In the morning, before he took his leave, the trader said to the philosopher, "Sir, I see that you are a wise man and good in spirit. Would it be in your goodness, accordingly, to give counsel to a poor trader? For last night I was plagued by a strange dream. In this dream I saw a beautiful woman suspended from a cliff. At the base of the cliff was a pit of spikes; at its top, two ravenous dogs. Two times the woman in the dream tried to gain the top of the cliff, and two times she fell into the pit of spikes. But on the third attempt she gained the top of the cliff and slew the two devil-dogs with strange weapons that spat death. What could be the significance of this dream?

The philosopher considered for a moment and then addressed the trader. "Sir, I think I can divine for you the meaning of your dream and offer you some counsel. The cliff and pit of spikes represent the trials of life; the devil-dogs, the twin evils of sloth and greed. Go back to your home and slaughter three of your prize oxen and pray to the Seven Lords of the Universe for forgiveness. In this way you shall find salvation."

The trader thanked the philosopher, and blessing him for his goodness, went on his way. As soon as he arrived at his home he slaughtered three prize oxen as the philosopher had bidden him, and prayed to the Seven Lords of the Universe for forgiveness. Unfortunately, though, the prize oxen were the only things of value in the world that he owned, and so the trader and his family eventually starved - but not before they sang to all they met the praises of the philosopher, the hermit-saint who could cure all manner of blights to the spirit.

As for the philosopher, he spent the rest of the years of a long life playing his PlayStation and giving succour to the needy, blissfully unaware that he was as mad as a bat.