Page:Fairy Tales Their Origin and Meaning.djvu/125

III.] horse for disturbing him. Reksh, however, awakened him the third time, and then Rustem saw the Dīv, and slew him after a fearful combat. The other story is this. There came a wild ass of enormous size, with a skin like the sun, and a black stripe along his back, and this creature got amongst the king's horses and killed them. Now the wild ass was no other than a very powerful Dīv, named Akvân, who haunted a particular fountain or spring. So Rustem, mounted on his horse Reksh, went to look for him there. Three days he waited, but saw nothing. On the fourth day the Dīv appeared, and Rustem tried to throw a noose over his head, but the Dīv suddenly vanished. Then he reappeared, and Rustem shot an arrow at him, but he vanished again. Rustem then turned his horse to graze, and laid himself down by the spring to sleep. This was what the cunning Akvân wanted, and while Rustem was asleep, Akvân seized him, and flew high up into the air with him. Then Rustem awoke, and the Dīv gave him his choice of being dropped from the sky into the sea, or upon the mountains. Rustem knew that if he fell upon the mountains he would be dashed in