Page:Muhammad Diyab al-Itlidi - Historical Tales and Anecdotes of the Time of the Early Khalîfahs - Alice Frere - 1873.djvu/119

90 "O! Prophet of Allâh! at the Day of Judgment thou wilt stand before Allâh, as I now stand before thee: therefore have mercy upon me." And when King Solomon heard these words, he trembled, and pardoned him. Then he asked again, "Where wert thou?" The Hud-hud replied, "I have brought news of things which thou knowest not." And the Most High taught the Hud-hud these words in order that the King might not grow boastful. "I went to the land of Sába," said the Hud-hud, "and found the ruler thereof a woman."

(Now this woman was Balkîs, the daughter of Sharahîl, who was a mighty king, and the ruler over the whole of el-Yémen. And he said to the other kings of the world, "I am greater than you; I cannot marry from among your daughters." So he chose a woman from among the genii whose name was Rihânah, and he married her. And of her was born Balkîs, and they had no other child. And when her father was dead, Balkîs desired the kingdom. So she assembled the people and asked their consent. And some of them consented, and some of them refused. And the latter chose for themselves a king, and the land of el-Yémen was divided. But the king whom