Page:Muhammad Diyab al-Itlidi - Historical Tales and Anecdotes of the Time of the Early Khalîfahs - Alice Frere - 1873.djvu/116

Rh Kaʾabah, he entered the Valley of Ants, which is near et-Tâyif. And the chief of the Ants said to his fellows, "Go into your houses, for fear lest these people should tread on you and kill you." And the wind brought the words to King Solomon, who laughed, and stayed the carpet until all the ants had taken refuge in their houses. Then he continued his journey. And presently he descried a flowery land, exceeding beautiful, where he desired to stop that he might pray and eat. And when he had descended from the carpet, the Hud-hud said to himself, "Our master has work to do, and will not miss me. I will fly up and see the length and breadth of the land." So he rose into the air and looked to the right and to the left. Then he perceived in the distance the gardens of Balkîs, and longed to go thither. And when he arrived, he met another Hud-hud, who asked, "Whence comest thou, and what seekest thou?" "I have come from Damascus," he replied, "with our lord Solomon, the son of David." "And who is Solomon?" asked the other. "He is," replied the Hud-hud, "the king over men, and genii, and devils, and birds, and beasts, and winds. And whence art