"So I journeyed on, until I reached the summit of the steep, and
there I found everything as the black man had described it to me.
And I went up to the tree, and beneath it I saw the fountain, and by
its side the marble slab, and the silver bowl fastened by the chain.
Then I took the bowl, and cast a bowlful of water upon the slab; and
thereupon, behold, the thunder came, much more violent than the black
man had led me to expect; and after the thunder came the shower; and
of a truth I tell thee, Kai, that there is neither man nor beast that
can endure that shower and live. For not one of those hailstones
would be stopped, either by the flesh or by the skin, until it had
reached the bone. I turned my horse's flank towards the shower, and
placed the beak of my shield over his head and neck, while I held the
upper part of it over my own head. And thus I withstood the shower.
When I looked on the tree there was not a single leaf upon it, and
then the sky became clear, and with that, behold the birds lighted
upon the tree, and sang. And truly, Kai, I never heard any melody
equal to that, either before or since. And when I was most charmed
with listening to the birds, lo, a murmuring voice was heard through
the valley, approaching me and saying, 'Oh, Knight, what has brought
thee hither? What evil have I done to thee, that thou shouldst act
towards me and my possessions as thou hast this day? Dost thou not
know that the shower to-day has left in my dominions neither man nor
beast alive that was exposed to it?' And thereupon, behold, a Knight
on a black horse appeared, clothed in jet-black velvet, and with a
tabard of black linen about him. And we charged each other, and, as
the onset was furious, it was not long before I was overthrown. Then
the Knight passed the shaft of his lance through the bridle rein of
my horse, and rode off with the two horses, leaving me where I was.
And he did not even bestow so much notice upon me as to imprison me,
nor did he despoil me of my arms. So I returned along the road by