The woman thus disappointed, at last said to him, “Well, if you consent not, I will have my revenge, and the moment your brother returns I shall say to him that you attempted to force me to do what was improper.”— “Say what you please,” returned the soldier, “only rest assured that nothing on earth would induce me to comply with your wishes.” During the whole of this conversation Hatim remained in concealment close by and was a kin spectator of the occurrence. Meanwhile the elder brother made his appearance at a distance with the pot full of water in his hand; and when the woman saw him, she began to tear her hair and disfigure her countenance with her nails, and having spread dust upon her head, she set up a most piteous lament. Her husband hearing her cries, hastened to her relief, and said, “Why, my beloved, do you weep, and for what cause have you scattered dust upon your head? Has any one dared to offer you violence?” To this the woman replied, “Oh, my husband! my the Lord have mercy on you and your brother both! Has it ever been heard of that any man has left his wife with such a libertine as your brother is? To-day, when you were absent for water, to God alone I owed the preservation of my honour. This base man attempted to involve me in disgrace and ruin; he seized me by the hand, and was about to offer me violence, but I resisted with all my might, and although I cried for help, there was no one to aid me. He had also the impudence to tell me that he would be a more suitable husband to me than you are; that I am only fourteen years of age, and that he is himself a youth, while you, on the other hand, are old and feeble. He further declared that for his love towards me he would slay you the first opportunity; and in short, he was forcibly dragging me aside when he beheld your approach, and quitting his hold, he stood by me as you now see him.”

When the elder brother heard this statement he was highly enraged, and said to the other, “Base coward! did ever man attempt such conduct towards a mother or sister as you have this day followed?” Although the younger brother swore to his innocence, yet his words were not credited, and he only received the most bitter abuse in return. The elder brother drew his sword from the sheath, and assailed the younger, who in his turn was compelled to draw his own sword in self-defence. They fought till both fell dead on the same spot, and resigned their souls to God the giver. The fiendish woman having accomplished this ruin, made for the nearest village; and Hatim still continued his pursuit, wondering in his own mind who should be the next victim of this hellish scourge. When the woman arrived at the village, she assumed the form of a buffalo, and the people having attempted to seize her, she slew several of them with her hoofs and horns, and again fled towards the desert.

Filled with wonder, Hatim closely followed this mysterious being, and when arrived in the midst of the desert, lo! the buffalo was transformed into a venerable old man with a white beard. On seeing this last change, Hatim resolved to accost the old man, and ask him the hidden cause of his evil deeds, and why he delighted in working such havoc among God’s creatures. He accordingly made up to him at a rapid pace, and stood by his side. The aged man turned round, and said to him, “Speak, Hatim, what­ever you wish to say.”— “Venerable sir,” replied Hatim, “how came you to know my name?”— “If that be all,” replied the old man, “I know the name of every individual in your tribe; but at present, if you have any question to ask me make haste, for I have much business in hand and my time is precious.”

Hatim, without more delay, said to him, “Mysterious being! I first beheld you in the shape of a dragon, when you filled with sorrow a whole village; you afterwards assumed the form of a black snake, when you laid in the dust the son of the king and that of his minister; again, you transformed yourself into a lion, and tore to pieces a youth the most elegant of form; you then became a beautiful damsel of the age of fourteen, and by your perfidy caused the death of two brothers: your next step was to adopt the shape of a buffalo and you slew the people of the village; you now appear an aged man: tell me, for heaven’s sake, what are you, and whither are you going?” The old man, with a haughty smile, replied, “What does all this concern you? Follow your own business: you also I shall yet visit in some shape or other, and your death will be the consequence.”

