The Tale of "Comeacross and Doublecross" – my attempt to represent the connotation of the names – is no Odyssey, Pilgrim's Progress, or Everyman, yet it belongs firmly in the genre of travel epics in which the hero goes through trials and tribulations, yet finally his innate goodness is rewarded by his reaching his distant goal. The trip in this instance is probably from Baghdad to Damascus; the place of printing is not indicated, but probably was Baghdad. This little chapbook was probably meant as a reward for children. The Hebrew University Library in Jerusalem has a copy, call number 31V4521. Some time ago I placed a translation of the tale on this website, and you may read it there, with some further details.
Without being great literature, the tale has its charms.
This story is related in the Babylonian Talmud, treatise Ta`anit fol. 21a. Gimzo is a town mentioned in II Chronicles 28.18. A pun is made on the name of Nahum's town, because he was an optimist, who said gam zu "this also [is for the best.]" Here is the translation of the Soncino Talmud:
Why was he called Nahum of Gamzu? – Because whatever befell him he would declare, This also is for the best. Once the Jews desired to send to the Emperor a gift, and after discussing who should go, they decided that Nahum of Gamzu should go because he had experienced many miracles. They sent with him a bag full of precious stones and pearls. He went and spent the night in a certain inn and during the night the people in the inn arose and emptied the bag and filled it up with earth. When he discovered this next morning he exclaimed, This also is for the best. When he arrived at his destination and they undid his bag they found that it was full of earth. The king thereupon desired to put them all to death saying, The Jews are mocking me. Nahum then exclaimed, This also is for the best. Whereupon Elijah appeared in the guise of one of [the Romans] and remarked, Perhaps this is some of the earth of their father Abraham, for when he threw earth it turned into swords and when he threw stubble it changed into arrows…
Now there was one province which [the emperor] had not been able to conquer but when they tried some of this earth they were able to conquer it. Then they took [Nahum] to the royal treasury and filled his bag with precious stones and pearls and sent him back with great honour. When on his return journey he again spent the night in the same inn he was asked, What did you take that they showed you such great honour? He replied, I brought thither what I had taken from here. [The innkeepers] thereupon razed the inn to the ground and took of the earth to the king and they said to him, The earth that was brought to you belonged to us. They tested it and it was not found to be [effective] and the innkeepers were thereupon put to death.
This is the popular story that is retold in the Arabic text. Thus does virtue ever triumph.