Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 7.djvu/223

201 days of the day of departure; whereupon the king sent for him and equipped him with all that he required and gave him great gifts: after which he summoned the captain of the great ship and said to him, ‘Take this youth with thee in the ship, so none may know of him but thou, and carry him to the Wac Islands and leave him there; and tell none of him.’ And the captain said, ‘I hear and obey.’ Then said the king to Hassan, ‘Look thou tell none of those who are with thee in the ships thine errand nor discover to them aught of thy case; else thou art a lost man.’ He answered, ‘I hear and obey,’ and took leave of the king, after he had wished him long life and victory over his enemies and enviers; wherefore the king thanked him and wished him safety and the accomplishment of his desire. Then he committed him to the captain, who laid him in a chest and taking boat therewith, carried him aboard, whilst the folk were busy transporting the goods and doubted not but the chest contained somewhat of merchandise.

After this, the ships set sail and fared on without ceasing ten days, and on the eleventh day they reached land. So the captain set Hassan ashore and there he saw settles without number, none knew their count save God, even as the king had told him. He went on, till he came to one that had no fellow and hid under it till nightfall, when there came up a great host of women on foot, as they were a swarm of locusts, armed cap-a-pie in hauberks and strait-knit coats of mail and bearing drawn swords in their hands, who, seeing the merchandise landed from the ships, busied themselves therewith.

Presently they sat down, to rest themselves, and one of them seated herself on the settle under which Hassan was hidden: whereupon he took hold of the hem of her skirt and laid it on his head and throwing himself before her, fell to kissing her hands and feet and weeping. ‘Harkye,