صفحة 371 من 1116

The cock fell to crowing and clapping his wings and signing to us

with his beak as if to ask, ' Are any grains left?" But we

understood not what he meant, and he cried to us with so loud a

cry that we thought the palace would fall upon us. Then he ran

over all the floor till he saw the grain which had rolled to the

fountain edge, and rushed eagerly to pick it up when behold, it

sprang into the midst of the water and became a fish and dived to

the bottom of the basin. Thereupon the cock changed to a big

fish, and plunged in after the other, and the two disappeared for

a while and lo! we heard loud shrieks and cries of pain which

made us tremble. After this the Ifrit rose out of the water, and

he was as a burning flame; casting fire and smoke from his mouth

and eyes and nostrils.