When I perceived that he was dead, and that I had killed him, I uttered a loud shriek, and beat my face and rent my clothes, saying, This is, indeed,
a calamity! O what a calamity! O my Lord, I implore thy pardon, and declare to Thee my innocence of his death! Would that I had died before him! How
long shall I devour trouble after trouble!
With these reflections I ascended the steps, and, having replaced the trap-door, returned to my first station, and looked over the sea, 'SO I'M BACK
ON AN ISLAND BUT WHATEVER' where I saw the vessel that had come before, approaching, and cleaving the waves in its rapid course. Upon this I said
within myself, Now will the men come forth from the vessel and find the youth slain, and they will slay me also:—so I climbed into a tree, and
concealed myself among its leaves, and sat there till the vessel arrived and cast anchor, when the slaves landed with the old sheikh, the father of
the youth, and went to the place, and removed the earth. They were surprised at finding it moist, and when they had descended the steps, they
discovered the youth lying on his back, exhibiting a face beaming with beauty, though dead, and clad in white and clean clothing, with the knife
remaining in his body. They all wept at the sight, and the father fell down in a swoon, which lasted so long that the slaves thought he was dead. At
length, however, he recovered, and came out with the slaves, who had wrapped the body of the youth in his clothes. They then took back all that was
in the subterranean dwelling to the vessel, and departed.
I remained, O my mistress, by day hiding myself in a tree, and at night walking about the open part of the island. Thus I continued for the space of
two months; and I perceived that, on the western side of the island, the water of the sea every day retired, until, after three months, the land that
had been beneath it became dry. Rejoicing at this, and feeling confident now in my escape, I traversed this dry tract, and arrived at an expanse of
sand; whereupon I emboldened myself, and crossed it. I then saw in the distance an appearance of fire, and, advancing towards it, found it to be a
palace, overlaid with plates of copper, which, reflecting the rays of the sun, seemed from a distance to be fire: and when I drew near to it,
reflecting upon this sight, there approached me an old sheikh, accompanied by ten young men who were all blind of one eye, at which I was extremely
surprised.
They then all arose, and, taking a ram, slaughtered and skinned it, and said to me, Take this knife with thee, and introduce thyself into the skin
of the ram, and we will sew thee up in it, and go away; whereupon a bird called the rukh will come to thee, and, taking thee up by its talons, will
fly away with thee, and set thee down upon a mountain: then cut open the skin with this knife, and get out, and the bird will fly away. Thou must
arise, as soon as it hath gone, and journey for half a day, and thou wilt see before thee a lofty palace, encased with red gold, set with various
precious stones, such as emeralds and rubies, &c.; and if thou enter it thy case will be as ours; for our entrance into the palace was the cause of
our being blind of one eye; and if one of us would relate to thee all that hath befallen him, his story would be too long for thee to hear.
They then sewed me up in the skin, and entered their palace; and soon after, there came an enormous white bird, which seized me, and flew away with
me, and set me down upon the mountain; whereupon I cut open the skin, and got out; and the bird, as soon as it saw me, flew away. I rose up quickly,
and proceeded towards the palace, which I found to be as they had described it to me; and when I had entered it, I beheld, at the upper end of a
saloon, forty young damsels, beautiful as so many moons, and magnificently attired, who, as soon as they saw me, exclaimed, Welcome! Welcome! O our
master and our lord! We have been for a month expecting thee. Praise be to God who hath blessed us with one who is worthy of us, and one of whom we
are worthy!—After having thus greeted me, they seated me upon a mattress, and said, Thou art from this day our master and prince, and we are thy
handmaids, and entirely under thy authority. They then brought to me some refreshments, and when I had eaten and drunk, they sat and conversed with
me, full of joy and happiness. So lovely were these ladies, that even a devotee, if he saw them, would gladly consent to be their servant, and to
comply with all that they would desire. At the approach of night they all assembled around me, and placed before me a table of fresh and dried
fruits, with other delicacies that the tongue cannot describe, and wine; and one began to sing, while another played upon the lute. 'NOW THIS I LIKE'
The wine-cups circulated among us, and joy overcame me to such a degree as to obliterate from my mind every earthly care, and make me exclaim, This
is indeed a delightful life! I passed a night of such enjoyment as I had never before experienced; and on the morrow I entered the bath; and, after I
had washed myself, they brought me a suit of the richest clothing, and we again sat down to a repast.