One day three priests from foreign lands came to see R. Samuel the Pious, for they had heard that he was a very remarkable man.

Informing him that they were able to perform magic with the aid of evil spirits, they said to him: "We have heard much of your skill and wonderworking in all the countries through which we have passed. We, therefore, ask you to show us your

clever tricks and we will show you our own, which are greater than yours. Do not refuse our request, for we have come specially to see you from very distant parts."

Now there lived at that time in another place a great man called R. Jacob, who had in his possession a book belonging to R. Samuel. So he said to the priests: "If you can conjure an evil spirit to carry a letter from me to R. Jacob, asking him to send me the book, I will believe you to be great masters of the art."

The priests replied: "We have come here to honor you, therefore we will show you a greater wonder than this."

Then they said to him: "Come, let us go out into the open country to a secret place and there you will see a very wonderful thing. One of us will draw a circle and the other companions will conjure his soul to leave his body, take the letter from your hand, carry it to R. Jacob, and bring you his answer together with your book, just as you have requested us to do. The man whose soul has left him, will not leave the spot for three days, but will remain lying still within the circle until the three days are over, and then the soul will return to the body, which will become alive and healthy again."

So the pious man went with the priests to the field, and they did exactly as they had promised. As soon as the soul had left the body of the priest, the remaining two said: "Let us return to the town, for we have nothing further to do here. On the third day, at noon, we will come back when the soul will re-enter the body, after it has fulfilled the errand which you asked us to do."

So they went back to the town, and on the third day the two priests said to R. Samuel: "Now let us go again to the field and there you will see how the soul will reenter the body of our companion."

The pious man went with them to the field, but by his art made it so that the soul, when it came back, was not able to reenter the dead body, When the two priests saw that the corpse would not rise again, but lay there like any other corpse, they raised a great lamentation for their companion and mourned bitterly for him.

The pious man then said: "If you will acknowledge that I can do more than you, I will make the soul enter the body again as before."

So they both fell at his feet and begged him in God's name to bring their companion to life again. They were glad, they said, to acknowledge that he was a greater master than they. Then the pious man conjured the evil spirit to cause the soul to reenter the body, and instantly the man stood up alive and gave the pious man the letter as well as the book which he had missed for a long time. The priests thanked the pious man and went their way, saying that his art was even greater than the reputation of it in foreign lands.