Pagina 372 de 1116

And immediately the Princess likewise came forth from the basin

and she was one live coal of flaming lowe; and these two, she and

he, battled for the space of an hour, until their fires entirely

compassed them about and their thick smoke filled the palace. As

for us we panted for breath, being well nigh suffocated, and we

longed to plunge into the water fearing lest we be burnt up and

utterly destroyed; and the King said, There is no Majesty and

there is no Might save in Allah the Glorious, the Great! Verily

we are Allah's and unto Him are we returning! Would Heaven I had

not urged my daughter to attempt the disenchantment of this ape

fellow, whereby I have imposed upon her the terrible task of

fighting yon accursed Ifrit against whom all the Ifrits in the

world could not prevail. And would Heaven we had never seen this

ape, Allah never assain nor bless the day of his coming!