“Why,” says he, “didst thou not kill me in my sleep?”

“Because thou didst not kill me when I was in the well.  Get up.  Stand down there, while I stand here.”

The Targui obeys, and says to the Soufi:  “Fire first.”

“No, I’ll let thee fire first.”

The woman speaks:  “Strike, strike, O Targui, thou art not as strong as the Soufi.”

The Targui rises, fires, and now the woman gives voice to a long “you—­you.”  It strikes the chechias that fly above his head.  At his turn the Soufi prepares himself and says: 

“Stand up straight now, as I did for thee.”  He fires, and hits him on the forehead.  His enemy dead, he flies at him and cuts his throat.

He then goes to the camel, cuts some meat, and says to the woman:  “Go, find me some wood, I want to cook and eat.”

“I will not go,” she says.  He approaches, threatening her, and strikes her.  She gets up then and brings him some wood.  He cooks the meat and eats his fill.  He thinks then of killing the woman, but he fears that the people of his tribe will say, “Thou didst not bring her back.”  So he takes her on the camel and starts homeward.  His cousins are pasturing their flocks on a hill.  When he had nearly arrived a dust arose.  He draws near, and they see that it is he.  His brother speaks, “What have they done to thee?”

He answers, “The daughter of my uncle did all this.”

Then they killed the woman and cut her flesh in strips and threw it on a jujube-tree.  And the jackals and birds of prey came and passed the whole day eating it, until there was none left.

AHMED EL HILALIEU AND EL REDAH

Ahmed el Hilalieu was not loved by people in general.  His enemies went and found an old sorceress, and spoke to her as follows:  “O sorceress, we want you to drive this man out of our country.  Ask what you will, we will give it to you!”

She said to them:  “May God gladden your faces.  Call aloud.  Our man will come out and I will see him.”  They obeyed her, crying out that a camel had escaped.  Straightway Ahmed goes to find his father, and tells him his intention of going to join in the search.  He starts forth mounted on his courser, and on the way meets some people, who tell him, “It is nothing.”  He makes a half turn, not forgetting to water his horse, and meets at the fountain the sorceress, who was drawing water.

“Let me pass,” he said to her, “and take your buckskin out of my way.”

“You may pass,” she answered.  He started his horse, which stepped on the buckskin and tore it.

“You who are so brave with a poor woman,” she said, “would you be able to bring back Redah Oum Zaid?”

“By the religion of Him whom I adore, you shall show me where this Redah lives or I’ll cut off your head.”

“Know, then, that she lives far from here, and that there is between her and you no less than forty days’ journey.”