When it was the Seven Hundred and Seventy-second Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sa’id continued:—When we set fire to the pile wherein were the Ghuls, I with the Mamelukes stood afar off to see what became of them; and, as soon the fire was burnt out, we came back and found them a heap of ashes, wherefore we praised Allah Almighty who had delivered us from them. Then we went forth about the island and sought the sea-shore, where we parted and I and two of the Mamelukes fared on till we came to a thick copse full of fruit and there busied ourselves with eating, and behold, presently up came a man tall of stature, long of beard and lengthy of ear, with eyes like cressets, driving before him and feeding a great flock of sheep.[FN#439] When he saw us he rejoiced and said to us, ‘Well come, and fair welcome to you! Draw near me that I may slaughter you an ewe of these sheep and roast it and give you to eat.’ Quoth we, ‘Where is thine abode?’ And quoth he, ‘Hard by yonder mountain; go on towards it till ye come to a cave and enter therein, for you will see many guests like yourselves; and do ye sit with them, whilst we make ready for you the guest-meal.’ We believed him so fared on, as he bade us, till we came to the cavern, where we found many guests, Sons of Adam like ourselves, but they were all blinded;[FN#440] and when we entered, one said, ‘I’m sick’; and another, ‘I’m weak.’ So we cried to them, ‘What is this you say and what is the cause of your sickness and weakness?’ They asked, ‘Who are ye?’; and we answered, ‘We are guests.’ Then said they, ‘What hath made you fall into the hands of yonder accursed? But there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! This is a Ghul who devoureth the Sons of Adam and he hath blinded us and meaneth to eat us.’ Said we, ‘And how did he blind you?’ and they replied, ‘Even as he will blind yourselves anon.’ Quoth we, ‘And how so?’ And quoth they, ‘He will bring you bowls of soured milk[FN#441] and will say to you, ‘Ye are weary with wayfare: take this milk and drink it.’ And when ye have drunken thereof, ye will become blind like us.’ Said I to myself, ‘There is no escape for us but by contrivance.’ So I dug a hole in the ground and sat over it. After an hour or so in came the accursed Ghul with bowls of milk, whereof he gave to each of us, saying, ‘Ye come from the desert and are athirst: so take this milk and drink it, whilst I roast you the flesh.’ I took the cup and carried it to my mouth but emptied it into the hole; then I cried out, ‘Alas! my sight is gone and I am blind!’ and clapping my hand to my eyes, fell a-weeping and a-wailing, whilst the accursed laughed and said, ‘Fear not, thou art now become like mine other guests.’ But, as for my two comrades, they drank the milk and became blind. Thereupon the Ghul arose and stopping up the mouth of the cavern came to me and felt my ribs, but found me lean and with no flesh on my bones: so he tried another and finding him fat, rejoiced. Then he slaughtered three sheep and skinned them and fetching iron spits, spitted the flesh thereon and set them over the fire to roast. When the meat was done, he placed it before my comrades who ate and he with them; after which he brought a leather-bag full of wine and drank thereof and lay down prone and snored. Said I to myself, ‘He’s drowned in sleep: how shall I slay him?’ Then I bethought me of the spits and thrusting two of them into the fire, waited till they were as red-hot coals: whereupon I arose and girded myself and taking a spit in each hand went up to the accursed Ghul and thrust them into his eyes, pressing upon them with all my might. He sprang to his feet for sweet life and would have laid hold of me; but he was blind. So I fled from him into the inner cavern, whilst he ran after me; but I found no place of refuge from him nor whence I might escape into the open country, for the cave was stopped up with stones; wherefore I was bewildered and said to the blind men, ‘How shall I do with this accursed?’ Replied one of them, ‘O Sa’id, with a run and a spring mount up to yonder niche[FN#442] and thou wilt find there a sharpened scymitar of copper: bring it to me and I will tell thee what to do.’ So I climbed to the niche and taking the blade, returned to the blind man, who said to me, ‘Smite him with the sword in his middle, and he will die forthright.’ So I rushed after the Ghul, who was weary with running after me and felt for the blind men that he might kill them and, coming up to him smote him with the sword a single stroke across his waist and he fell in twain.