Hatim in the meanwhile succeeded in climbing the tree till he reached the branch where the head of his beloved was suspended. This he had no sooner touched than his own head was severed from his body and fastened to the next branch, while his body fell into the lake. When the hour of darkness arrived, the heads as usual were united to their respective bodies, and assembled in the enchanted palace in the midst of the water. There the same scene took place which Hatim had formerly witnessed; the queen was seated upon the throne, part of which he himself was allowed to occupy. Unconscious of his own state, he sat down admiring the beauty of the magician’s daughter. He had not the least recollection of his former self: he knew not how he came there; and the idea of escape from thence never entered his mind.

The queen perceived that Hatim was a captive in the fetters of love and enchantment; but she remained silent, and occupied her attention with the song and the dance. At the hour of midnight she took his hand, and having seated him beside her at table, she offered him food of the most delicious flavour. Hatim ate of her bounty, and spent the night in mirth and pleasure, forgetful of all that he had ever been. At break of day his head, along with those of the rest, were suspended on the tree; and thus he passed several days and nights, when again the aged man came to his assistance.

The sage touched the head of Hatim with his staff, when instantly his body ascended from the lake, and once more he became himself. He stood at the foot of the tree as a man awakened from a dream; his senses returned, and the moment he beheld his aged deliverer, he prostrated him­self at his feet and said, “Most wonderful man, you have seen my dangerous state, and partly relieved me, but much more remains to be done.” The old man, pointing to the tree, said in return, “Deluded youth! thou knowest the horrors of the situation from which I have saved thee, yet thou wilt not fly the cause of thy misery; thy affection for this damsel, then, is still unaltered?”— “Incapable of change,” replied Hatim, “and if, for the sake of God, you lend me your aid, I may succeed; otherwise, with my eyes open to the dangers which await me, I am resolved to brave them all for her whom I love.”— “Since such is your resolution,” resumed the old man, “the first thing you must do is to slay the magician her father, for till then the enchant­ment cannot be broken.”— “That,” replied Hatim, “I will accomplish or perish in the attempt.”— “Your efforts will prove fruitless,” rejoined his mentor, “unless you follow my directions.”

Hatim embraced the knees of his aged friend, saying, “Speak, then, and I swear never to deviate from your advice.”— “Learn from me,” said the old man, “the following charm, which consists in repeating certain attri­butes of the Deity.”* Hatim listened attentively, and having acquired the charm, he was about to depart, when the aged man gave his parting advice: “Brave youth,” said he, “the power of this charm depends on your own conduct. You must keep yourself pure, and never utter a falsehood; every day you must devoutly purify yourself with water, and never break your fast till set of sun, nor must you repeat the charm at an improper time. These are con­ditions which you must strictly attend to, then, should any evil befall you, repeat this sacred charm, and you will succeed; even the arts of the magician shall have no power over you.”

“But how,” said Hatim, “can I find my way to the mountain for Ahmar?”— “Seize my staff in your right hand,” replied the other, “then shut your eyes, and put your trust in heaven.” Hatim did as he was ordered, and for a few minutes felt that he was moving swiftly through the air, after which his feet rested upon firm ground. He opened his eyes, but saw no one near him. Before him stood a lofty mountain, covered with the blossoms of the tulip, a circumstance which surprised him much, as it was not then the season for these flowers.

Hatim began to climb the mountain, but he had not proceeded many steps when his feet stuck fast to the stones and rocks that paved his way. He at first exerted himself to the utmost, but found all his efforts of no avail; his feet were immoveable as the rock on which he stood. When his despair was extreme, his mind recurred to the charm which the old man had taught him. The moment he uttered the divine words of the spell, he found his feet at liberty, and with elastic steps he continued his ascent along the Red Moun­tain. Arrived at the summit, he beheld a wide spreading plain, in the midst of which was a fountain of cool and delicious water, surrounded with trees bearing loads of fruit such as he had never seen. Hatim sat down by the fountain; and having performed his ablutions, he repeated the words of the sacred charm, whereby all the beasts of prey, and the poisonous reptiles that infested the plain, fled from his sight.

When the magician observed the disturbance which took place among his favourite animals, he had recourse to his books of enchantment. There he beheld the following sentence: “Know that on a certain day this mountain shall be visited by Hatim, prince of Yemen, who will render of no effect all the arts which you possess.” The magician, on ascertaining that Hatim had actually arrived at the fountain, began to dive further into the depths of his mystic science, in order to discover the cause of this visit. To his utter dismay, he found that Hatim had fallen in love with his daughter, and had come with intent to slay him, secure under a sacred spell, over which the whole circle of magic art had no power.

Now the magician saw that his only safety consisted in making Hatim forget the words of the sacred charm which the old man had taught to him. Having therefore uttered some incantations, and blown with his breath towards the four quarters of the horizon, in an instant appeared as it were from the thin air numbers of sprites and fairies, which drew up in circles around him. He sum­moned one of these which bore the resemblance of his daughter, and having given her in her hand a goblet and vase full of wine, he said to her, “Go and use all thy art to make Hatim drink of this cup.” The sprite, accompanied with others similar to those who attended the queen, proceeded to the fountain. When Hatim observed them, he thought within himself, “These are the same that I saw at the enchanted tree; can it be possible that they too could have arrived here already?” But he further reflected that the place where he was belonged to the father of the fairy queen, therefore it was most likely that what he saw was no deception.

