every side. A shower of arrows was
discharged upon him. He became furious: his bristles stood on end, his
eyes flashed, he beat his sides with his terrible tail, and, setting
up tremendous roarings, darted with fury upon the nearest of the
hunters. This was a young man of nineteen years of age, mounted upon a
vigorous horse.

At the cries of the lion the courser was seized with terror, and his
strength instantly failed him. He fell, and died as if he had been
struck with a thunderbolt. The valiant knight soon got upon his feet,
and, invoking the name of the great Prophet, he plunged his spear into
the enormous jaws which were opened to devour him. This exploit of
courage and intrepidity gained him, together with the applauses of his
Sovereign, the office of commander-in-chief of all his troops.

Abosaber, hearing of the lion's death, said to his wife, "See of what
advantage patience hath been to us! Had I followed your advice, and
exposed myself to the danger of attacking an animal against which it
was necessary to draw out so much strength, I should have lost my
life, with all my people, to no purpose."

The dangerous lion did not alone disturb the peaceful retreat of
Abosaber; the inhabitants of the village did not all enjoy the same
good character. One of them committed a considerable robbery in the
capital, and made his escape, after having murdered the master of the
house he had plundered. The King, informed of this double crime, sent
in search of the relations and slaves of the man who had been so
inhumanly murdered. No one could give him any information, but by
throwing out suspicions against the inhabitants of the village where
Abosaber dwelt. These had the character of being very bad people, and
were known to have frequented the house in which the murder and theft
had been committed, the perpetrators of which they were endeavouring
to discover. Upon this declaration alone, and without having recourse
to any other proof, the enraged monarch commanded an officer at the
head of a detachment to lay waste the village, and bring away its
inhabitants loaded with chains.

Those who are employed in the execution of severe commands frequently
go beyond the orders they have received. Troops very ill disciplined
spread their devastation over all the neighbouring country. They
spared only the dwelling of Abosaber and six persons of his household;
but they pillaged his granaries and his standing corn, with those of
all