‘May all good luck be with you,’ said she; ‘but what has brought you into this land of ogres and horrors?’
‘Does an ogre really live in this castle?’ asked he.
‘Certainly he does,’ replied the girl, ‘and as night is not far off he will be here soon. So, dear friend, depart quickly, lest he return and snap you up for supper.’
‘But I am so thirsty!’ said the man. ‘Be kind, and give me some drink, or else I shall die! Surely, even in this desert there must be some spring?’
‘Well, I have noticed that whenever the ogre brings back water he always comes from that side; so if you follow the same direction perhaps you may find some.’
The man jumped up at once and was about to start, when the maiden spoke again: ‘Tell me, where are you going?’
‘Why do you want to know?’
‘I have an errand for you; but tell me first whether you go east or west.’
‘I travel to Damascus.’
‘Then do this for me. As you pass through our village, ask for a man called Dschemil, and say to him: “Dschemila greets you, from the castle, which lies far away, and is rocked by the wind. In my grave lies only a goat. So take heart.”’