When Hatim heard the prince’s history, he said to him, “Despair not, my friend, for I expect to succeed; and if I gain the prize, the daughter shall be yours and the pearl mine.”—“Your proposal is generous,” replied the fairy prince, “but excuse me if I say, that I doubt your success.”—“Listen,” said Hatim, “and I will tell you the nature of this pearl, which not only resembles, but is the egg of a murghab. The island of Barzakh was originally inhabited by the human species—but the tale is long, and it would be better that you once more approach the court of Mahyar along with me.” The fairy prince accordingly rose up; and having thanked Hatim for his good intentions, accompanied him to the litter. There they both sat; and Hatim said to his guides, “Will you be able to carry us two to the island of Barzakh?”—“Yea,” replied they, “we could carry four of you with the utmost ease.” Without further delay, the fairies lifted the chair and soared towards the clouds.
It happened that they had to pass over the territory of a demon prince, whose name was Muhaikal, who, having scented them from afar, said to his satellites, “I know that some of the fairy race are within my dominions; seize them instantly and bring them to my presence.” The demons immediately were on the wing; and after four days of close pursuit, they overtook the fairies with the golden litter on which were Hatim and his friend, and brought them all to the presence of their prince. “Tell me,” said he to the fairies, “who are you, and whence have you brought this man?”—“We are the subjects of Shams Shah,” replied the fairies. “Impossible,” rejoined the demon, “it is more than a thousand years since Shams Shah has been heard of, and the very place of his abode is overrun with serpents.”—“True,” replied the fairies, “we had been transformed into serpents; but by the prayers of this worthy man we have been restored to our original shape.”—“Well,” resumed the demon, “tell me where you intend to carry this man.”—“To the island of Barzakh,” they replied. “And who is the other companion?” asked the demon. The fairy prince himself replied, “I hope I am not unknown to Muhaikal, to whom my family is distantly related.”—“Truly, I am much surprised, young prince,” said the demon, “to find you associate with any of the race of Adam; but fear nothing from me, my business is with your companion.” The demon then seized Hatim, and lifted him from the couch; when the fairy prince interposed, and said, “Beware, Muhaikal: are you not bound by oath to Sulaiman himself, never to injure any of Adam’s race?” The demon, with a fiendish smile, said in return, “Where is Sulaiman now, that I should regard my oath to him? In truth, I mean to devour this son of Adam; therefore waste not your breath.” The fairy prince well knew the treacherous nature of the demon; he therefore resolved to meet him on his own ground, and said to him, “Mighty prince, it is beneath your dignity to stoop to the devouring of one man; leave him to me then, as the success of my present undertaking depends upon him, and I promise to send you ten men in his stead.”
To this proposal the demon readily agreed, and said, “Noble fairy, I am most willing to accommodate you, as we are in some degree related to each other. Let this man in the meantime be secured in my castle, while you go for the ten men you promise, and when you return with these, I will make him over to you.”—“Agreed,” said the fairy prince, “I ask only four days for my arrangement; but I will not suffer you to shut up this man in one of your dungeons.”—“Place him where you choose,” said the demon, “only let him be strictly guarded by my subjects.”
Near that spot there happened to be a pleasant garden; it was therefore agreed that Hatim should remain there under the guard of the demons, during the absence of the fairy prince. Meanwhile the prince, with the four fairies that had conducted Hatim thither, withdrew to a sequestered spot, and held a consultation as to further proceedings. “If,” said the prince, “we return to your king, and solicit his aid with that of his forces, the stipulated time will have expired long before we can return, and the demon will assuredly devour our friend. Let us, then, remain here in concealment, and watch a favorable moment when the demons are off their guard; then let us enter the garden, and having carried off the prince of Yemen, let us trust to the swiftness of our wings.”
The four fairies applauded the proposal; and at the hour of midnight, when the demons had fastened the door of the garden and betaken themselves to repose, the fairies took up the golden litter and flew softly over the wall. They looked warily around them, and found the demons all buried in sleep. Hatim, exhausted with sorrow and despair, had also sought refuge in slumber under the shade of a tree. They lifted him gently from the ground, laid him on the litter along with the fairy prince, and, swift as the wind, resumed their aerial voyage. For the remainder of the night they winged their way with the utmost speed, and at the dawn of day came to a place of safety where they halted for refreshment and repose.
