thee.
This was to Ikkor and was forged with the king's name and sealed with the king's seal which he obtained. It bade Ikkor on the tenth of the next month to assemble the troops on the Eagle Plain to show how numerous they were to the foreign envoys and to pretend to attack the king, so as to demonstrate how well they were drilled.
Him will I behead and his head will I show to the crowd, whilst thou canst hide and live in secret." Ikkor thanked his friend and the plan was carried out. The robber's head was exhibited to the crowd from the roof of the house and the people wept because they thought it was the head of the good Ikkor.
"Lead him to the execution," cried the king, "and let his head be severed from his body and cast one hundred ells away." Falling on his knees, Ikkor pleaded that at least he should be granted the privilege of being executed within his own house so that he might be buried there. This request was granted, and Nabu Samak, the executioner, led Ikkor a prisoner to his palace.
Not only did he do so, but he gave Ikkor many valuable presents and the vizier returned to Assyria, resumed his place by the king's side, and became a greater favorite than before. Nadan was banished and was never heard of again. The Pope's Game of Chess Nearly a thousand years ago in the town of Mayence, on the bank of the Rhine, there dwelt a pious Jew of the name of Simon ben Isaac.
For twelve months he had been immured in the cellar and his beard had grown down to the ground, his hair descended below his shoulders and his finger nails were several inches long. The king wept, too, when he saw his old vizier. "Ikkor," he said, "for months have I felt that thou wert innocent, and I have missed thy wise counsels. Help me in my difficulty and thou shalt be pardoned."
Nadan was a handsome youth of fifteen, and Ikkor related his dream to the boy's mother who permitted him to take Nadan to his palace and there bring him up as his own son. The sadness faded from the vizier's eyes as he watched the lad at his games and his lessons, and Ikkor himself imparted wisdom to Nadan.
"Take it, quickly," he cried, but of course nobody could do this. Pharaoh looked long and earnestly at Ikkor. "Truly, thou art a man of wisdom," he said. "If he were not dead I should say thou wert Ikkor, the wise." "I am Ikkor," answered the vizier, and he told the story of his escape. "I will prove thy innocence," exclaimed Pharaoh. "I will write a letter to your royal master."
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