Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/126

104 the Vizier gave the signal for departure and mounting, rode on before them till hard upon daybreak. A little before the dawn, he descended into a well-wooded valley, whose flowers were fragrant and whose birds warbled on the branches, as they swayed gracefully to and fro, and Satan blew into his sides [and puffed him up with pride] and he recited the following verses:

Hardly had he made an end of his verses when there came out upon him from among the trees a horseman of noble presence, clad in complete steel, who cried out to him, saying, ‘Stand, O brigand of the Arabs! Put off thy clothes and lay down thine arms and dismount and begone!’ When Jawamerd heard this, the light in his eyes became darkness and he drew his sabre and drove at Jemrcan, [for he it was,] saying, ‘O thief of the Arabs, wilt thou play the highwayman with me, who am captain of the host of Julned ben Kerker and am come to bring Gherib and his men bound?’ When Jemrcan heard these words, he said, ‘How grateful is this to my heart!’ And made at Jawamerd, reciting the following verses: