Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 5.djvu/163

137 him his request, that he might go to his own country.”country. [sic] “By the virtue of the lord Solomon,” replied she, “I know not where the herb of which thou speakest is to be found.” Then she bade the serpent, which had brought him thither, carry him back to Egypt: so the latter said to him, “Shut thine eyes.” He did so and opening them again, found himself on the mountain Mukettem. When I returned from the mountain Caf,’ added the Queen, ‘the serpent my deputy informed me of Beloukiya’s visit and repeated to me his story: and this, O Hasib, is how I came to know the adventures of Beloukiya and the history of Prince Janshah of Kabul.’

Hasib marvelled at the Queen’s story and wept many tears over it; then he again besought her to let him return to his family; but she said, ‘I fear me that, when thou gettest back to earth, thou wilt fail of thy promise and prove traitor to thine oath and enter the bath.’ But he swore to her another solemn oath that he would never again enter the bath as long as he lived; whereupon she called a serpent and bade her carry him up to the surface of the earth. So the serpent took him and led him from place to place, till she brought him out on the platform of an abandoned cistern [and there left him].

He walked to the city and coming to his house by the last of the day, at the season of the yellowing of the sun, knocked at the door. His mother opened it and seeing her son, screamed out and threw herself upon him and wept for excess of joy. His wife heard her mother-in-law weeping; so she came out to her and seeing her husband, saluted him and kissed his hands; and each rejoiced in other with an exceeding joy. Then they entered the house and sat down to converse; and presently Hasib asked his mother of the woodcutters, who had left him to perish in