I passed the night under the dome; and in my sleep, an old grave man
appeared to me, and said, Hearken, Agib: as soon as thou art awake,
dig up the ground under thy feet; thou shalt find a bow of brass,
and three arrows of lead, that are made under certain
constellations, to deliver mankind from the many calamities that
threaten them. Shoot the three arrows at the statue, and the rider
shall fall into the sea, but the horse will fall down by thy side,
which thou must bury in the same place from whence thou tookest the
bow and arrows. This being done, the sea will swell and rise up to
the foot of the dome that stands upon the top of the mountain: when
it comes up so high, thou shalt see a boat with one man holding an
oar in each hand; --this man is also of metal, but different from
that thou hast thrown down; step on board to him, without mentioning
the name of God, and let him conduct thee. He will in ten days’
time bring thee into another sea, where thou shalt find an
opportunity to get home to thy country safe and sound, provided, as
I have told thee, thou dost not mention the name of God during the
whole voyage.
This was the substance of the old man’s discourse. When I awoke, I
was very much comforted by the vision, and did not fail to observe
every thing that he had commanded me. I took the bow and arrows out
of the ground, shot at the horseman, and, with the third arrow, I
overthrew him: he fell into the sea, and the horse fell by my side,
which I buried in the place whence I took the bow and arrows. In the
mean time, the sea swelled, and rose up by degrees; when it came as
high as the foot of the dome that stood upon the top of the
mountain, I saw afar off a boat rowing towards me, and I returned
God thanks that every thing succeeded according to my dream.
At last the boat made land, and I saw the man was made of metal, as
I had dreamt. I stepped aboard, and took great heed not to pronounce
the name of God, neither spoke I one word. I sat down, and the man
of metal began to row off from the mountain. He rowed without
ceasing till the ninth day, when I saw some islands, which gave me
hopes that I should escape all the danger that I feared. The excess
of my joy made me forget what I was forbidden to do: Blessed be God!
said I; God be praised!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account