Hatim expressed his consent; and the fairies having conveyed him to an unfrequented part of the garden, gave him food and fruits wherewith to appease his hunger, and brought him water to drink. Charmed with his society, they crowded around him, and after various conversation, they said to him, “Tell us truly, brave youth, what has been the object of your journey hither?” Hatim replied, “My business with your queen is this: she once had an interview with a young friend of mine; and left him at a certain tree, with a promise that she would return to him in the space of seven days. The youth has now waited there upwards of seven years in expectation of the fulfil­ment of her promise; his soul is on the eve of quitting his body, and death is grasping him by the collar. At short intervals, he exclaims in a loud voice, ‘Come, Oh, come! for I can no longer endure thy absence.’ I happened to observe his miserable plight, and twice to no purpose I asked him the cause of his sorrow; at length, finding that I persisted in my inquiries, he told me the whole occurrence. On hearing his tale, my heart glowed with pity; and for the sake of affording him relief, I have journied hither. My object is to remind your queen of her promise, as it is most likely that she has ere now forgotten it.”

When the fairies heard this statement, they said to Hatim, “Generous man, we dare not take upon ourselves to represent your case to our queen, but we can carry you bound as captive before her, and then you can exert all your eloquence in behalf of your friend. Were we to introduce you designedly to her Majesty, it would most probably offend her, and we should incur her displeasure.”— “Let me be presented to your queen,” rejoined Hatim, “in whatever way is most convenient to you; when once in her presence, I shall know how it proceeds. I shall consider myself truly happy if I can promote the suit of my helpless and despairing friend.”

In the course of three days after, the queen, accom­panied by troops of fairies, issued from her palace, and commenced her excursion into the garden where Hatim lay concealed. At length, she arrived in that paradise, and after she had rested a little, and received the homage of her subjects there, one of the fairies who were friendly to Hatim went to him privately, and said, “Come with me, and I will point out to you our queen, where you may behold her unobserved.” Hatim followed the fairy, who led him by a private path to the entrance of a grotto close to the spot where the queen was seated on her throne of gold. When Hatim beheld her angelic form, he lost hold of the reins of reason. For some time he lay senseless; and when consciousness returned into his frame, in vain did he betake himself to prayer, and endeavour to flee unto the Lord for protection. In fact, he became infinitely more frantic and more deeply enamoured of the beautiful fairy than the youth whose cause he had undertaken. Hatim thus spent three days and nights, forgetful of his friend, and regardless of food and drink. On the fourth night a feverish sleep overpowered his eyelids, and in his confused slumbers he heard a voice exclaiming, “Oh, Hatim! arise and know thyself; hast thou not devoted thy life to the service of thy Creator, and wilt thou now permit thyself to be guilty of a breach of trust?”

On hearing this warning voice, Hatim awoke from his dream, but saw no one near him. He rose up, and with fear and trembling prayed to God to forgive his transgressions, and support him in this hour of trial. On seeing some of the fairies, he entreated them to conduct him before the queen. They told him, as formerly, “We dare not openly comply with your request, but we can cary you into the royal presence with your hands bound as a prisoner.”— “In whatever way you choose,” said Hatim, “present me to her Majesty, that I may describe to her the condition of my despairing friend.” In short, the fairies made their arrange­ments, and having found a favourable moment when the queen was in a joyous mood, they approached her Highness by the garden gate; and one of them advancing, after due obeisance said, “O queen, one of the race of Adam has some how found his way to the gate of our paradise; we have bound him fast, and are waiting your Majesty’s pleasure as to his future disposal.”

On hearing this, the fairy queen thought of her lover, whom she had left under the tree, and considered it as likely that the youth had thus traced her to her abode; she there­fore ordered her attendants to conduct their prisoner into her presence. The fairies accordingly laid hold of Hatim, and were bringing him forward to the foot of the throne. When the queen beheld his majestic mien, all thoughts of her former lover vanished. She desired him to approach, and having ordered for him a chair of burnished gold, she took him by the hand, and made him sit near her. The fairy queen then addressing Hatim, said, “Tell us, noble youth, whence came you, and what is your name; what has been your object in coming hither, and how have you been able to accomplish the journey?” Hatim now seated before the beautiful fairy, become speechless, and was unable to give any reply. The queen observed his confusion and secretly rejoiced to find that the arrow of her enchanting glances had pierced his heart. In the sweetest accents of extreme affection, she again said to him, “Brave youth what is the cause of your silence; have you nothing to say in reply?” Hatim, at length, rallied his thoughts, and said, “O queen, my answer is brief; I came from the country of Yemen, and my name is Hatim.”

