Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/195

169 Marid who had charge of the idol and spoke in its name, heard him and fear gat hold upon his heart and he said, ‘Confusion! Who is this that seeth me and whom I see not?’ So he went in to Gherib and throwing himself at his feet, said to him, ‘O my lord, what must I say that I may become of thy company and enter thy religion?’ ‘Say,’ answered Gherib, ‘“There is no god but God, and Abraham is the Friend of God.”’ So the Marid pronounced the profession of the faith and was written of the people of felicity. Now his name was Zelzal, son of El Muzelzel, one of the chief of the Kings of the Jinn. Then he unbound Gherib and taking him and the idol, made for the upper air.

When the King’s soldiers saw what had befallen, they renounced the worship of the idol and drawing their swords, slew the King; after which they fell on one another, and the sword went round amongst them three days, till there abode alive but two men, one of whom overcame the other and killed him. Then the boys attacked the survivor and slew him and fell to fighting amongst themselves, till they were all killed; and the women and girls fled to the hamlets and villages; wherefore the city became desert and none dwelt therein but the owl.

Meanwhile, the Marid Zelzal flew with Gherib towards his own country, the Islands of Camphor and the Castle of Crystal and the land of the Enchanted Calf, so called because its King, Muzelzel, had a pied calf which he clad in housings of gold brocade and worshipped as a god. One day, the King and his people went in to the calf and found him trembling; so the King said, ‘O my god, what hath troubled thee?’ Whereupon the Satan in the calf’s belly cried out and said, ‘O Muzelzel, thy son hath deserted to the faith of Abraham the Friend, at the hands of Gherib, King of Irak.’ When the King heard this, he was confounded and going forth, sat down upon his throne. Then