THIRD

THE THIRD KALANDAR'S TALE
KNOW, O my lady, that I also am a king and the son of a king and

my name is Ajib son of Khazib. When my father died I succeeded him,
and I ruled and did justice and dealt fairly by all my lieges. I

delighted in sea trips, for my capital stood on the shore, before
which the ocean stretched far and wide, and near hand were many

great islands with sconces and garrisons in the midst of the main.
My fleet numbered fifty merchantmen, and as many yachts for pleasance,

and a hundred and fifty sail ready fitted for holy war with the
unbelievers.

It fortuned that I had a mind to enjoy myself on the islands
aforesaid, so I took ship with my people in ten keel and, carrying

with me a month's victual, I set out on a twenty days' voyage. But one
night a head wind struck us, and the sea rose against us with huge

waves. The billows sorely buffeted us and a dense darkness settled
round us. We gave ourselves up for lost, and I said, "Whoso

endangereth his days, e'en an he 'scape deserveth no praise." Then
we prayed to Allah and besought Him, but the storm blasts ceased not

to blow against us nor the surges to strike us till morning broke,
when the gale fell, the seas sank to mirrory stillness, and the sun

shone upon us kindly clear. Presently we made an island, where we
landed and cooked somewhat of food, and ate heartily and took our rest

for a couple of days. Then we set out again and sailed other twenty
days, the seas broadening and the land shrinking.

Presently the current ran counter to us, and we found ourselves in
strange waters, where the Captain had lost his reckoning, and was

wholly bewildered in this sea, so said we to the lookout man, "Get
thee to the masthead and keep thine eyes open." He swarmed up the mast

and looked out and cried aloud, "O Rais, I espy to starboard something
dark, very like a fish floating on the face of the sea, and to

larboard there is a loom in the midst of the main, now black and now
bright." When the Captain heard the lookout's words, he dashed his

turban on the deck and plucked out his beard and beat his face,
saying: "Good news indeed! We be all dead men, not one of us can be

saved." And he fell to weeping and all of us wept for his weeping
and also for our lives, and I said, "O Captain, tell us what it is the

lookout saw."
"O my Prince," answered he, "know that we lost our course on the

night of the storm, which was followed on the morrow by a two days'
calm during which we made no way, and we have gone astray eleven days'

reckoning from that night, with ne'er a wind to bring us back to our
true course. Tomorrow by the end of the day we shall come to a

mountain of black stone hight the Magnet Mountain, for thither the
currents carry us willy-nilly. As soon as we are under its lea, the

ship's sides will open and every nail in plank will fly out and cleave
fast to the mountain, for that Almighty Allah hath gifted the

loadstone with a mysteriousvirtue and a love for iron, by reason
whereof all which is iron traveleth toward it. And on this mountain is

much iron, how much none knoweth save the Most High, from the many
vessels which have been lost there since the days of yore. The

bright spot upon its summit is a dome of yellow laton from
Andalusia, vaulted upon ten columns. And on its crown is a horseman

who rideth a horse of brass and holdeth in hand a lance of laton,
and there hangeth on his bosom a tablet of lead graven with names

and talismans." And he presently added, "And, O King, none
destroyeth folk save the rider on that steed, nor will the egromancy

be dispelled till he fall from his horse."
Then, O my lady, the Captain wept with exceedingweeping and we

all made sure of death doom and each and every one of us farewelled
his friend and charged him with his last will and testament in case he

might be saved. We slept not that night, and in the morning we found
ourselves much nearer the Loadstone Mountain, whither the waters drave

us with a violent send. When the ships were close under its lea,
they opened and the nails flew out and all the iron in them sought the

Magnet Mountain and clove to it like a network, so that by the end
of the day we were all struggling in the waves round about the

mountain. Some of us were saved, but more were drowned, and even those
who had escaped knew not one another, so stupefied were they by the

beating of the billows and the raving of the winds.
As for me, O my lady, Allah (be His name exalted!) preserved my life

that I might suffer whatso He willed to me of hardship, misfortune,
and calamity, for I scrambled upon a plank from one of the ships and

the wind and waters threw it at the feet of the mountain. There I
found a practicable path leading by steps carven out of the rock to

the summit, and I called on the name of Allah Almighty and breasted
the ascent, clinging to the steps and notches hewn in the stone, and

mounted little by little. And the Lord stilled the wind and aided me
in the ascent, so that I succeeded in reaching the summit. There I

found no resting place save the dome, which I entered, joying with
exceeding joy at my escape, and made the wudu ablution and prayed a

two-bow prayer, a thanksgiving to God for my preservation.
Then I fell asleep under the dome, and heard in my dream a

mysterious voice saying, "O son of Khazib! When thou wakest from thy
sleep, dig under thy feet and thou shalt find a bow of brass and three

leaden arrows inscribed with talismans and characts. Take the bow
and shoot the arrows at the horseman on the dome top and free

mankind from this sore calamity. When thou hast shot him he shall fall
into the sea, and the horse will also drop at thy feet. Then bury it

in the place of the bow. This done, the main will swell and rise
till it is level with the mountain head, and there will appear on it a

skiff carrying a man of laton (other than he thou shalt have shot)
holding in his hand a pair of paddles. He will come to thee, and do

thou embark with him, but beware of saying Bismillah or of otherwise
naming Allah Almighty. He will row thee for a space of ten days,

till he bring thee to certain islands called the Islands of Safety,
and thence thou shalt easily reach a port and find those who will

convey thee to thy native land. And all this shall be fulfilled to
thee so thou call not on the name of Allah."

Then I started up from my sleep in joy and gladness and, hastening
to do the bidding of the mysterious voice, found the bow and arrows

and shot at the horseman and tumbled him into the main, whilst the
horse dropped at my feet, so I took it and buried it. Presently the

sea surged up and rose till it reached the top of the mountain, nor
had I long to wait ere I saw a skiff in the offing coming toward me. I

gave thanks to Allah, and when the skiff came up to me, I saw
therein a man of brass with a tablet of lead on his breast inscribed

with talismans and characts, and I embarked without uttering a word.
The boatman rowed on with me through the first day and the second

and the third, in all ten whole days, till I caught sight of the
Islands of Safety, whereat I joyed with exceeding joy and for stress

of gladness exclaimed, "Allah! Allah! In the name of Allah! There is
no god but the God and Allah is Almighty." Thereupon the skiff

forthwith upset and cast me upon the sea, then it righted and sank
deep into the depths.

Now I am a fair swimmer, so I swam the whole day till nightfall,
when my forearms and shoulders were numbed with fatigue and I felt

like to die, so I testified to my faith, expecting naught but death.
The sea was still surging under the violence of the winds, and

presently there came a billow like a hillock and, bearing me up high
in air, threw me with a long cast on dry land, that His will might

be fulfilled. I crawled upon the beach and doffing my raiment, wrung
it out to dry and spread it in the sunshine. Then I lay me down and

slept the whole night. As soon as it was day, I donned my clothes
and rose to look whither I should walk. Presently I came to a

thicket of low trees and, making a cast round it, found that the
spot whereon I stood was an islet, a mere holm, girt on all sides by