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,[FN#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