Note 136 — DISSERTATION II.
Reading edition
One reason for suspecting it might have originated in the East is that it forms the subject of one of the old French fabliaux, many of which came in with the Crusades. See Sinner, Catal. des MSS. de Berne, iii. 389. It has been likewise imitated by La Harpe in his Pied de nez. Some traces of resemblance may be found in the stories of Ahmed, and the enchanted horse in the Arabian nights entertainments.