erful 'animal of laughter' produced
by Aristotles, and some seventy or eighty thousand soldiers had actually
died of laughter which they could not repress on seeing it. Plato only,
who was a wise man, devised a ruse to overcome the terrible effects of
looking at the animal. He brought with him a looking-glass which he
placed in front of the brute, and, sure enough, the demon, which had
caused the hilarious death of many others, in its turn was seized by
hysterical laughing at itself, and of course could not stop and died
too."

Mahommed Azin was somewhat uncertain whether the animal itself had
resided in the fortress of the Kuh-i-Kwajah mountain, or whether the
owner of the animal had visited the place, or whether the place had been
named merely in honour of the legend of the "animal of laughter." All I
can say is that when Mahommed, with a grave face, had finished his
inimitable story, Gul Khan and I were also seized with such
uncontrollable fits of hilarity that, notwithstanding our mournful
surroundings of graves and dead-houses, we, too, very nearly went to
swell the number of victims of Mahommed Azin's "animal of laughter,"
although without the pleasure of having made its personal acquaintance.

Mahommed Azin positively finished us up when he gravely added that it was
most dangerous to recount the legend he had told us for he had known
people die of laughter by merely listening to it. There was some truth in
that. We nearly did, not only at the story but at the story-teller
himself!

Kala-i-Kakaha is a famous spot in Persian history, for it is said that
the great Persian hero Rustam's first exploit was to capture this city
and slay its king _Kuk_, after whom the fort standing above Kakaha is
named. In more modern days Kakaha, which, from ancient times, had been a
place of shelter for retreating princes hard driven by the enemy, has
become noteworthy for its seven years' resistance to the attacks of
Nadir's troops, when the Kayani King Malik-Fath, having abandoned his
capital, Kala-i-Fath had taken refuge in the impregnable city of
Kala-i-Kakaha.

CHAPTER XXV

Villages between Sher-i-Nasrya and Kuh-i-Kwajah--The last of the
Kayani--Husena Baba--Thousands of sheep--The Patang
Kuh--Protecting black walls--A marsh--Sand dunes--Warmal--Quaint
terraces--How roofs are built--A spacious residence built for
nine shillings--Facial characteristics of natives--Bread
making--Semi-spher