Strona 490 z 1116

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the

Caliph commanded this story and those of the sister and the

Kalandars to be recorded in the archives and be set in the royal

muniment-chambers. Then he asked the eldest lady, the mistress of

the house, "Knowest thou the whereabouts of the Ifritah who

spelled thy sisters?"; and she answered, "O Commander of the

Faithful, she gave me a ringlet of her hair saying: -Whenas thou

wouldest see me, burn a couple of these hairs and I will be with

thee forthright, even though I were beyond Caucasus-mountain."

Quoth the Caliph, "Bring me hither the hair." So she brought it

and he threw the whole lock upon the fire. As soon as the odour

of the burning hair dispread itself, the palace shook and

trembled, and all present heard a rumbling and rolling of thunder

and a noise as of wings and lo! the Jinniyah who had been a

serpent stood in the Caliph's presence.