Hatim took leave of the demons, and fearlessly passed the bounds of the fairy regions, and from day to day approached nearer the mountain whose top seemed to pierce the skies and whose sides abounded with green trees in endless variety. When he arrived at the base of the mountain the fairies assembled from all sides, and said one to another: “Here comes one of Adam’s race whom we must instantly put to death, as he has the hardihood to approach this mountain.” The fairies hereupon rushed to the base of the mountain, and laying hold of Hatim, carried him up, and when they had bound his hands and feet with chains, they asked him, “Tell us, mortal, whence come you? what is your business? and who has conducted you hither?”—“I come,” said Hatim, “from the city of Suri, under the guidance of my Creator.”—“Pray,” said the fairies to him, “are you come at the request of the daughter of Harith, the merchant?” Hatim reflected in his own mind, “Now if I tell them the truth, and say that I am come in quest of the Shahmuhra, they will assuredly destroy me; and if I speak falsely it will be unworthy of me, having never done so in my life; in this case, then, silence is the best policy.”
Meanwhile the fairies came to the resolution of casting him into the fire, “For,” said they, “he is in all probability come for the Shahmuhra.” They quickly heaped together piles of dried wood, to which they set fire, and throwing Hatim into the midst of it, they all set up a loud shout of laughter, and there left him. Hatim, remembering his Maker, took into his mouth the talisman of the bear’s daughter, which rendered him completely proof against fire. For three days he remained in that state, after which period he came out without even a thread of his garment being burnt.
Hatim had no sooner made his escape than he was again seized and bound by the fairies, who thus addressed him: “Three days since a man very like you fell into our hands, and we cast him into the fire, and burnt him; pray are you that individual, or some one else of the human race?”—“O, you troop of simpletons,” replied Hatim, “assuredly, such fools as you are never will exist; if, as you say, you burnt that individual, how do you imagine that he should be again alive? But the truth is, the Almighty has preserved me amidst the burning flames.” The fairies, on hearing this, again threw Hatim into the fire, from which, after a considerable time, he coolly walked out unhurt; a third time they repeated the experiment, and at length becoming convinced that he was not to be destroyed by burning, they carried him to the shore of the salt sea, and cast him into the midst of the deep, and there, leaving him to his fate, they departed.
Whilst Hatim was cutting his way by swimming amidst the billows of the ocean, a large nihang (sea-serpent) happened to espy him. This monster rushed upon him, and in an instant swallowed him alive. Hatim, thus rescued from drowning, on coming to his senses attempted to stand up and move about, whereby the sea-serpent became so desperately annoyed that he darted towards the shore, and with great exertion succeeded in disgorging him on dry land, after which he plunged into the deep.
Hatim in that spot lay, helpless and exhausted with hunger and thirst, for the space of two days and nights, after which time he rose up, and wandered he knew not whither, until he found himself in the midst of a wilderness of sand. Here he continued to stray till a troop of fairies happened to observe him; these immediately surrounded him, and said, one to another, “Here is a mortal man, how can he have come hither?” Addressing Hatim, they said to him, “You seem to be of the human race, pray who brought you into our territory?”—“The merciful Creator,” replied Hatim, “first conducted me into your dominions, but since my arrival I have been cast into the sea, and swallowed by a monstrous nihang, from whose inside I was ejected two days ago. I am now exhausted with hunger; if you have any compassion within you, let me have something to eat, and water to quench my thirst.”
To this reply the fairies rejoined, “We dare not administer to you even a drop of water, for our king has strictly ordered us to slay every one of the race of men or demons that may come in our way; if we, therefore, delay a moment in putting you to death, the wrath of his Majesty will overtake us.” Here one of the fairies said to his companions, “Where is our king, and where are we?[9] This wretched being is not come hither of his own accord! God is merciful! You know not from what distance he may have been brought by the nihang, and his being found here is accidental, as it was natural he should make an effort to preserve his life. He is one of the human race too, and our superior, nay, the noblest of the sublunary creation; let us convey him to our abodes, and afford him kind treatment.”—“But,” said the rest of the fairies, “if we spare him, and our king hear of it, his Majesty will put us to death.” On hearing this discussion Hatim addressed them, saying, “My friends, if it is your duty and interest to slay me, I am quite resigned without further dispute.”