To return to the demons. When daylight shone, and when they saw the gates firmly fixed, as on the preceding evening, they concluded that their prisoner was secure within, and thus they continued their watch for the appointed period of four days, while the fairies, on the other hand, were making the best use of their time. On the last day of the stipulated time, Muhaikal was anxiously waiting the return of the fairy prince; and when the hour of noon expired, he said to his satellites, “I see these fairies have not thought proper to keep their promise; they have gone and left the man to his fate. Let him be brought forth then immediately, that we may feast upon him.” The demons opened the strong gates, and on entering the garden, what was their disappointment on finding their charge carried off! They returned to their chief, and informed him of the fact. Muhaikal was highly enraged, and ordered the sentinels to be punished with stripes, and flung into a dungeon. In vain did they swear by Sulaiman, that they were not in the least privy to Hatim’s escape; the chief believed them not, and they were dragged to torture.
By the time the fairies had reached the boundaries of the desert of Kahrman, one of Muhaikal’s demons, who had left the court of his chief on the day when Hatim had been taken, happened to meet them. The demon at once recognized the fairies, and understood the case. He knew that his master had sharpened his teeth in order to feast on the man; he, therefore, endeavored to seize Hatim and carry him off by force; but the fairy prince quickly drew his sword, and severed the intruder’s right hand from his body. The demon, furious with pain and disappointment, said to the prince, “Well, you shall pay dearly for this; you have cut off my hand when doing my duty towards my chief. I will inform the whole of my race of your treachery and violence, and the fiercest revenge will be the consequence.”
Meanwhile the fairies addressed Hatim, saying, “Brave prince of Yemen, we are now arrived at the line of separation between the fairies and the demons, beyond which we dare not advance.”—“Farewell, then, good friends,” replied Hatim, “I have myself the means of succeeding in the remainder of my journey.” The fairies here left him, except the prince of Tuman, who had an equal share of interest in the adventure. As they were about to enter the great desert which limited the region of the demons, Hatim asked his companion if he thought it safe to advance. “Truly, prince of Yemen,” replied the other, “no creature except a demon can with safety approach these regions.”—“Cannot any of the fairy race visit them?” resumed Hatim. “The fairies,” replied the prince, “though not safe, have least to fear, as there is at present a truce between themselves and the demons, which was ratified after a bloody battle fought on these plains. The kings of both races took the field with the whole of their forces, and vast was the number of the slain, while victory inclined to neither side. At length peace was concluded, and the demons swore by Sulaiman of Iram never more to injure any of the fairy race; but they scruple not to violate their solemn oath to us, and to mankind they are inveterate foes.”—“Enough,” said Hatim; “suppose I had the power of transforming myself into the likeness of a demon, and thus pass in safety through their territory; would you venture to accompany me?”—“Not publicly,” replied the fairy, “but I could easily succeed; during the day I should soar among the clouds, and at night I should descend to your place of rest.”
Hatim immediately took a vessel full of water, and having burnt the colored feathers of the natika, he made the mixture as he had been directed. He then cast off his garment, and washed his whole body from head to foot, when, lo! his color was black, and his shape became that of a hideous demon. When the fairy prince saw this frightful transformation, he was greatly astonished, and said to Hatim, “Wonderful man, tell me to what bird belong these feathers, which possess such potent qualities?”—“I procured them,” replied Hatim, “from a talking bird called the natika, the eggs of which are pearls such as that in the possession of Mahyar of Barzakh.” Hatim then detailed the occurrence of the tree where he listened to the conversation of the birds; but the information respecting the history of the pearl in question he prudently withheld till they should arrive at the court of Mahyar.
The fairy prince had full reliance on Hatim’s skill and wisdom, and his heart rejoiced within him as the prospect of success brightened. The two friends commenced their journey; and when Hatim entered the land of the demons, he met with no interruption; for they all took him for one of their own race. After some days had thus passed, it happened that as Hatim and his fairy friend met to repose for the night, they were observed by one of the demon race. He went and informed his neighbors, that in a certain spot a demon had taken up his night’s rest, and that a fairy had descended from the sky at the same time, as if the meeting had been preconcerted. The demons very soon assembled round the two travellers; and said one to another, “These are strangers, and one of them is a fairy: we had better carry them before our king, that they may give an account of themselves.” To this proposal one of the demons would not assent; and said, “My dear friends, why should we on mere suspicion oppress these innocent strangers? One of them is of our own race, and with the fairies we have no enmity.”