Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/176

152 ‘Is thy heart indeed stablished in the sweetness of the Faith?’ And he answered, saying, ‘Yes, O my lord!’ Then said Gherib, ‘O Raadshah, wilt thou go to thy country and thy kingdom?’ ‘O my lord,’ replied he, ‘my father will put me to death, for that I have left his faith.’ Quoth Gherib, ‘I will go with thee and make thee King of the country and constrain the folk to obey thee, by the help of God the Bountiful, the Beneficent.’ And Raadshah kissed his hands and feet. Then Gherib rewarded the counsellor, who had been the cause of the rout of the infidels, and gave him great riches; after which be turned to Kailjan and Courjan and said to them, ‘O chiefs of the Jinn, it is my will that ye carry me, together with Raadshah and Jemrcan and Saadan, to the land of Hind.’ ‘We hear and obey,’ answered they. So Courjan took up Jemrcan and Saadan, whilst Kailjan took Gherib and Raadshah, and flew on with them from sundown till the end of the night, when they set them down on the terrace of King Terkenan’s palace at Cashmere.

Now news was come to Terkenan of the rout of his army and that his son [was a prisoner], whereat he was sore troubled and slept not neither took delight in aught. As he sat in his harem, pondering his case, behold, Gherib and his company descended the stairways of the palace and came in to him; and when he saw his son and those who were with him, he was confounded and fear took him of the Marids. Then Raadshah turned to him and said, ‘How long wilt thou persist in thy frowardness, O traitor and worshipper of the Fire? Woe to thee! Leave worshipping the fire and serve the Magnanimous King, Creator of night and day, whom no sight attaineth.’ When Terkenan heard his son’s speech, he cast at him an iron mace he had by him; but he avoided it and it fell upon a buttress of the palace and smote out three stones. Then