The queen summoned a few of her subjects, and gave them her instructions respecting the mountain of Himyar. They then placed Hatim on a howdah, and carried him through the air with such speed that in the course of twenty-four hours they laid him down at the wished-for stage. Hatim had no sooner arrived than he heard the voice of the man who exclaimed, “Do evil to no one; if you do, evil will overtake you.”
When Hatim heard this welcome sound, he requested the fairies to leave him, as he now considered himself at the end of his journey, and had occasion to stay for some time in these parts. The fairies accordingly took their leave and departed, while Hatim proceeded in the direction of the voice which had struck his ear. He had not far advanced when he observed an old man confined in a cage which was suspended to the branch of a tree. Hatim stood silent for a short time viewing with wonder the inmate of the cage, who once more exclaimed, “Do evil to none; if you do, evil will overtake you.”
Hatim went close to the prisoner, and said to him, “Tell me, unfortunate man, what mean these words which you utter; and why are you confined in this cage, and suspended to the branch of the tree?”—“Ask me no questions,” replied the old man, “unless you wish to mend my condition and afford me relief. If you desire to hear my secrets, you must give me a sacred promise that you will not communicate the same to any one else.” To this Hatim assented, saying, “I give you my promise, and I am ready to confirm it by oath.” The old man then proceeded with his history: “I am by occupation a merchant, and my name is Hamir. When I became of age, my father had finished the building of this city, and he called the same after my name. Shortly after, my father departed on a sea voyage, and left me in charge of the city. I was a free-hearted youth, and in a short time expended all the property left under my care by my father. Thus I became surrounded with poverty and want; and as I knew that my father had hidden treasures somewhere in his house, I resolved to discover them if possible. I searched everywhere, but found nothing; and to complete my woe, I received the news of my father’s death, the ship in which he sailed being wrecked.
“One day as I was sauntering, mournful and dejected, through the bazar, I espied a learned man who cried out, ‘If any one has lost his money by theft or otherwise, my knowledge of the occult sciences enables me to recover the same, but on condition that I receive one-fourth of the amount.’ When I heard this proclamation, I immediately approached the man of science, and stated to him my condition, and how I had been reduced from affluence to poverty. The sage undertook to restore my wealth, and above all to discover the treasures concealed in my father’s house. I conducted him to my house and showed him every apartment, which he carefully examined one after another. At length by his art he discovered the stores we were in search of; and when I saw the gold and silver and other valuables, which exceeded calculation, the demon of fraud entered my heart, and I refused to fulfil my promise of giving a fourth of the property to the man of wisdom. I offered him only a few small pieces of silver; instead of accepting which, he stood for a few moments in silent meditation, and with a look of scorn, said, ‘Do I thus receive the fourth part of your treasure, which you agreed to give me? Base man, of what perjury are you guilty!’
“On hearing this I became enraged; and having struck him several blows on the face, I expelled him from my house. In a few days, however, he returned, and so far ingratiated himself into my confidence that we became intimate friends; and night and day he displayed before my sight the various hidden treasures contained within the bowels of the earth. One day I asked him to instruct me in this wonderful science, to which he answered, that no instruction was requisite. ‘Here,’ said he, ‘is a composition of collyrium, and whoever applies the same to his eyes, to him all the wealth of this world will become visible.’—‘Most learned sir,’ I replied, ‘if you will anoint my eyes with this substance, I promise to share with you the half of all such treasures as I may discover.’—‘I agree,’ said my friend, ‘meanwhile let us retire to the desert, where we shall be free from interruption.’
“We immediately set out, and when we arrived here, I was surprised at seeing this cage, and asked my companion whose it was. I received for answer, that it belonged to no one. Then we both sat down at the foot of this tree, and the sage having produced the collyrium from his pocket, began to apply it to my eyes. But, alas! no sooner had he applied this composition than I became totally deprived of sight. In a voice of sorrow I asked him why he had thus treated me, and he replied, ‘Such is the reward of treachery; and if you wish to recover your sight, you must for some time undergo penance in this cage. You must utter no complaint, and you shall exclaim from time to time, “Do no evil to any one; if you do, evil will befall you.”’
“I entreated the sage to relieve me, saying, ‘You are a mere mortal like myself, and dare you thus torment a fellow-creature? How will you account for your deeds to the Supreme Judge?’ He answered, ‘This is the reward of your treachery.’ Seeing him inexorable, I begged of him to inform me when and how my sight was to be restored; and he told me that a noble youth should one day visit me, and to him I was to make known my condition, and further state, that in the desert of Himyar there is a certain herb called the flower of light, which the youth was to procure and apply to my eyes, by means of which my sight should be restored.
“It is now nearly three years since he left me in this prison, which, though wide open, I cannot quit. Whenever I attempt to leave my confinement, I feel the most excruciating pain in my limbs, so that I have not the power of moving, and thus I am compelled to remain. One day, shortly after my companion left me, I reflected in my own mind that I could do nothing for myself while I continued like a bird in this cage, and accordingly I resolved to quit it at all hazards; but the moment I was outside of it, the pain that seized my whole body almost killed me. I immediately returned into my prison, and have since that time resigned myself to my fate, exclaiming at stated times the words which have already attracted your attention. Many people have in the meantime passed by me; but on hearing my condition, they left me as they found me, without administering to my relief. To-day you have added one more to the number of my visitors: may I ask whether you intend to assist me?”
When Hatim heard this account from the man in the cage, he said to him, in reply, “My friend, be of good cheer, I will instantly endeavor to effect your release”; and without further delay, he proceeded to the desert in search of the flower of light. We have already stated, that the fairies that had conveyed him thither, returned, at his own request, to fairy-land; but when they came before Alkanpari, her Highness immediately ordered them back to attend upon Hatim while in the desert of Himyar, and afterwards to conduct him in safety to Shahabad. Accordingly when Hatim entered the desert he was surprised at again meeting the fairies. They also recognized Hatim, and having stated the whole occurrence, offered him their services, and requested to know whither he was going. “I am going,” replied Hatim, “in search of the flower of light, which grows somewhere in this desert.”—“We shall soon carry you to the spot,” replied the fairies; “at least we can show you from a distance the field where that plant is found; if you return thence with life, we are in attendance in order to convey you to your own country; and should aught evil befall you in your present enterprise, we shall carry the intelligence of it to our mistress.”—“And why,” said Hatim, “will you not accompany me all the way?”—“Our approaching the spot,” replied the fairies, “is useless, and maybe fatal. When this flower is in bloom, the field where it grows is illumined as it were with brilliant lamps; the beautiful light which it emits is such that you will easily see the object of your search; but, on the other hand, around those flowers are stationed thousands of horrible snakes, poisonous scorpions, and other formidable creatures without number, so that even the fowls of heaven cannot approach the deadly spot.”—“Conduct me thither,” rejoined Hatim, “and leave me to manage the rest.”
The fairies lifted Hatim from the ground, and having swiftly traversed the air for the space of seven days, they alighted with him about the time of midnight in an extensive plain. He then asked them to point out to him the flower which he was so eager to pluck, but they told him that the season when it should be in bloom had not yet arrived. He therefore resolved to remain there till the appointed time, and meanwhile the fairies plentifully supplied him from all quarters with food to eat, and fruit and water wherewith to quench his thirst. In a short time the flowers of light began to blossom in the field, each of them brilliant as a lamp, so that the whole plain became a blaze of light. The breezes that blew over the desert were loaded with the sweetest perfume.