第67章

place；'and the other asked'Where abideth he？'Said the speaker'He is in the City of Brass whereon sun riseth not.'Then said the first Jinni to me，'O Abu Mohammed，take one of these our slaves，and he will carry thee on his back and teach thee how thou shalt get back the girl； but know that this slave is a Marid of the Marids and beware，whilst he is carrying thee，lest thou utter the name of Allah，or he will flee from thee and thou wilt fall and be destroyed.''I hear and obey，'answered I and chose out one of the slaves，who bent down and said to me，'Mount.'So I mounted on his back，and he flew up with me into the firmament，till I lost sight of the earth and saw the stars as they were the mountains of earth fixed and firm[238] and heard the angels crying，'Praise be to Allah，'in heaven while the Marid held me in converse，diverting me and hindering me from pronouncing the name of Almighty Allah.[239] But，as we flew，behold，One clad in green raiment，[240] with streaming tresses and radiant face，holding in his hand a javelin whence flew sparks of fire，accosted me，saying，'O Abu Mohammed，say：--There is no god but the God and Mohammed is the Apostle of God； or I will smite thee with this javelin.'Now already I felt heart-broken by my forced silence as regards calling on the name of Allah； so I said，'There is no god but the God，and Mohammed is the Apostle of God.

Whereupon the shining One smote the Marid with his javelin and he melted away and became ashes； whilst I was thrown from his back and fell headlong towards the earth，till I dropped into the midst of a dashing sea，swollen with clashing surge.And behold I fell hard by a ship with five sailors therein，who seeing me，made for me and took me up into the vessel； and they began to speak to me in some speech I knew not； but I signed to them that I understood not their speech.So they fared on till the last of the day，when they cast out a net and caught a great fish and they broiled it and gave me to eat； after which they ceased not sailing on till they reached their city and carried me to their King and set me in his presence.So I kissed ground before him，and he bestowed on me a dress of honour and said to me in Arabic （which he knew well），'I appoint thee one of my officers.'

Thereupon I asked him the name of the city，and he replied，'It is called Hanad[241] and is in the land of China.'Then he committed me to his Wazir，bidding him show me the city，which was formerly peopled by Infidels，till Almighty Allah turned them into stones； and there I abode a month's space，diverting myself with viewing the place，nor saw I ever greater plenty of trees and fruits than there.And when this time had past，one day，as I sat on the bank of a river，behold，there accosted me a horseman，who said to me，'Art thou not Abu Mohammed Lazybones？''Yes，'

answered I； whereupon，he said，'Fear not，for the report of thy good deed hath reached us.'Asked I，'Who art thou？'and he answered，'I am a brother of the white serpent，and thou art hard by the place where is the damsel whom thou seekest.'So saying，he took off his clothes and clad me therein，saying，'Fear not，for the slave who perished under thee was one of our slaves.'

Then the horseman took me up behind him and rode on with me to a desert place，when he said，'Dismount now and walk on between these two mountains，till thou seest the City of Brass；[242]

then halt afar off and enter it not，ere I return to thee and tell thee how thou shalt do.''To hear is to obey，'replied I

and，dismounting from behind him，walked on till I came to the city，the walls whereof I found of brass.Then I began to pace round about it，hoping to find a gate，but found none； and presently as I persevered，behold，the serpent's brother rejoined me and gave me a charmed sword which should hinder any from seeing me，[243] then went his way.Now he had been gone but a little while，when lo！ I heard a noise of cries and found myself in the midst of a multitude of folk whose eyes were in their breasts； and seeing me quoth they，'Who art thou and what cast thee into this place？'So I told them my story，and they said，'The girl thou seekest is in this city with the Marid； but we know not what he hath done with her.Now we are brethren of the white serpent，'adding，'Go thou to yonder spring and note where the water entereth，and enter thou with it； for it will bring thee into the city.'I did as they bade me，and followed the water-course，till it brought me to a Sardab，a vaulted room under the earth，from which I ascended and found myself in the midst of the city.Here I saw the damsel seated upon a throne of gold，under a canopy of brocade，girt round by a garden full of trees of gold，whose fruits were jewels of price，such as rubies and chrysolites，pearls and coral.And the moment she saw me，she knew me and accosted me with the Moslem salutation，saying，'O my lord，who guided thee hither？'So I told her all that had passed，and she said，'Know，that the accursed Marid，of the greatness of his love for me，hath told me what bringeth him bane and what bringeth him gain； and that there is here a talisman by means whereof he could，an he would，destroy the city and all that are therein； and whoso possesseth it，the Ifrits will do his commandment in everything.It standeth upon a pillar'--Whereat I asked her，'And where is the pillar？'and she answered，'It is in such a place.''And what manner of thing may the talisman be？'

said I： said she，'It is in the semblance of a vulture[244]and upon it is a writing which I cannot read.So go thou thither and seize it，and set it before thee and，taking a chafing dish，throw into it a little musk，whereupon there will arise a smoke which will draw the Ifrits to thee，and they will all present themselves before thee，nor shall one be absent； also they shall be subject to thy word and，whatsoever thou biddest them，that will they do.Arise therefore and fall to this thing，with the blessing of Almighty Allah.'I answered，'Hearkening and obedience'and，going to the column，did as she bade me，where-upon the Ifrits all presented themselves before me saying，'Here are we，O our lord！ Whatsoever thou biddest us，that will we do.'