Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 7.djvu/276

252 us,’ continued they, ‘the thing were easy; but He who brought thee hither is able to carry thee back to thy country and reunite thee presently with thy people. So take heart and put thy trust in God and fear not; for we are at thy service, to convey thee to thy country.’

Hassan thanked them and said, ‘God requite you with good. But now make haste with the horses.’ ‘We hear and obey,’ answered they and struck the ground with their feet, whereupon it opened and they disappeared within it and were absent awhile, after which they reappeared with three horses, saddled and bridled, and on each saddle-bow a pair of saddle-bags, with a leathern bottle of water in one pocket and the other full of victual. Hassan mounted one horse and took a child before him, whilst his wife mounted a second and took the other child before her. Then the old woman alighted from the jar and mounted the third horse and they rode on, without ceasing, all night. At break of day, they turned aside from the road and made for the mountain, whilst their tongues ceased not to name God.

They fared on under the mountain all that day, till Hassan caught sight of a black object in the distance, as it were a tall column of smoke ascending to the sky; so he recited somewhat of the Koran and sought refuge with God from Satan the Stoned. The black thing grew plainer, as they approached, and when they drew near to it, they saw that it was an Afrit, with a head like a huge dome and tusks like grapnels and jaws like a street and nostrils like ewers and ears like leathern bucklers and mouth like a cavern and teeth like pillars of stone and hands like winnowing forks and legs like masts: his head was in the clouds and his feet in the bowels of the earth. When he saw Hassan, he bowed himself and kissed the earth before him, saying, ‘O Hassan, have no fear of me; for I am the chief of the dwellers in this land, which is