The moment the queen heard this, she gracefully arose and taking Hatim by the hand, seated him on her own throne, saying, “I have ere now heard of Hatim, prince of Yemen; numerous indeed, brave prince, are the acts of kindness and generosity which you have done to your fellow creatures; but tell me now the cause of your coming hither and why have you undergone such toils and perils? Be assured that I am one of your admirers, so you may freely speak your thoughts without the least fear of giving offence.”

Hatim, thus encouraged, spoke: “O queen of the fairy realms, your kindness is beyond measure: had I a thousand tongues I should still be unable to celebrate your noble qualities. Be it known, then, that I have come before your Majesty in the fulfilment of a promise which I made to a certain enamoured swain. It happened, as I was journeying to the desert of Himyar, that I passed by a young man, from whose eyes flowed tears like a shower from the clouds in spring. Owing to his intense sorrow and bitter lamentation, his soul was almost driven from his body; indeed, I question if he now lives. There he lay with his eyes shut, exclaiming in the intervals of his sighs, ‘Come, Oh, come! for I can no longer endure thy absence.’ I asked him the cause of his sorrow, and how he had been reduced into so miser­able a state. After some hesitation, he told me all; how your Majesty had met with him, and shewed him affection and kindness. ‘Alkanpari,’ said the wailing youth, ‘promised me at her departure to return in seven days; and now for seven long years I have waited in misery and woe, expecting her return. Here I cannot remain, and hence I dare not depart; for when my angel left me, she laid upon me strict injunctions to move not hence; I cannot, then, disobey her command and proceed in search of her. If fate has decreed that we should again meet, it must be on this spot.’ When I saw the woful condition of this wretched man and found that his love was sincere, I deferred the prosecution of my own journey, and hastened hither. I hope, then, your Majesty will treat with kindness and compassion the despairing lover which will lay the highest obligation on me, the humblest of your slaves.”

To this Alkanpari said, in reply, “Generous prince of Arabia! I had entirely forgotten the circumstance you mention, till my people informed me of your arrival here; and then I thought it probable that you might be my former lover. However, the moment I saw you, I found that you were not the man; and now I confess to you that he is unworthy of my regard. His love for me must be very cool indeed, since, out of pure timidity, he has lingered seven years in one spot, and has not had the courage to venture hither in quest of me. I pointed out to him the road, and told him my own name and that of the mountain which I inhabit, and had he been a true lover, he should have followed me, were it at the peril of his life.”

Hatim, in favour of the young man, rejoined, “Had his passion, been otherwise than sincere, he could not have so drunk of the cup of affection, nor would he have undergone such misery from the remembrance of you. You exacted from him a solemn promise at parting and how could the poor lover act contrary to the commands of his mistress? The enamoured youth is conscious of his own integrity, for when you departed you strictly enjoined him to remain under­neath the tree till your arrival, and accordingly he has not stirred thence till now, lest in his absence you should return and not find him; in which case, he should stand convicted of having disobeyed your orders, and thus incur your displeasure.”

The fairy queen lent a deaf ear to all that he could urge, and utterly disowned her former lover. Hatim how­ever persevered, saying, “For heaven’s sake let my labour not be in vain; consider through what toils and hardships I have accomplished my journey hither.”— “Well,” replied the queen relenting, “I cannot refuse what you request; this youth I will permit to come near me, but I will neither associate with him nor consider him as a companion.”— “And why not,” said Hatim, “accept him as your lover; what is the cause of such a change of mind?”— “Such is my pleasure” replied the queen, “and it shall not be other­wise.” — “If such be your resolution,” rejoined Hatim, “I will stand fasting at your gates; and till the hand of death seizes me, I will night and day complain to heaven of your cruelty.”