Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 7.djvu/118

100 they should ride us, but they must eat us also? There is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme! But we will ply them with wine, till they are overcome with drunkenness, when we will kill them and be at rest from them.” So we awoke them and proceeded to fill the skulls and gave them to drink, but they said, “This is bitter.” “Why say ye it is bitter?” answered we. “Whoso saith this, except he drink of it ten times, he dieth the same day.” When they heard this, they feared death and said to us, “Give us to drink the whole ten times.” So we gave them to drink, and when they had drunken the rest of the ten draughts, their senses failed them and they became helplessly drunk. So we dragged them [together] by the hands and laying them one upon another, collected great plenty of dry vine-stalks and branches and heaped it upon and about them: then set fire to the pile and stood afar off, to see what came of them. When the fire was burnt down, we came back and found them a heap of ashes, wherefore we praised God the Most High, who had delivered us from them. Then we sought the sea-shore, where we parted and I and two of the men fared on till we came to a great and thick wood and there busied ourselves with eating fruit.

Presently, up came a man of high stature, long-bearded and flap-eared, with eyes like cressets, driving before him a great flock of sheep. When he saw us, he rejoiced and said to us, “Welcome and fair welcome to you! Come with me, that I may slaughter you one of these sheep and roast it and give you to eat.” Quoth we, “Where is thine abode?” And he said, “Hard by yonder mountain: go