The sprite which resembled his beloved, gracefully accosted Hatim, saying, “Brave sir, many are the dangers you have encountered in coming hither on my account. My father has been pleased to release me from confinement, and here I walk unrestrained in his gardens. The moment I saw you my heart rejoiced, and I hasten to assure you of my sincere affection.” Having thus spoken, the false sprite sat down by the side of Hatim, and having filled the goblet, gave it him to drink. Hatim joyfully accepted the fatal pledge, and congratulating himself on his good fortune in this interview, raised the cup to his lips, and drained it to the bottom.
The instant Hatim tasted of the hellish draught, the sprite that had assumed the form of his mistress was changed into a black demon. The whole of them rushed upon him, and carried him bound in chains before their great master. The magician, on viewing the noble form and undaunted brow of Hatim, became thoughtful, and almost relented in his cruel intention of putting him to death. “Pity it were,” he said to himself, “that so brave a man should perish; but since he is my mortal foe, I must have him exterminated.” Having made this resolution, the magician commanded his obedient imps to seize Hatim bound as he was, and cast him into the midst of a fiery pit, which blazed night and day on the top of the mountain.
The sprites laid hold of Hatim, and having cast him into the burning cauldron which contained a thousand measures of melted lead, they returned to their master, and informed him that his enemy was annihilated. The magician, by means of his mystic books, discovered that Hatim was alive in the midst of the flame. He was utterly confounded, for he knew that there were very few talismans sufficiently potent to withstand his art. Again he had recourse to his books, and at last he found out that Hatim had in his mouth the muhra of the bear’s daughter. This discovery sadly perplexed the magician, as it was impossible forcibly to deprive Hatim of the muhra, and he was invulnerable while he possessed it. The magician ordered his sprites to release Hatim from the flames, and place him beside the fountain where he originally sat. The order was speedily obeyed, and Hatim, thus left to himself, threw off his clothes and bathed in the cool spring, after which he offered up his prayers to God, and betook himself to rest. The magician, however, did not yet feel secure; he assailed Hatim by the same imps as before, and that one among them which resembled the queen again approached him from the grottoes of the field, and said to him, “Noble Hatim! I must converse with you only from a distance, for I dare not sit beside you. To-day I was enjoying your society, when, lo! my father transformed me into a black demon, and the rest of my train into furies. We seized you and cast you into the fire, for we durst not disobey his command. God has delivered you from destruction; but you must for your own safety shun my society, for if my father see us together, he will slay us both.”
By these words the heart of Hatim was ensnared; and having stretched forth his hands, he embraced the deceitful sprite, who said to him, “Oh, Hatim, dost thou sincerely love me?”—“I love thee,” replied he, “from my soul.”—“Then,” said the form of his mistress, “let me ask of thee one gift, and I hope it will not be refused.”—“Name the boon,” replied he, “and I swear it shall be granted if in my power. Know, however, that I am poor; if thy wish be gold or jewels, I have none to bestow: but let me hear the favor thou wouldst ask of me.”
The sprite replied, “I have heard that you possess the muhra of the bear’s daughter.”—“And how,” replied Hatim, “have you learned this much?”—“My father,” replied the phantom, “by means of his skill in books of magic, has made the discovery, and told me that you possessed the above-mentioned talisman, and I long to have it for myself.”—“The gift you ask is precious,” replied Hatim, “but you shall have it”; and he accordingly was about to part with that to which he owed his safety, and consign it to a demon under the form of his mistress.
Suddenly the aged man in green apparel stood by his side, and seizing his right hand, said to him, “Deluded man, part not with this treasure, otherwise you will have deep cause for regret, nay, the period of your existence will be but short.” Hatim having recovered from his surprise, addressed his aged monitor, saying, “Venerable sir, who are you, and why do you thus prevent me from doing what is right?”
The aged man addressing him, said, “Oh, Hatim! hast thou not yet recognized me? I am Khwaja Khizr[2], who lately taught thee to utter the attributes of the Most High.” Hatim quickly advanced, and prostrate himself at the feet of the saint, saying, “Thou heavenly being, to thee I owe my success in thus attaining the object of my affection.”—“Deluded man,” replied the prophet, “knowest thou not that this is all enchantment? Already hast thou been deceived by this false form. The first time thou didst sit by this fountain, the magician sent thee this sprite with a cup of hellish drugs, on the tasting of which thou wert deprived of sensation. Did they not in consequence cast thee into the fiery gulf, and dost thou not owe thy safety to this muhra, which thou art about to give away? Hatim, if thy life be dear to thee, part not with this treasure. To convince thee of my sincerity, utter the charm which I have taught thee, and if this form be really the fair daughter of the enchanter, she will still sit by thee; if, on the other hand, it is an evil spirit, it will vanish from thy sight in a flame of fire.”
Hatim kissed the foot of the saint in token of grateful submission; and having performed his devotions and purified himself in the fountain, he pronounced the sacred charm. The moment he opened his mouth, the light of truth began to shine upon him. The magic sprites trembled before him, and a flame of fire issued from their heads as from a furnace. In a few minutes their whole bodies burnt like dried wood, and they were reduced to ashes. So infatuated was Hatim, however, that he regretted the change: for while he had not the power of seeing his beloved, he at least consoled himself in contemplating her image, of which he was now deprived.
In this state of sorrow Hatim spent the night with weeping and lamentation, nor did sleep once close his eyelids. Meanwhile the magician, by the potency of his lore, conjured up the great Iblis[3] (on whom be curses), and held a consultation with him on the state of his affairs. The spirit of evil said to him, “Foolish magician; of Hatim’s life a long period has yet to pass; such is the divine decree, and no power in earth or hell can slay him. ’Tis vain for thee to combat with fate; why, then, dost thou not submit, and let Hatim have thy daughter in marriage?”—“To no living creature will I give my daughter,” replied the magician, “as long as I have the breath of life.”—“Tell me, then,” said Iblis, “what wouldst thou with me?”—“Briefly,” answered the other, “this Hatim hath twice defied my power, and rendered my art of no avail; he knoweth the most sacred of charms, and I hope that thou canst poison his memory so as to make him forget it.”—“Thy request is vain,” rejoined Iblis, “for over the unerring decrees of the Almighty I have no power or control. The Eternal hath willed that Hatim’s fame should be perpetual, and he hath commissioned the prophet Khwaja Khizr (on whom be peace) to assist him in his bold undertakings. To me, therefore, there is no possibility of entering his heart while he possesses the sacred charm. But this much I can do, I can cause sleep to overpower his eyelids, and fill his imagination with such tempting dreams as are common to mortals.”
The magician, on hearing this, bowed down and worshipped his great master, who assured him of his assistance, and winged his course back to the infernal regions. In the meantime Hatim forgot his sorrows in sleep, and reason having for a time abandoned the guidance of his imagination, he revelled in the most tempting dreams of worldly vanity.