Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/175

151 and other] five thousand with cross-bows and taught them to shoot therewith.

As soon as it was day, the Indians came out to the field, armed cap-a-pie, with the elephants and giraffes in their van; whereupon Gherib and his men mounted and the drums beat and both hosts drew out in battle array. Then the counsellor cried out to the archers and arquebusiers to shoot, and they plied the elephants and giraffes with shafts and bullets. The arrows and the lead entered the beasts’ flanks, and they roared out and turning upon their own ranks, trampled them with their feet. Then the Muslims charged the misbelievers and set on them right and left, whilst the elephants and giraffes trampled them and drove them into the hills and deserts. Moreover, the Muslims followed hard upon them with the keen-edged sword and but few of the giraffes and elephants escaped.

Then Gherib and his folk returned, rejoicing in their victory; and on the morrow they divided the spoil and rested five days; after which King Gherib sat down on his throne and sending for his brother Agib, said to him, ‘O dog, how hast thou assembled the kings against us! But He who hath power over all things hath given us the victory over thee. Wherefore do thou embrace Islam and thou shalt be saved, and I will forbear to avenge my father and mother on thee. Moreover, I will make thee King again as thou wast and will myself be under thy hand.’ But Agib said, ‘I will not leave my faith.’ So Gherib bade lay him in irons and appointed a hundred stalwart slaves to guard him; after which he turned to Raadshah and said to him. ‘How sayst thou of the faith of Islam?’ ‘O my lord,’ answered Raadshah, ‘I will enter thy faith, for, were it not a true faith and a goodly, thou hadst not carried it over us. So put forth thy hand and I will testify that there is no god but God and that Abraham the Friend is His apostle.’ At this Gherib rejoiced and said to him,