Let him come; and
how brave or powerful he be, I will defy him." On saying this I gave
the talisman a kick with my foot, and broke it in pieces.
The talisman was no sooner broken than the whole palace shook as if
ready to fall to atoms, and the walls opened to afford a passage to
the genie. I had no sooner felt the shock than, at the earnest
request of the princess, I took to flight. Having hastily put on my
own robe, I ascended the stairs leading to the forest, and reached the
town in safety. My landlord, the tailor, was very glad to see me.
In my haste, however, I had left my hatchet and cord in the princess's
chamber.
Shortly after my return, while brooding over this loss and lamenting
the cruel treatment to which the princess would be exposed, the tailor
came in and said, "An old man, whom I do not know, brings your hatchet
and cords, and wishes to speak to you, for he will deliver them to
none but yourself."
At these words I changed color, and fell a-trembling. While the tailor
was asking me the reason, my chamber door opened, and the old man,
having no patience to stay, appeared with my hatchet and cords.
"I am a genie," said he, speaking to me, "a grandson of Eblis,[15]
prince of genies. Is not this your hatchet and are not these your
cords?"
[Footnote 15: Eblis, or Degial, the evil spirit, who, according to the
Koran, betrayed Adam to transgression, and yet seeks to inflict injury
on his race.
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