Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 7.djvu/110

92 marble coffer, which I buried within the marge of yonder ocean, that encompasseth the earth; for that these parts are far from the world of men and none of them can win thither. So now I have told thee what thou wouldst know, and do thou tell none thereof, for it is a secret between me and thee.” “To whom should I tell it,” rejoined I, “seeing that none but thou cometh hither with whom I may talk thereof? By Allah, thou hast indeed set thy soul in a right impregnable stronghold, to which none may gain access! How should a man win to it, even if the impossible be ordained and God decree like as the astrologers predicted?”

Quoth the genie, “Peradventure one may come, having on his finger the ring of Solomon, son of David (on whom be peace!) and lay his hand with the ring on the surface of the water, saying, ‘By the virtue of the names engraven upon this ring, let the soul of such an one come forth!’ Whereupon the coffer will rise to the surface and he will break it open and do the like with the chests and caskets, till he come to the little box, when he will take out the sparrow and strangle it, and I shall die.”’ Then said Seif el Mulouk, ‘I am the king’s son of whom he spoke, and this is the ring of Solomon son of David on my finger. Come, let us go down to the sea-shore and see if his words be truth or leasing.’

So the two went down to the sea-shore and Dauleh Khatoun stood on the beach, whilst the prince entered the water to his middle, and laying his hand with the ring on the surface of the sea, said, ‘By the virtue of the names and talismans engraven on this ring and of Solomon son of David (on whom be peace!), let the soul of Hatim the genie, son of the Blue King, come forth!’ Whereupon the sea became troubled and the marble coffer rose to the surface. Seif took it and shattered it against the rock and broke open the chests and caskets, till he came to the