Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/158

134 fire; whilst the two hosts of the Jinn cast flames of fire at one another, till the battle-field was wrapped in smoke. And Gherib tourneyed right and left among the infidels and they gave way before him, till he came to King Bercan’s pavilion, with Kailjan and Courjan on his either hand, and cried out to them, saying, ‘Loose your lord!’ So they unbound Muraash and broke his fetters and he said to them, ‘Bring me my arms and my winged horse.’ Now he had two flying horses, one of which he gave to Gherib and the other he mounted himself, after he had donned his battle-harness. Then he and Gherib fell upon the enemy, flying through the air on their winged horses, and the true-believing Jinn followed them, shouting, ‘God is Most Great!’ till the earth and hills and valleys and mountains answered them. The infidels fled before them and they returned, after having slain more than thirty thousand Marids and Satans, to the city of Japhet, where the two kings sat down on their beds of estate and sought for Bercan, but found him not; for, whilst they were diverted from him by stress of battle, an Afrit of his servants made his way to him and loosing him, carried him to his folk, of whom he found part slain and the rest in full flight. So he flew up with the King into the air and set him down in the City of Cornelian and Castle of Gold, where Bercan seated himself on the throne of his kingship. Presently, those of his people who had escaped from the battle came in to him and gave him joy of his safety; and he said, ‘O folk, where is safety? My army is slain and they took me prisoner and have rent in pieces my repute among the tribes of the Jinn.’ ‘O King,’ answered they, ‘it is ever thus that kings still smite and are smitten.’ Quoth he, ‘Needs must I take my revenge and wipe out my reproach, else shall I be for ever dishonoured among the tribes of the Jinn.’ Then he wrote letters to the governors of his fortresses, who came to him with three hundred and