Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/113

91 not their chief, were as sheep without a shepherd; but Saadan the Ghoul cried out to them, saying, ‘O folk, don your harness and trust to your Lord to defend you!’ So the Arabs and the Persians donned their hauberks of iron and their strait-knit shirts of mail and mounting their horses, sallied forth to the field, with the chiefs and the ensigns in the van. Then pricked out the Ghoul of the Mountain, with a mace on his shoulder, two hundred pounds in weight, and advanced and retreated, saying, ‘Ho, worshippers of idols, come ye out to-day, for it is a day of battle! Whoso knoweth me hath enough of my mischief and whoso knoweth me not, I will make myself known to him. I am Saadan, servant of King Gherib. Who is for jousting? Who is for fighting? Let no faint-heart or weakling come forth to me to-day.’ And there came forth to him a champion of the infidels, as he were a flame of fire, and drove at him, but Saadan met him and dealt him a blow with his mace, which beat in his ribs and cast him lifeless to the earth. Then he called out to his sons and slaves, saying, ‘Light the fire, and whoso falls of the infidels, do ye roast him well with fire and bring him to me, that I may make the morning mealmorning-meal [sic] of him.’ So they kindled a fire amiddleward the field and laid the slain man therein, till he was cooked, when they brought him to Saadan, who gnawed his flesh and crunched his bones.

When the infidels saw this, they were sore affrighted, but Agib cried out to his men, saying, ‘Out on you! Fall upon him and cut him in pieces with your swords!’ So twenty thousand men ran at Saadan, whilst the footmen circled round him and rained darts and arrows upon him, so that he was wounded in four-and-twenty places and his blood ran down upon the earth, and he was alone. Then the host of the Muslims drove at the idolaters, calling for help upon the Lord of the World; and they ceased not