第8章

Indeed，this is not allowed of God the Most High.' Then they rose against the Magian and slew his servants and all who were with him；which when he saw，he made sure of death and feared for himself.So he loosed Hasan from his bonds and pulling off the ragged clothes the youth had on，clad him in others；and made excuses to him and promised to teach him the craft and restore him to his native land，saying，'O my son，return me not evil for that I have done with thee.' Quoth Hasan，'How can I ever rely upon thee again？'；and quoth Bahram，'O my son，but for sin；there were no pardon.Indeed，I did all these doings with thee；but to try thy patience，and thou knowest that the case is altogether in the hands of Allah.' So the crew and captain rejoiced in Hasan's release，and he called down blessings on them and praised the Almighty and thanked Him.With this the wind was stilled and the sky cleared and with a fair breeze they continued their voyage.Then said Hasan to Bahram，'O Master，[29]

whither wendest thou？' Replied the Magian，'O，my son，I am bound for the Mountain of Clouds，where is the Elixir which we use in alchemy.' And the Guebre swore to him by the Fire and the Light that he had no longer any cause to fear him.So Hasan's heart was set at ease and rejoicing at the Persian's words，he continued to eat and drink and sleep with the Magian，who clad him in his own raiment.They ceased not sailing on other three months，when the ship came to anchor off a long shoreline of many coloured pebbles，white and yellow and sky-blue and black and every other hue，and the Magian sprang up and said，'O Hasan；come，let us go ashore for we have reached the place of our wish and will.' So Hasan rose and landed with Bahram，after the Persian had commended his goods to the captain's care.They walked on inland，till they were far enough from the ship to be out of sight，when Bahram sat down and taking from his pocket a kettle-drum[30] of copper and a silken strap，worked in gold with characts，beat the drum with the strap，until there arose a cloud of dust from the further side of the waste.Hasan marvelled at the Magian's doings and was afraid of him： he repented of having come ashore with him and his colour changed.

But Bahram looked at him and said，'What aileth thee，O my son？

By the truth of the Fire and the Light，thou hast naught to fear from me；and，were it not that my wish may never be won save by thy means，I had not brought thee ashore.So rejoice in all good；for yonder cloud of dust is the dust of somewhat we will mount and which will aid us to cut across this wold and make easy to us the hardships thereof.'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Seven Hundred and Eighty-third Night； She continued，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Persian said to Hasan，'In very sooth yonder dust-cloud is the cloud of something we will mount and which will aid us to cut across this wold and will make easy to us the hardships thereof.'

Presently the dust lifted off three she-dromedaries，one of which Bahram mounted and Hasan another.Then they loaded their victual on the third and fared on seven days，till they came to a wide champaign and，descending into its midst，they saw a dome vaulted upon four pilasters of red gold；so they alighted and entering thereunder，ate and drank and took their rest.Anon Hasan chanced to glance aside and seeing from afar a something lofty said to the Magian，'What is that，O nuncle？' Bahram replied；''Tis a palace，'and quoth Hasan，'Wilt thou not go thither，that we may enter and there repose ourselves and solace ourselves with inspecting it？' But the Persian was wroth and said，'Name not to me yonder palace；for therein dwelleth a foe，with whom there befel me somewhat whereof this is no time to tell thee.' Then he beat the kettle-drum and up came the dromedaries，and they mounted and fared on other seven days.On the eighth day，the Magian said，'O Hasan，what seest thou？' Hasan replied，'I see clouds and mists twixt east and west.' Quoth Bahram，'That is neither clouds nor mists，but a vast mountain and a lofty whereon the clouds split，[31] and there are no clouds above it，for its exceeding height and surpassing elevation.Yon mount is my goal and thereon is the need we seek.'Tis for that I brought thee hither，for my wish may not be won save at thy hands.Hasan hearing this gave his life up for lost and said to the Magian；'By the right of that thou worshippest and by the faith wherein thou believest，I conjure thee to tell me what is the object wherefor thou hast brought me！' Bahram replied，'The art of alchemy may not be accomplished save by means of a herb which groweth in the place where the clouds pass and whereon they split.Such a site is yonder mountain upon whose head the herb groweth and I purpose to send thee up thither to fetch it；and when we have it，I will show thee the secret of this craft which thou desirest to learn.' Hasan answered，in his fear，''Tis well，O my master；'and indeed he despaired of life and wept for his parting from his parent and people and patrial stead；repenting him of having gainsaid his mother and reciting these two couplets；'Consider but thy Lord，His work shall bring * Comfort to thee；with quick relief and near：

Despair not when thou sufferest sorest bane： * In bane how many blessed boons appear！'