Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/155

131 people worshipped the fire, not the Omnipotent King. He was the son of Muraash’s father’s brother and the cause of his coming was on this wise. It chanced that there was among the subjects of King Muraash a misbelieving Marid, who professed Islam hypocritically, and he stole away from his people and made for the Valley of Cornelian, where he went in to King Bercan and kissing the earth before him, wished him abiding glory and fair fortune. Then he told him of Muraash’s conversion to Islam, and Bercan said, ‘How came he to forsake his faith?’ So the rebel told him what had passed and Bercan snorted and puffed and railed at the sun and the moon and the sparkling fire, saying, ‘By the virtue of my faith, I will surely slay my cousin and his people and this mortal, nor will I leave one of them on life!’ Then he cried out to the tribes of the Jinn and choosing of them seventy thousand Marids, set out and fared on till he came to the city of Japhet and encamped before its gates. When Muraash saw this, he despatched a Marid to learn what the stranger host wanted, bidding him return in haste. So the messenger repaired to Bercan’s camp, where the Marids hastened to meet him and said to him, ‘Who art thou?’ Quoth he, ‘I bear a message from King Muraash;’ whereupon they carried him in to Bercan, before whom he prostrated himself saying, ‘O my lord, my master hath sent me to thee, to know what brings thee hither.’ ‘Return to thy lord,’ replied Bercan, ‘and say to him, “This is thy cousin Bercan, who is come to salute thee.”’ So the messenger returned and told Muraash, who said to Gherib, ‘Abide here whilst I go and salute my cousin and return to thee.’ Then he mounted and rode to Bercan’s camp.

Now this was a trick of Bercan, to bring Muraash out and seize upon him, and he said to his Marids, who were about him, ‘When ye see me embrace my cousin, lay hold of him and bind his hands behind him.’ And they