The few that survived became fully convinced that Hatim was far more powerful in the magic art than even their great sovereign, whom they now resolved to abandon. Addressing the magician, they said to him, “Sire, is it your purpose thus to expose us to wanton slaughter? It is too evident that we have no power to cope with this formidable adversary; we must therefore save ourselves by flight.” The magician, enraged, shouted to them in a voice like thunder, “Base cowards, whither do ye fly? A few minutes more, and Hatim is my prisoner.”

His words were unheeded by his shattered host; and seeing them thus quit the field, he uttered one of his spells and blew his breath after them, when every man was changed into a green tree. Thus left alone, Sam Ahmar by means of some hellish incantation, was furnished with a pair of wings, and soared aloft into the air. Hatim was, not prepared for this stratagem of the enemy: he stood in astonishment as he beheld the magician darting through the clouds, anxiously expecting another display of his powerful art. But his adversary seemed to resign the struggle, and at length was lost to the sight among the clouds.

Hatim, then addressing Sarmak, said, “I shall not consider my labour at an end till this magician is my prisoner.”— “At present,” replied Sarmak, “he is gone to his great preceptor, whose name is Kamlak, the mighty magician. This last exacts from his disciples the homage due to the Great Creator.”— “Know you ought of his abode?” inquired Hatim. “Full well,” answered Sarmak, “for once every year we used to visit him and do him homage, and if you will accept of my guidance, I am ready to conduct you thither.”

Ere Hatim would trust his guide, he had him solemnly initiated in the mysteries of his own faith; and when about to set out on their journey, Sarmak drew his attention to a forest close by, saying, “Those trees you behold are the remains of the magician’s army, and here they must rest till the last trumpet shall sound, unless your superior skill restore them to their original form. Hatim took a cup full of water, and breathing over it, he pronounced the divine name, and handing the cup to Sarmak, he said to him, “Go and sprinkle a few drops of this liquid among the trees.”

Sarmak received the liquid as ordered; and as soon as he had sprinkled the same upon the trees, these were restored to their original shape of human creatures. They asked Sarmak, “What has become of our great master the magician?”— “Know ye not,” replied Sarmak, “that the slave of the fiend, by means of his enchantment, trans­formed you all into trees; and that you owe your deliver­ance to the more potent art of Hatim, the true servant of the Almighty? He it was who blew with his breath on a cup full of water, and pronounced a charm which all the powers of hell cannot withstand. He then gave me the water; and the moment I sprinkled the same over you by the blessing of Allah you resumed your primitive form. As to your late master, Sam Ahmar, he has made his escape from before the brave Hatim, and now he holds commune with Kamlak, chief of enchanters. But tell me, friends,” continued Sarmak, “what were your thoughts when thus transformed, and what did you feel when you stood under the appearance of trees?”— “In the first place,” said they, “as we were about to fly, we felt all at once our feet cleave to the earth, so that we had not the power of moving; then a most painful sensation seized our whole bodies; but now blessings upon Hatim, we are again our­selves. Truly he is most powerful to have obtained such a victory over our sovereign, and hence forth Hatim only shall receive our services.”

Having come to this resolution, they one and all marched and presented themselves to Hatim, and making profound obeisance, they said, “Brave Hatim! we have hitherto served Sam Ahmar; but now we tender our services to you, who have so kindly rescued us though we lately sougt your life.” Hatim received them graciously; and having pronounced the sacred charm, he breathed on all of them, so that they became perfectly free from the enchantments of their late master. This done, they said to him, “Noble sir, whither will you now lead us?”— “I have not yet done with Sam Ahmar,” replied Hatim, “for till I have made him my prisoner, I can attend to nothing else. If he should of his own free will give me his daughter in marriage, I shall let him escape with life, otherwise I am resolved to slay him.”— “And may we ask,” said his companions, “how you became acquainted with the magi­cian’s daughter?”— “As I lately happened to journey through a certain desert,” replied Hatim, “my attention was drawn to a large tree on the border of a lake; there, to my astonishment, I beheld the head of the magician’s daughter suspended to the highest branch, while the heads of her attendants hung lower down on the tree.”

In short, Hatim detailed to his hearers the whole affair up to that moment, and in conclusion said, “On her account have I journied hither; what reception I met with from her father, you have yourselves witnessed. I hope, however, that in the end the Almighty will render me victorious; and should it be agreeable to His divine will, I will slay the magician even on the very threshold of his grand preceptor to whom he has just gone, nay, the master himself shall not escape me.”— “Have a care, noble Hatim,” said his attendants, “the enchantment of Kamlak is the most potent in existence.”— “Fear not for that,” rejoined Hatim; “but if you wish to see real sport, come with me, if your hearts fail ye not.”— “You have already restored us from death to life,” said they; “it shall never be said then that we lacked either honour or courage so far as to desert you. Lead, then, wheresoever you will and thither shall we follow you.”

