Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/27

11 the whole host. As for the planisphere, its possessor has only to turn its face toward any country with whose sight he hath a mind to divert himself, and therein he will see that country and its people, as they were before him, and he sitting in his place; and if he be wroth with a city and have a mind to burn it, he has but to turn the face of the planisphere towards the sun’s disc, saying, ‘Let such a city be burnt,’ and that city will be consumed with fire. As for the kohl-pot, whoso anointeth his eyes therefrom, he shall see all the treasures of the earth. And I make this condition with you that none but he who achieves the treasure and brings me the four precious things that be therein shall have any claim to this book.”

We all agreed to this, and he continued, saying, “O my sons, know that the treasure of Es Shemerdel is under the governance of the sons of the Red King, and your father told me that he had himself essayed to open the treasure, but could not achieve it; for the sons of the Red King fled from him into the land of Egypt and took refuge in a lake there, called Lake Caroun, whither he pursued them, but could not prevail over them, by reason of their stealing into that lake, which was guarded by a spell. So he returned, empty-handed, and complained to me of his ill-success, whereupon I made him an astrological calculation and found that the treasure could only be achieved by means of a young fisherman of Cairo, by name Jouder ben Omar, the place of foregathering with whom was at Lake Caroun, for that he should be the means of the taking the sons of the Red King and that the charm should not be dissolved, save if he should bind the hands of the seeker of the treasure behind him and cast him into the lake, there to do battle with the sons of the Red King. An he were he to whom the adventure was reserved, he should lay hands upon them; but, if it were not destined to him,