'O very stuff of my life,' replied Jamila 'I will give you things
that are not in kings' treasuries, and which will be of the
greatest use to you. First, there are the bow and arrows of his
Reverence the Prophet Salih. Secondly, there is the Scorpion of
Solomon (on whom be peace), which is a sword such as no king has;
steel and stone are one to it; if you bring it down on a rock it
will not be injured, and it will cleave whatever you strike.
Thirdly, there is the dagger which the sage Timus himself made;
this is most useful, and the man who wears it would not bend
under seven camels' loads. What you have to do first is to get
to the home of the Simurgh,[FN#10] and to make friends with him.
If he favours you, he will take you to Waq of Qaf; if not, you
will never get there, for seven seas are on the way, and they are
such seas that if all the kings of the earth, and all their
wazirs, and all their wise men considered for a thousand years,
they would not be able to cross them.'

'O most delicious person! where is the Simurgh's home? How shall
I get there?'

'O new fruit of life! you must just do what I tell you, and you
must use your eyes and your brains, for if you don't you will
find yourself at the place of the negroes, who are a bloodthirsty
set; and God forbid they should lay hands on your precious
person.'

Then she took the bow and quiver of arrows, the sword, and the
dagger out of a box, and the prince let fall a Bismillah, and
girt them all on. Then Jamila of the houri-face, produced two
saddle-bags of ruby-red silk, one filled with roasted fowl and