said therefore to him, "Where is thy son?" And he answered, "I
have no son: this day have I carried him to his burial."

So when he was departed, I said to Ornias, "How was it that thou
knewest these things?" And he answered, "It is thus, O king. We who
are spirits can fly up into the air under the firmament, and we hover
about among the stars and overhear the decrees that go forth from the
heavens against the children of men when they are appointed to die.
But we cannot abide there for long, and so we become weak, and fall
like the leaves from the trees; and when men see us they say, 'Look,
there is a falling star.' But they are not in truth stars that fall,
since the stars have their appointed place in the heavens, like the
sun and the moon; but it is we, the spirits of the air, who are in
appearance like stars." And I sent Ornias away, and marvelled
greatly.

Again, in those days there came to me a letter from Adares the king
of the Arabians, saying, "To King Solomon, greeting! We have heard of
the wisdom that has been given to thee, and that thou art a
compassionate man, and that thou hast power over all spirits that are
in the air, or on the earth, or under the earth. Now be it known to
thee that there is a destroying spirit in this land; for every day at
dawn there arises a wind which blows for three hours, and it is so
venomous that every one on whom it blows dies, and it kills the
cattle also. Now therefore we entreat thee in thy wisdom to devise
some means, and if it may be, send us a man who can capture the
spirit; and if thou canst do so, then I and my people will be
tributary unto thee, and Arabia shall keep peace with thee. And, we
beseech thee, make not light of our petition, for we are in a great
strait. And so farewell."