The sprite which resembled his love, gracefully accosted Hatim, saying, “Brave sir, many are the dangers you have encountered in coming hither on my account. My father has been pleased to release me from confinement, and here I walk unrestrained in his gardens. The moment I saw you my heart rejoiced, and I hasten to assure you of my sincere affection.” Having thus spoken, the false sprite sat down by the side of Hatim, and having filled the goblet, gave it him to drink. Hatim joyfully accepted the fatal pledge, and congratulating himself on his good fortune in this interview, raised the cup to his lips, and drained it to the bottom.

The instant Hatim tasted of the hellish draught, the sprite that had assumed the form of his mistress was changed into a black demon. The whole of them rushed upon him, and carried him bound in chains before their great master. The magician, on viewing the noble form and undaunted brow of Hatim, became thoughtful, and almost relented in his cruel intention of putting him to death. “Pity it were,” he said to himself, “that so brave a man should perish; but since he is my mortal foe, I must have him exterminated.” Having made this resolution, the magician commanded his obedient imps to seize Hatim bound as he was, and cast him into the midst of a fiery pit which blazed night and day on the top of the mountain.

The sprites laid hold of Hatim, and having cast him into the burning cauldron which contained a thousand maunds of melted lead, they returned to their master, and informed him that his enemy was annihilated. The magi­cian, by means of his mystic books, discovered that Hatim was alive in the midst of the flame. He was utterly con­founded, for he knew that there were very few talismans sufficiently potent against his own art. Again he had recourse to his books, and at last he found out that Hatim had in his mouth the muhra of the bear’s daughter. This discovery sadly perplexed the magician, as it was impos­sible forcibly to deprive Hatim of the muhra, and he was invulnerable while he possessed the same. The magician ordered his sprites to release Hatim from the flames, and place him beside the fountain where he originally sat. The order was speedily obeyed, and Hatim thus left to himself, threw off his clothes and bathed in the cool spring, after which he offered up his prayers to God, and betook himself to rest. The magician however did not yet feel secure: he assailed Hatim by the same imps as before, and that one among them which resembled the queen again approached him from the grottoes of the field, and said to him, “Noble Hatim! I must converse with you only from a distance, for I dare not sit beside you. To-day I was enjoying your society, when, lo! my father transformed me into a black demon, and the rest of my train into faries. We seized you and cast you into the fire, for we durst not disobey his stern command. God has delivered you from the impending calamity; but you must for your own safety shun the society, for if my father see us together, he will assuredly slay us both.”

By these fair words the heart of Hatim was ensnared and having stretched forth his hands, the deceitful sprite, who said to him, “Oh Hatim, dost thou sincerely love me?”— “I love thee,” replied he, “from my soul.”— “Then,” said the form of his mistress, “Let me ask of thee one gift, and may I hope it shall not be refused.”— “Name the boon which thou requestest,” replied he, “and I swear it shall be granted if in my power. Know, however, that I am poor; if thy wish be gold or jewels, I have none to bestow: but let me hear the favour thou wouldst ask of me.”

The sprite replied, “I have heard that you possess the muhra of the bear’s daughter.”— “And how,” replied Hatim, “have you learned this much?”— “My father,” replied the phantom, “by means of his skill in books of magic, has made the discovery, and told me that you possessed the above-mentioned talisman, and I long to have it for myself.”— “The gift you ask is precious,” replied Hatim, “but you shall have it:” and he accordingly was about to part with that to which he owed his safety, and consign it to a demon under the form of his mistress.

Suddenly the aged man in green apparel stood by his side, and seizing his right hand, said to him, “Deluded man, part not with this treasure, otherwise you will have deep cause for regret, nay, the period of your existence will be but short.” Hatim having recovered from his surprise, addressed his aged monitor, saying, “Venerable sir, who are you, and why do you thus prevent me in doing what is right?”

The aged man addressing him, said. “Oh, Hatim! hast thou not yet recognized me? I am Khwaja Khizr,* who lately taught thee to utter the attributes of the Most High.” Hatim quickly advanced, and prostrated himself at the feet of the saint, saying, “Thou heavenly being, to thee I owe my success in thus attaining the object of my affection.— “Deluded man,” replied the prophet, “knowest thou not that this is all enchantment? Already hast thou been deceived by this false form. The first time thou didst sit by this fountain, the magician sent thee this sprite with a cup full of hellish drugs, on the tasting of which thou wert deprived of all sensation. Did they not in consequence cast thee into the fiery gulph? And dost thou not owe thy safety to this muhra, which thou art about to give away? Oh Hatim, if thy life be dear to thee, part not with this treasure. To convince thee of my sincerity, utter the charm which I have taught thee, and if this form be really the fair daughter of the enchanter, she will still sit by thee; if, on the other hand, it is an evil spirit, it will vanish from thy sight in a flame of fire.”

Hatim kissed the foot of the saint in token of grateful submission; and having performed his devotions and purified himself in the fountain, he pronounced the sacred charm The moment he opened his mouth, the light of truth began to shine upon him. The magic sprites trembled before him and a flame of fire issued from their heads as from a furnace. In a few minutes their whole bodies burnt like dried wood, and they were reduced to ashes. So infatuated was Hatim, however, that he regretted the change: for while he had not the power of seeing his beloved, he at least consoled himself in contemplating her image, of which he was now deprived.