On hearing this declaration, Hatim expressed his satis­faction; and having invited them to follow, he set out for the mountain where dwelt Kamlak, the grand magician. His attendants, however, not liking the length of the journey, said to him, “Brave sir, our late sovereign, Sam Ahmar, was wont to carry us to this mountain in less than the space of a day.”— “But,” replied Hatim, “ye know well that he did so by means of his enchantment.”— “And can you not do the same?” rejoined his followers; “assuredly you are more cunning in the magic art than our master, otherwise you could not have conquered him. The power of Sam Ahmar was such that he could reduce a mountain to an atom, and magnify a particle of dust to the size of a mountain; yet this mighty enchanter fled from before you, and unless you were thoroughly skilled in the mystic art, you could not think of pursuing him.”

Here Sarmak checked their speech, saying, “Fools that you are, Hatim uses no enchantment; but well I know, from what I have already witnessed of him, that he will soon conquer Sam Ahmar, even if aided by Kamlak his great master.”— “My friends,” said Hatim, “a heavenly man hath taught me a divine charm, and whenever I utter the same, no enchantment can be of any avail against me. With this sacred charm, the magician has no power to cope.”

In short, they all marched onwards with Hatim at their head, and very soon found themselves on road of which they were utterly ignorant. All at once they arrived on the bank of a lake of the purest water; and as their thirst was great, they began to drink copiously. But, lo! the moment they had done drinking, the water began to gush out at the soles of their feet, as the spring issues from the fountain.

Hatim astonished at this strange occurance, refrained from tasting the water, thirsty as he was. He at length asked his companions how they felt themselves, but no answer did he receive; they stood like statues with their eyes fixed upon him. Thus passed the whole of that night Hatim suffering the pangs of hunger and thirst. When morning dawned, he looked at the faces of his attendants, which were all swelled up like so many leathern bottles, so that their eyes even could not be seen. His sorrow was beyond control; but at length he reflected that what he saw might be the effect of enchantment. He therefore pronounced the sacred charm, and in an instant the swelling abated: he repeated the same, and from every part of their bodies a green coloured liquid was seen to issue. A third time he uttered the divine words, and the result was, that his companions received the full enjoyment of all their faculties.

Hatim’s joy was now equal to his previous sorrow, while he listened to the grateful prayers of his rescued followers. At length he asked them, “Can you, my friends, explain the cause of your late calamity?”— “The cause is evident,” they replied, “this is the road by which the magician travelled, and he it was who enchanted the water of the lake.” On hearing this, Hatim as usual pronounced his charm, and breathed on the water. It first became agitated like the boiling ocean, and its colour was red: then it changed to green, and gradually settling, it became pure as crystal. Hatim, now assured that no traces of the enchantment remained about the water, drank of it freely, and invited his companions to do the same without fear. He also enjoined them to bathe therein, as an excellent remedy for their feverish bodies.

All of them accordingly allayed their thirst, and bathed their bodies in the now pure and wholesome lake, whereby every trace of their late calamity left them, and their confidence in the power of Hatim became complete. They tendered him their sincere gratitude, and said, “Forward brave Hatim! we will follow you even until death in your contest with the magician Sam Ahmar and his master Kamlak, for you are far greater and better than they.” Having received this assurance, Hatim resumed his journey, and his companions joyfully followed.

Meanwhile Sam Ahmar, defeated and downcast, fled to the presence of Kamlak. The latter observing his dejected state, asked him, “What misfortune hath befallen thee, that thou comest in such woful plight?”— “Great master,” replied the magician, “I come to implore thine aid. Hatim, my superior in the magic art, hath expelled me from my residence, and hither have I fled to scape his vengeance.” Kamlak enraged at this intelligence, said, “Rest thee content, my son, I shall soon vanquish this Hatim, and having made him my captive, resign him to thy disposal.”

Immediately Kamlak commenced his enchantment, and took measures to fortify mountain which he inhabited. In an instant the whole mountain was wrapt in flames, so bright as to leave on distinction between night and day. Four days after, Hatim arrived, and his companions addressing him, said, “This is, indeed, the mountain where Kamlak dwells; but why does it thus burn? Most assuredly this is caused by his enchantment.”

Hatim devoutly recommended himself to heaven; pronounced the sacred words of the blessed Khizr, and immediately the flames ceased to issue from the mountain. Kamlak was soon informed of his foe’s approach and how he had quenched the flames by the mere breath of his mouth. A second time he tried the power of his art in a different manner. On all sides of Hatim and his companions floods of water were seen to rush, as if the whole ocean had burst from its dark channels. “Help us, Hatim,” exclaimed his friends, “or we shall all drowned; these waters are the creation of Kamlak.” Hatim repeated his spell; blew with his breath on the waters, which instantly stood still, and in a short time no trace of them was left. Kamlak was highly mortified in seeing his power a second time defied, and once more he and his skilful disciple Sam Ahmar renewed their attack. The clouds began to shower stones of five to ten mauns in weight, but Hatim was prepared for this also. He and his friends sat down secure under the power of the sacred spell, while the storm for three days and nights fell harmless around them. At length, when the heap of stones beside them reached the height of a mountain, so that nothing else was visible, Hatim once more pronounced his charm, and all was annihilated; after which, he boldly marched towards the mountain. The arch magician then uttered an incantation, whereby the mountain entirely disappeared from Hatim’s sight: he how­ever, nothing daunted, sat down with his companions, who were astonished at this last feat of the magicians; and having uttered his powerful spell, he awaited the result. After about three days the mountain again appeared, and without further interruption Hatim and his friends began to ascend.