Hatim persisted, saying, “I will never quit my hold of your skirt till you clear up to me this mystery.”— “Know, then,” said the old man, “I am the angel of death; the first day you saw me in the shape of a dragon, it was the decree of the Almighty that those men and beasts that were my victims should meet their death by that means. Providence had foreordained that the young prince and the son of the minister should die by the sting of a serpent, and I accordingly assumed the form of a serpent. I became a lion, and slew the beautiful youth such was his fate. As to the two brothers, they were destined to leave their homes and serve abroad, and after a certain period, when they had earned and amassed some money, it was ordained that they should proceed on their return to their own country, and in the course of their journey that they should kill one another on account of a woman; I therefore assumed the form of a woman to fulfil the divine decree. In the village where you last saw me, it was the lot of the people whom I slew to fall by a buffalo, I therefore became a buffalo on that occasion. Be you assured, oh, Hatim! that it is not in the power of one man to slay another; but in whatever way a man’s fate is decreed, by that means only he loses his life.” Hatim, on hearing this, asked the angel of death, “Tell me truly what fate is ordained for me?” The aged man replied, “Suffice it to say the more than half your life-time is yet to pass,”— “But,” rejoined Hatim, “may I not learn from you the whole truth?”— “Know, then,” replied the king of terrors, “that when you have attained the age of two hundred years, you shall fall by the hand of Omnipotence. A stream of blood shall flow from your nostrils, by which you will experience some slight pain, and afterwards for a short time recover. In that period your hand shall be stretched out as usual in deeds of charity towards your fellow creatures; and shortly after, the flux of blood shall again issue from your nostrils, and thus you shall die. Meanwhile a long life is before you; go on, then, and shrink not from your noble task of relieving the sorrows and promoting the happiness of mankind.”

When Hatim heard all this, he bent his head to the dust in prayer to God, and when he arose, he looked around him, but the old man had vanished from his sight. He then betook himself to the prosecution of his journey towards the Red Desert, and in the course of a few months he found himself far beyond the habitations of men, in the midst of a wilderness where no water was to be found. Hungry and thirsty as he was, he still continued his route, his whole subsistence consisting of the wild fruits and weeds of the desert. In this way he journied for some time, when, lo! one day, to his utter astonishment, he came to a place where the heavens and the earth wore a dark hue, and every object he saw was black. This place was the abode of the black serpents, which, when they scented Hatim, rushed upon him from all quarters in order to devour him. He threw upon the ground the talismanic staff of Mahyur the genius, and sat down up it, safe by its magic power. The serpents continued to rear their crests, and with a hissing noise move round him in endless contortions for the whole night. When daylight appeared, he took his staff in his hand, and continued his march secure from the venom of the snakes, and thus he journied on till he reached the boundaries of the land of darkness. Contiguous to this lay the white regions, which Hatim began to explore. Here every object was possessed of the most brilliant whiteness, so that the whole place seemed to be made of alabaster. At the same time white serpents of prodigious size endeavoured from a distance to inhale him with their poisonous breath, but on account of his charmed staff their efforts were of no avail, nor had they the power of approaching him. In the course of a few days, Hatim succeeded in making his way through those dangerous realms, and next arrived in a region where every object he beheld was green as emerald. There, too, abounded serpents of a green colour, and when they saw Hatim they quickly surrounded him, and were it not for the virtue of his talisman, his days would have been but short. Hatim however, unhurt, surmounted a thousand perils and difficulties as he journied through the evergreen regions, and at length he arrived in an extensive tract of land, which to him seemed to be all wrapt in flames, and this he knew to be the Red Desert.

There every object was red as vermillion, and ere Hatim had advanced many steps the heat became so intolerable that he almost lost the power of walking. He thought within his heart that it would be impossible to proceed any further; but, again, he said to himself: “Oh, Hatim! in doing a good action, whatever happens let it come, even were the difficulties a thousand times more severe than the present.” By the time he had advanced about a farasang his feet were full of blisters, and his thirst was so excessive that he was compelled to rest almost at every step he took.

“Now,” thought Hatim, “my dying hour is at last come; if I wished to return, I have not even the power; and if I advance, I shall assuredly perish. But at the same time I cannot live here, for death would be preferable.” Having made this resolution, he continued to move slowly onwards, till by the time he had advanced another farasang, he became so exhausted, and his thirst was so excessive, that he sunk upon the ground and lay like one dead, his whole body being covered with large blisters.

While he lay senseless in this state, an aged man came up to him, and seizing his hand, raised him from the earth, and said to him, “Oh, Hatim! here you have no cause for dispair; why do you not avail yourself of the talisman given you by the bear’s daughter?” Hatim recollected his scattered senses, and speedily producing the said talisman he put it in his mouth, which was no sooner done than the heat of the Red Desert ceased to oppress him, and the blisters instantly became whole on his body. Hatim then prostrated himself at the feet of his aged monitor, and said, “Most venerable sir, tell me what is the cause of this excessive heat?” The old man replied, “This heat is caused by the red serpents that haunt the desert. They are of immense size, and from their mouths they breathe volumes of flame and clouds of smoke, hence the fiery hue of every object you behold.” Hatim however, secure under the effects of his talisman which he carried in his mouth, went fearlessly on, and felt not the least inconvenience from the scorching heat.