Now King Zoheir had two hundred slaves that tended his herds of he and she-camels, and all his sons had the same. Shas was the eldest of his sons, and heir to his possessions, and Shas had a slave whose name was Daji, and he was a great bully. Shas was very fond of him on account of his vast bodily strength; and there was not a slave but feared him and trembled before him: Antar however made no account of him, and did not care for him. One day the poor men, and widows, and orphans met together and were driving their camels and their flocks to drink, and were all standing by the water side. Daji came up and stopped them all, and took possession of the water for his master’s cattle. Just then an old woman belonging to the tribe of Abs came up to him, and accosted him in a suppliant manner, saying, Be so good, master Daji, as to let my cattle drink; they are all the property I possess, and I live by their milk. Pity my flock and cover my nakedness; have compassion on me and grant my request, and let them drink. But he paid no attention to her demand, and abused her. She was greatly distressed and shrunk back. Then came another old woman and addressed him, O master Daji, I am a poor weak old woman, as you see; time has dealt hardly with me, it has aimed its arrows at me; and its daily and nightly calamities have destroyed all my men. I have lost my children and my husband, and since then I have been in great distress; these sheep are all I possess; let them drink, for I live on the milk they produce. Pity my forlorn state; I have no one to tend them, therefore grant my request, and be so kind as to let them drink.
As soon as Daji heard these words, and perceived the crowd of women and men, his pride increased, and his obstinacy was not to be moved, but he struck the woman on the stomach, and threw her down on her back, and uncovered her nakedness, whilst all the slaves laughed at her. When Antar perceived what had occurred, his pagan pride played throughout all his limbs, and he could not endure the sight. He ran up to the slave, and calling out to him, You bastard, said he, what mean you by this disgusting action? Do you dare to violate an Arab woman? May God destroy your limbs, and all that consented to this act.
When the slave heard what Antar said, he almost fainted from indignation; he met him, and struck him a blow over the face that nearly knocked out his eyes. Antar waited till he had recovered from the blow, and his senses returned; he then ran at the slave, and seizing him by one of the legs, threw him on his back. He thrust one hand under his thighs, and with the other he grasped his neck, and raising him by the force of his arm, he dashed him against the ground. And his length and breadth were all one mass. When the deed was done his fury was unbounded, and he roared aloud even as a lion. And when the slaves perceived the fate of Daji, they shrieked out to Antar, saying, You have slain the slave of Prince Shas! What man on earth can now protect you? They attacked him with staves and stones, but he resisted them all; he rushed with a loud yell upon them, and proved himself a hardy warrior, and dealt among them with his stick as a hero with his sword.
Now among the sons of Zoheir there was one whose name was Malik, and because he was of a mild and gentle disposition, he was beloved of men and women; and his father Zoheir adored him for the sweetness of his temper, and gentleness of his conduct. It so happened that on this day he went out with a numerous train to hunt, and passing that way he heard some confused cries, and perceived a great dust. On approaching the place, he observed a number of slaves surrounding one man, whom he discovered to be Antar; the blood streamed from all parts of his body from the blows they struck him with sticks and stones; yet he was determined to die sooner than give way. When the Prince saw this, his eyes filled with tears, and in pity he cried out, God prosper thee for a noble slave; how hard are thy blows, how vast thy power! and then, addressing the slaves, he said, Accursed be your fathers, and your abandoned mothers! Do you not fear the punishment and condemnation of every one far and near? Why have you collected in such numbers, and all conspired against one poor fellow, and thus to vent your fury on one much younger than yourselves? Away, or I will destroy you all, both high and low, with this sword. He then went to Antar, to learn what was the matter, and he heard him growling like a furious lion, and repeating these verses.
“O my soul! strive not to fly, thou cans’t not escape when death seeks thee; death is predestined; it will come in some shape or other. Endure then with the patience of one nobly born. Fly not from the fears of death, or thou wilt remain scorned among the Arab chiefs.”
The Prince desired Antar to explain the business, which he did, and told him all that had happened between Daji and the old woman; how he had struck her, and thrown her on her back; how he had uncovered her person, and made the people laugh at her. I then came up to prevent him; he struck me in the eye and nearly killed me; but I seized him with my hand, and dashed him against the ground. I broke his bones, and then his slaves attacked me, and wanted to seize me in revenge; but I thought proper to defend myself: had you not arrived I should have been killed.
When Prince Malik heard this, his admiration of Antar increased, and he was convinced he was a hero, and that there was not such another alive. Walk by my side, said he, I will protect you against every one that exists under the heavens, against all who eat bread and drink water. Antar bowed down before him and kissed his feet in his stirrup, and walked on with the slaves. But when they came nigh the tents, there appeared his brother Shas; in his hand was a flaming sword, and under him a steed swifter than a cloud when it rains, and his bosom was charged with fury and indignation, and he was about to slay Antar. When his brother Malik saw him, he was aware if he did not keep him away from Antar, he would injure him. How is it I see thee so disturbed? said he. Know, said Shas, this accursed Antar has killed my servant, and I am come to cut his body in pieces with this sword. You must not touch him, said Malik; he who dares to oppose him is a dead man. I have given him my protection; I will not be separated from him; sooner will I forfeit my head.
Shas took no notice; but fixed his eyes on Antar, who was walking by the side of his brother. He no longer heeded his brother; but ran at Antar, that he might put him to death with tortures. Then too, Prince Malik was enraged; he drew his sword from the scabbard; the two brothers soon became so violent that their disputes would have ended in a battle, had not King Zoheir, who had been informed of what was passing, instantly joined them. Malik was abashed in the presence of his father, and Shas also quitted his brother. O my son, said Zoheir, give this slave to me and to your brother Malik, and I will in lieu of him give you ten of mine. Upon that, Shas retreated in shame from the presence of his father. Why did you kill my son’s servant, said Zoheir to Antar, and thus disgrace him? and Antar wept at these words: he related what had occurred, how the servant had thrown the woman on her back, and rendered her an object of derision among the servants. The King assured him he approved of his conduct, and turning towards the Chiefs about him, This valiant fellow, said he, has defended the honour of women; he will shine a noble warrior, and destroy his opponents; and then looking at Shedad, your son’s conduct reflects credit on you; he added, his behaviour will remain as a memorial to all generations; he has loathed oppression and violence, and has followed the path of propriety and virtue.
Shedad on that day, when in the presence of the King, was much alarmed about his slave Antar, because he was considered as compromising all about him. Take away your son, said Zoheir to him, I give him to you; take care of him until I demand him of you again, and be not at all annoyed. From that day both King Zoheir and his son Malik conceived a great affection for Antar, and as Antar returned home, the women and their daughters all collected round him to ask him what had happened; amongst them were his aunts, and his cousin, whose name was Ibla.
Now Ibla was younger than Antar, and a merry lass; she was lovely as the full moon, and perfectly beautiful and elegant. She frequently joked with Antar, and was very familiar with him, as he was her servant. As soon as she came up to him on that day, O you base-born, she cried, why didst thou kill the slave of Prince Shas? who can now protect thee from him? Indeed, my mistress, he replied, I did no more than he deserved, for he had insulted a poor woman; he threw her down, and made the servants laugh at her. Thou hast acted most properly, said Ibla, smiling, and we are rejoiced that thou art safe, for thou knowest our mothers consider thee as their son, and we look on thee as a brother, on account of thy services. On this the women and girls left him.