Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 7.djvu/120

102 came to me and felt my ribs, but found me lean and with no flesh on my bones: so he felt another and finding him fat, rejoiced. Then he slaughtered three sheep and skinned them and fetching iron spits, spitted the flesh thereon and set them over the fire to roast. When the meat was done, he set it before my comrades, who ate and he with them; after which he brought a skin full of wine and drank thereof and lay down on his face and snored.

Quoth I in myself, “He is drowned in sleep: how shall I slay him?” Then I bethought me of the spits and laying two of them in the fire, waited till they were red-hot: whereupon I girded myself and taking a spit in each hand, went up to the ghoul and thrust them into his eyes, pressing upon them with all my might. He sprang to his feet for dear life and would have laid hold of me; but he was blind. So I fled from him into the inner cavern, whilst he ran after me; but I found no place of refuge from him nor whence I might escape into the open country, for the cave was stopped up with stone; wherefore I was bewildered and said to the blind men, “How shall I do with this accursed wretch?” “O Saïd,” answered one of them, “climb up to yonder niche and thou wilt find there a sharpened sword: bring it to me and I will tell thee what to do.”

So I climbed up to the niche and taking the sword, returned to the blind man, who said to me, “Smite him with the sword in his middle, and he will die forthright.” So I ran after the ghoul, who was weary with running after me and felt for the blind men, that he might kill them, and coming behind him, smote him with the sword in his middle and he fell in twain. Then he cried out to me, saying, “O man, an thou desire to kill me, smite me a second time.” Accordingly, I was about to deal him another blow; but he who had directed me to the sword