Then the sea began to foam and toss, as though churned by the eight winds raging against it, and out of the tumbling brine rose the Leviathan, so great that it could easily have swallowed seven thousand whales such as that which Solomon had attempted to feed; and the Leviathan cried, with a voice like the roar of thunder: “Praised be God, who by His mighty power preserves me from perishing by hunger.”[660] 3. THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE.[661] When Solomon returned from the sea-shore to Jerusalem, he heard the noise of the hammers, and saws, and axes of the Jinns who were engaged in the building of the temple; and the noise was so great that the inhabitants of Jerusalem could not hear one another speak. Therefore he commanded the Jinns to cease from their work, and he asked them if there was no means whereby the metals and stones could be shaped and cut without making so much noise. Then one of the spirits stepped forth and said: “The means is known only to the mighty Sachr, who has hitherto escaped your authority.” “Is it impossible to capture this Sachr?” asked Solomon. “Sachr,” replied the Jinn, “is stronger than all the rest of us together, and he excels us in speed as he does in strength. However, I know that once every month he goes to drink of a fountain in the land of Hidjr; by this, O king, thou mayest be able to bring him under thy sceptre.” Solomon, thereupon, commanded a Jinn to fly to Hidjr, and to empty the well of water, and to fill it up with strong wine. He bade other Jinns remain in ambush beside the well and watch the result.[662] After some weeks, when Solomon was pacing his terrace before his palace, he saw a Jinn flying, swifter than the wind, from the direction of Hidjr, and he asked, “What news of Sachr?” “Sachr lies drunk on the edge of the fountain,” said the Jinn; “and we have bound him with chains as thick as the pillars of the temple; nevertheless, he will snap them as the hair of a maiden, when he wakes from his drunken sleep.” Solomon instantly mounted the winged Jinn and bade him transport him to the well at Hidjr. In less than an hour he stood beside the intoxicated demon. He was not a moment too soon, for the fumes of the wine were passing off, and, if Sachr had opened his eyes, Solomon would have been unable to constrain him. But now he pressed his signet upon the nape of his neck: Sachr uttered a cry so that the earth rocked on its foundations. “Fear not,” said Solomon, “mighty Jinn; I will restore thee to liberty if thou wilt tell me how I may without noise cut and shape the hardest metals.” “I myself know no means,” answered the demon; “but the raven can tell thee how to do this. Take the eggs out of the raven’s nest and place a crystal cover upon them, and thou shalt see how the raven will break it.”