a championing to the field was the Ghul of the Mountain, bearing on shoulder a terrible tree, and he cried out between the two hosts, saying, “I am Sa’adan the Ghul!  Who is for fighting, who is for jousting?  Let no sluggard come forth to me nor weakling.”  And he called out to his sons, saying, “Woe to you!  Bring me fuel and fire, for I am an-hungered.”  So they cried upon their slaves who brought firewood and kindled a fire in the heart of the plain.  Then there came out to him a man of the Kafirs, an Amalekite of the unbelieving Amalekites, bearing on his shoulder a mace like the mast of a ship, and drove at Sa’adan the Ghul, saying, “Woe to thee, O Sa’adan!” When the giant heard this, he waxed furious beyond measure and raising his tree club, aimed at the Infidel a blow, that hummed through the air.  The Amalekite met the stroke with his mace, but the tree beat down his guard and descending with its own weight, together with the weight of the mace upon his head, beat in his brain pan, and he fell like a long-stemmed palm-tree.  Thereupon Sa’adan cried to his slaves, saying, “Take this fatted calf and roast him quickly.”  So they hastened to skin the Infidel and roasted him and brought him to the Ghul, who ate his flesh and crunched his bones.[FN#364] Now when the Kafirs saw how Sa’adan did with their fellow, their hair and pile stood on end; their skins quaked, their colour changed, their hearts died within them and they said to one another, “Whoso goeth out against this Ghul, he eateth him and cracketh his bones and causeth him to lack the zephyr-wind of the world.”  Wherefore they held their hands, quailing for fear of the Ghul and his sons and turned to fly, making for the town; but Gharib cried out to his troops, saying, “Up and after the runaways!” So the Persians and the Arabs crave after the King of Babel and his host and caused sword to smite them, till they slew of them twenty thousand or more.  Then the fugitives crowded together in the city gate and they killed of them much people; and they could not avail to shut the gate.  So the Arabs and the Persians entered with them, fighting, and Sa’adan, snatching a mace from one of the slain, wielded it in the enemy’s face and gained the city race-course.  Thence he fought his way through the foe and broke into the King’s palace, where he met with Jamak and so smote him with the mace, that he toppled senseless to the ground.  Then he fell upon those who were in the palace and pounded them into pieces, till all that were left cried out, “Quarter!  Quarter!” and Sa’adan said to them, “Pinion your King.”—­And Shahrazad saw the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say,

End of Vol 6.

Arabian Nights, Volume 6
Footnotes