praised the hawk, but the hawk darted out of the cabin,
and he followed it on deck, and, lo! the vessel was
in flames, and the hawk in a circle of the flames;
and the flames soared with it, and left it no outlet.
Now, as Shibli Bagarag watched the hawk, the flames
stretched out towards him and took hold of his vestments.
So he delayed not to commend his soul to the All-merciful,
and bore witness to his faith, and plunged into the
sea headlong. When he rose, the ship had vanished,
and all was darkness where it had been; so he buffeted
with the billows, thinking his last hour had come,
and there was no help for him in this world; and the
spray shaken from the billows blinded him, the great
walls of water crumbled over him; strength failed him,
and his memory ceased to picture images of the old
time—his heart to beat with ambition; and
to keep the weight of his head above the surface was
becoming a thing worth the ransom of kings. As
he was sinking and turning his eyes upward, he heard
a flutter as of fledgling’s wings, and the two
red ruby eyes of the hawk were visible above him, like
steady fires in the gloom. And the hawk perched
on him, and buried itself among the wet hairs of his
head, and presently taking the Identical in its beak,
the hawk lifted him half out of water, and bore him
a distance, and dropped him. This the hawk did
many times, and at the last, Shibli Bagarag felt land
beneath him, and could wade through the surges to the
shore. He gave thanks to the Supreme Disposer,
kneeling prostrate on the shore, and fell into a sleep
deep in peacefulness as a fathomless well, unruffled
by a breath.
Now, when it was dawn Shibli Bagarag awoke and looked
inland, and saw plainly the minarets of a city shining
in the first beams, and the front of yellow mountains,
and people moving about the walls and on the towers
and among the pastures round the city; so he made toward
them, and inquired of them the name of their city.
And they stared at him, crying, ’What! know’st
thou not the City of Oolb? the hawk on thy shoulder
could tell thee that much.’ He looked
and saw that the hawk was on his shoulder; and its
left wing was scorched, the plumage blackened.
So he said to the hawk, ’Is it profitable,
O preserving bird, to ask of thee questions?’
The hawk shook its wings and closed an eye.
So he said, ‘Do I well in entering this city?’
The hawk shook its wings again and closed an eye.
So he said, ’To what house shall I direct my
steps in this strange city for the attainment of the
purpose I have?’
The hawk flew, and soared, and alighted on the topmost
of the towers of Oolb. So when it returned he
said, ’O bird! rare bird! my counsellor! it
is an indication, this alighting on the highest tower,
that thou advisest me to go straight to the palace
of the King?’