That fairy, however, who spoke in his favor still held out, saying, “My worthy companions, our king is far distant, even seven days’ journey hence; and who among us is likely to turn informer?” In short, they all at last agreed to spare Hatim’s life; whereupon they carried him to their dwellings, and gave him food to eat, and fruits and water to quench his thirst, so that in a short time he perfectly recovered. The fairies, charmed with Hatim’s gracefulness and eloquence, crowded around him, and felt the greatest pleasure in listening to his conversation; they daily supplied him with food the most delicious, and fruits the most refreshing, and spent their whole time in his society. In a few days Hatim became a universal favorite, so that he ventured to ask their leave to depart, in order to accomplish his enterprise. “Pray tell us,” said they, “what is your business here, and what brought you into our world?” Hatim told them without reserve: “The demon subjects of Farokash conducted me as far as your boundaries, beyond which they durst not penetrate. As soon as I entered your dominions, the fairies that guard your coasts laid hold of me, and three times did they cast me into the burning flames, but from all their evil designs the hand of the Creator protected me; they afterwards threw me into the sea, from which I escaped as I have already told you.”—“And pray,” asked they, “what business have you so important, that you undergo such toils and perils for its accomplishment?”—“My business,” replied Hatim, “is with Mahparí.”—“Beware, frail man,” said the fairies, “how you speak of Mahparí; we are his subjects, and he has enjoined us not to suffer a man or demon to enter his dominions; should he hear of our affording you an asylum, he would instantly slay us all.”
In answer Hatim said: “If it is our destiny to enjoy longer life, no one can slay us; and if you are afraid of the consequence, you can bind me hand and foot, and carry me as a captive into the presence of your king.”—“What you propose,” rejoined they, “is utterly absurd; you have already shared of our hospitality; you and we have eaten salt together[10]; do you imagine, then, that we can deliver you up to certain destruction?”—“Be under no hesitation,” replied Hatim, “on account of any danger that threatens me, for it is my resolution to have an audience of Mahparí as soon as possible; therefore convey me thither at all risks.” The fairies were sadly perplexed on hearing Hatim’s mad design, and deliberated amongst themselves what was best to be done in the case. At length they resolved to detain him as prisoner, and in the meantime despatch a messenger to learn the king’s pleasure regarding him, and act accordingly. One of the fairies was immediately sent to his Majesty, with instructions thus to address him: “Sire, we have just seized on the sea-shore one of the human race, who is now our captive; if such be your royal pleasure, we are ready to conduct him into your august presence.”
The messenger departed, and in the course of seven days arrived at the fairy court, and having received an audience, thus delivered his message: “Sire, your subjects, who guard the shores of the sea of Kulzum[11], have there taken captive one of the human race, and I have been despatched hither to know your pleasure respecting him.” Mahparí ordered the man to be carefully conveyed to his presence, in order that he might himself examine him with regard to his journey to fairy-land. The messenger immediately returned, and after an absence of two weeks arrived at his own residence, and stated that it was his Majesty’s pleasure to have Hatim brought into his presence. On hearing this, the fairies without delay made preparations for conveying their prisoner to court. Meanwhile the report was rapidly spread through the country, that one of the human race was being brought to the capital. One of his Majesty’s grandees, by name Masnapari, had a beautiful daughter called Husnapari, whose heart was restless and full of curiosity. This fairy damsel said to her companions: “I hear that a man has somehow entered our king’s dominions, and is now on his way to the capital; I wish it were possible for me to see what he is like: they tell me that mankind are beautiful in countenance and graceful in form.” The attendants of Husnapari expressed their readiness to aid her in gratifying her wish; and at the same time observed to her, “Fair lady, you must take your station by the wayside as this man passes, for after he is brought before the king it will be impossible to see him.”—“But,” said Husnapari, “how can I leave my father’s house? on what pretence shall I get out?” After consideration, her youthful companions suggested that she should ask leave of her parents to be allowed to walk in the gardens for some days. Husnapari, delighted with this stratagem, went to her mother, and said, “My dear mother, give me your permission to go out and enjoy for some days the fragrance of the fields and the delights of the garden.”—“Obtain your father’s permission, my child,” replied the mother, “and I am satisfied.”
In short, Husnapari received her father’s leave, and attended by her fair and youthful companions, went to the garden, where she was allowed to remain for forty days. On her way thither, she further consulted her friends as to the speediest means of seeing Hatim, the main object of her journey. They told her that those who guarded the sea of Kulzum were conducting the man from that quarter. On hearing this, Husnapari and her companions, instead of proceeding to the garden, swiftly transported themselves to the shores of Kulzum, where they arrived in the space of three days, just at the moment when the fairies were about to depart with Hatim.