Having thus spoken, he quitted the presence of the fairy queen, and having removed underneath the shade of a tree, there he remained for seven days without tasting food or drinking water. On the eighth night, as he fell asleep, an old man appeared to him in a dream, and said, “Brave Hatim, be of good cheer; this beautiful fairy has more than one lover that laments her treachery: but you must first bring your friend hither, and then cause him to take the talisman given you by the bear’s daughter, and steep it in a goblet full of pure water. This draught will then ferment into a sherbet, and you must contrive that the queen shall drink of it, which, God willing, will be the means of restoring her affection.”

Hatim awoke him from his dream, and as he was medi­tating on what had occurred, the dawn of morn appeared. Meanwhile, who should approach but the fairy queen; she stood before him ,and said, “O Hatim, why do you thus persist in rejecting my hospitality? If you perish from want at my gates, shall I not on the day of judgment be arraigned as the cause of your death, and what will be my answer before the Supreme Judge?”— “O queen,” said Hatim in reply, “let me prevail on you to send for my love-sick friend, that he may be blessed even with the sight of your countenance.”— “Assuredly,” replied the queen, “I have no objection whatever to his being near my person.”

When Hatim heard this, he made preparations to return for his friend; but the fairy queen said to him, “You need not, Hatim, expose yourself to the perils of such a journey a second time, my fairies will do the business much more speedily.” Her Majesty then summoned a few of her subjects, and despatched them in quest of her lover, saying, “On the brow of a certain mountain, reclining underneath a tree, you will find a young man bewailing the cruelty of his mistress. Tell him that Alkanpari requests his immediate attendance; that she has been reminded of her promise to him by Hatim, prince of Yemen.”

The fairies with the speed of the wind, transported themselves to the spot where the youth lay, and delivered to him the orders of their mistress. Joyfully he heard the message, and expressed his obligations to the generous Hatim. The fairies then carried him along with them, and in the course of that same day presented him to Alkanpari their sovereign, which rendered his happiness complete. For some minutes his eyes were fixed on the beautiful fairy till at length his senses having forsaken him, he fell lifeless upon the ground. The queen sprinkled some fragrant attar of roses on his face; and as soon as he recovered, she addressed him in the accents of kindness, saying, “Enamoured youth! I permit you to remain near me, and you may feast your eyes by beholding my beauty as long as you please.” For the whole of that day the lover looked at nothing but the beautiful fairy, the fire of whose eyes consumed his heart. When the mantle of night was spread over them, the queen gave a signal, and troops of fairies entered, some with lights and music, to whose harmonious sounds the others danced. Amidst this scene of joy, Hatim saw that the fairy queen paid not the least regard to the sufferings of his friend. He went near the latter, and said, “Despair not; take this muhra and immerse it for a few minutes in a cup full of pure water, which you shall pour into the goblet from which the queen is wont to drink: this done, return and take up your station here.” The young man did as Hatim directed him; and after he had mixed the elixir, and poured the same into the queen’s goblet, one of the fairies happened to observe him, and said, “Base mortal! how dare you touch the goblet of her Highness?”

The youth assured the fairy that he merely wished for some water to drink, as he felt very thirsty. The fairy immediately gave him a drink of water from another cup, and sent him back to his former station. Hatim was an anxious spectator of the occurrence; and when he saw that his friend had succeeded according to his wish, he approched the queen’s throne, and said to her, “Will your Majesty be pleased to drink some sherbet, as the weather is warm?” The queen expressed her assent, and ordered her attendants to bring some. Hatim, however, undertook to be cup-bearer himself on the occasion; and having with his own hands prepared the sherbet, he brought the goblet to the queen. Her Majesty was about to hand the draught to some of her intimate friends who were then with her, but Hatim observed that the laws of courtesy required that the queen should drink first, and then such of her friends as she might deem proper to honour with the goblet.

The fairy queen* drank copiously of the sherbet, and then handed the goblet to her friends, who also tasted of the same. In an instant after, the reins of her heart fell from her hands, and she became deeply enamoured of the dying swain. Pierced with the darts of love, she rose up in order to fly to his arms, while Hatim secretly rejoiced to see her affection thus restored. He also stood up, and said to her, “O queen of the fairy realms, how comes it that you are now so kindly disposed towards your lover, who had almost become a martyr to your cruelty during the long period of your absence?”— “O Hatim!” replied the queen, “all this mischief is of your doing; however I for­give you, and this youth I will accept as my husband, agreeably to your desire: at the same time I dare not take so important a step without the consent of my parents.”

Having thus spoken, the fairy queen, accompanied by her select guards, flew with the swiftness of thought to her principal residence in the mountain of Alka. There she first waited on her mother, who said to her in surprise, “My dear daughter, six months are yet to pass of the period you proposed to reside in the gardens; why return you then at this unseasonable hour of midnight?” The beautiful Alkanpari stood speechless, and motioned to her attendants to explain the cause of her visit. They stated that the fairy queen had fallen in love with a youth of the race of Adam, and that the flame was mutual; that the lovers had met upwards of seven years past, but that the queen had for a long period abandoned her swain to the pangs of absence and despair, till lately he found means of discovering her residence; and that she is now willing to accept him as her husband, provided she obtain the consent of her parents.

The mother, immediately on hearing this, went and represented the affair to the father, who said in reply, “If such be the wish of our daughter, I am satisfied; why should we prevent her?” The queen having received the consent of her parents, immediately sent messengers for her lover and Hatim, who were soon in attendance. When they arrived at the palace, the beautiful queen presented the young man to her mother. The mother commended him to the father, who without more delay made preparations for the marriage, and according to the usages of the fairy race gave the hand of his daughter to Hatim’s friend.

When the enamoured pair were thus joined in the bands of wedlock, the young man in grateful terms expressed his obligations to Hatim, who remained with him seven days, and then took leave, in order to prosecute his journey. When about to depart, the queen inquired of Hatim to what part of the world he intended to travel; and when he told her, “To the mountains of Himyar,” she said to him, “Noble Hatim, give yourself no concern about your journey; Himyar is indeed a long way off, but my fairies shall convey you thither with the utmost speed.”

The queen summoned a few of her subjects, and gave them her instructions respecting the mountain of Himyar. They then placed Hatim on a howdah, and carried him through the air with such speed that in the course of twenty four hours they laid him down at the wished-for stage. Hatim had no sooner arrived than he heard the voice of the man, who exclaimed, “Do evil to no one; if you do, evil will overtake you.”

When Hatim heard this welcome sound, he requested the fairies to leave him, as he now considered himself at the end of his journey, and had occasion to stay for some time in these parts. The fairies accordingly took their leave and departed, while Hatim proceeded in the direction of the voice which had lately struck his ear. He had not far advanced when he observed an old man confined in a cage which was suspended to the branch of a tree. Hatim stood silent for a short time viewing with wonder the inmate of the cage, who once more exclaimed, “Do evil to no one; if you do, evil will overtake you.”