Arabs -- Folklore; Fairy tales; Fairy tales -- Arab countries; Folklore -- Arab countries; Tales -- Arab countries
The party therefore turned thither and journeyed on, and it was the
right way. They took that route, and continued their course the same day
and the next night until they had traversed a wide tract of country. And
as they were proceeding, one day, they came to a pillar of black stone,
wherein was a person sunk to his arm-pits, and he had two huge wings,
and four arms; two of them like those of the sons of Adam, and two like
the fore-legs of lions, with claws. He had hair upon his head like the
tails of horses, and two eyes like two burning coals, and he had a third
eye, in his forehead, like the eye of the lynx, from which there
appeared sparks of fire. He was black and tall; and he was crying out:
"Extolled be the perfection of my Lord, who hath appointed me this
severe affliction and painful torture until the day of resurrection!"
When the party beheld him, their reason fled from them, and they were
stupefied at the sight of his form, and retreated in flight; and the
Emeer Moosa said to the Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad: "What is this?" He
answered: "I know not what he is." And the emeer said: "Draw near to
him, and investigate his case: perhaps he will discover it, and perhaps
thou wilt learn his history." So the Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad drew near to
him, and said to him: "O thou person, what is thy name, and what is thy
nature, and what hath placed thee here in this manner?" And the person
answered him: "As to me, I am an efreet of the genies, and my name is
Dahish, and I am restrained here by the majesty of God." Then the Emeer
Moosa said: "O Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad, ask him what is the cause of his
confinement in this pillar." He therefore asked respecting that, and the
efreet answered him: "Verily my story is wonderful; and it is this:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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