22

François returned to the city and wandered around the market for a long time. Finally, he found what he was looking for: fire-grass, causing instant irritation and skin burns. Having bought a bunch of grass and some fern powder, he went to the next street, where he bought not a new, but rather decent European-cut caftan, a velvet beret, chausses, boots and a leather purse. Having finished shopping, the young man jumped on his horse and rode back to the Toad's house. Not far from him, François dismounted, tying his horse in the shade of palm trees, and changed his clothes. He looked at himself as best he could and was satisfied: in this caftan he could easily pass for a young rich merchant.

François approached the house cautiously and bent over towards the back door. There were no servants present, and he slipped in unhindered.

The house was huge. François crept along the corridor, looked into several rooms, but did not meet a soul anywhere. Ahead, the corridor forked. After hesitating