The Talisman of Solomon

Twilight Land

by Howard Pyle

There was once upon a time a man whom other men called Aben Hassen
the Wise. He had read a thousand books of magic, and knew all that
the ancients or moderns had to tell of the hidden arts.

The King of the Demons of the Earth, a great and hideous
monster, named Zadok, was his servant, and came and went as Aben
Hassen the Wise ordered, and did as he bade. After Aben Hassen
learned all that it was possible for man to know, he said to himself,
"Now I will take my ease and enjoy my life." So he called the Demon
Zadok to him, and said to the monster, "I have read in my books that
there is a treasure that was one time hidden by the ancient kings of
Egypt--a treasure such as the eyes of man never saw before or since
their day. Is that true?"

"It is true," said the Demon.

"Then I command thee to take me to that treasure and to show it
to me," said Aben Hassen the Wise.

"It shall be done," said the Demon; and thereupon he caught up
the Wise Man and transported him across mountain and valley, across
land and sea, until he brought him to a country known as the "Land of
the Black Isles," where the treasure of the ancient kings was hidden.
The Demon showed the Magician the treasure, and it was a sight such
as man had never looked upon before or since the days that the dark,
ancient ones hid it. With his treasure Aben Hassen built himself
palaces and gardens and paradises such as the world never saw before.
He lived like an emperor, and the fame of his doings rang through all
the four corners of the earth.

Now the queen of the Black Isles was the most beautiful woman in
the world, but she was as cruel and wicked and cunning as she was
beautiful. No man that looked upon her could help loving her; for not
only was she as beautiful as a dream, but her beauty was of that sort
that it bewitched a man in spite of himself.

One day the queen sent for Aben Hassen the Wise. "Tell me," said
she, "is it true that men say of you that you have discovered a
hidden treasure such as the world never saw before?" And she looked
at Aben Hassen so that his wisdom all crumbled away like sand, and he
became just as foolish as other men.

"Yes," said he, "it is true."

Aben Hassen the Wise spent all that day with the queen, and when
he left the palace he was like a man drunk and dizzy with love.
Moreover, he had promised to show the queen the hidden treasure the
next day.

As Aben Hassen, like a man in a dream, walked towards his own
house, he met an old man standing at the corner of the street. The
old man had a talisman that hung dangling from a chain, and which he
offered for sale. When Aben Hassen saw the talisman he knew very well
what it was--that it was the famous talisman of King Solomon the
Wise. If he who possessed the talisman asked it to speak, it would
tell that man both what to do and what not to do.

The Wise Man bought the talisman for three pieces of silver (and
wisdom has been sold for less than that many a time), and as soon as
he had the talisman in his hands he hurried home with it and locked
himself in a room.

"Tell me," said the Wise Man to the Talisman, "shall I marry the
beautiful queen of the Black Isles?"

"Fly, while there is yet time to escape!" said the Talisman;
"but go not near the queen again, for she seeks to destroy thy
life."

"But tell me, O Talisman!" said the Wise Man, "what then shall I
do with all that vast treasure of the kings of Egypt?"

"Fly from it while there is yet chance to escape!" said the
Talisman; "but go not into the treasure-house again, for in the
farther door, where thou hast not yet looked, is that which will
destroy him who possesses the treasure."

"But Zadok," said Aben Hassen; "what of Zadok?"

"Fly from the monster while there is yet time to escape," said
the Talisman, "and have no more to do with thy Demon slave, for
already he is weaving a net of death and destruction about thy
feet."

The Wise Man sat all that night pondering and thinking upon what
the Talisman had said. When morning came he washed and dressed
himself, and called the Demon Zadok to him. "Zadok," said he, "carry
me to the palace of the queen." In the twinkling of an eye the Demon
transported him to the steps of the palace.

"Zadok," said the Wise Man, "give me the staff of life and
death;" and the Demon brought from under his clothes a wand, one-half
of which was of silver and one-half of which was of gold. The Wise
Man touched the steps of the palace with the silver end of the staff.
Instantly all the sound and hum of life was hushed. The thread of
life was cut by the knife of silence, and in a moment all was as
still as death.

"Zadok," said the Wise Man, "transport me to the treasure-house
of the king of Egypt." And instantly the Demon had transported him
thither. The Wise Man drew a circle upon the earth. "No one," said
he, "shall have power to enter here but the master of Zadok, the King
of the Demons of the Earth."

"And now, Zadok," said he, "I command thee to transport me to
India, and as far from here as thou canst." Instantly the Demon did
as he was commanded; and of all the treasure that he had, the Wise
Man took nothing with him but a jar of golden money and a jar of
silver money. As soon as the Wise Man stood upon the ground of India,
he drew from beneath his robe a little jar of glass.

"Zadok," said he, "I command thee to enter this jar."

Then the Demon knew that now his turn had come. He besought and
implored the Wise Man to have mercy upon him; but it was all in vain.
Then the Demon roared and bellowed till the earth shook and the sky
grew dark overhead. But all was of no avail; into the jar he must go,
and into the jar he went. Then the Wise Man stoppered the jar and
sealed it. He wrote an inscription of warning upon it, and then he
buried it in the ground.

"Now," said Aben Hassen the Wise to the Talisman of Solomon,
"have I done everything that I should?"

"No," said the Talisman, "thou shouldst not have brought the jar
of golden money and the jar of silver money with thee; for that which
is evil in the greatest is evil in the least. Thou fool! The treasure
is cursed! Cast it all from thee while there is yet time."

"Yes, I will do that, too, " said the Wise Man. So he buried in
the earth the jar of gold and the jar of silver that he had brought
with him, and then he stamped the mould down upon it. After that the
Wise Man began his life all over again. He bought, and he sold, and
he traded, and by-and-by he became rich. Then he built himself a
great house, and in the foundation he laid the jar in which the Demon
was bottled.

Then he married a young and handsome wife. By-and-by the wife
bore him a son, and then she died.

This son was the pride of his father's heart; but he was as vain
and foolish as his father was wise, so that all men called him Aben
Hassen the Fool, as they called the father Aben Hassen the Wise.

Then one day death came and called the old man, and he left his
son all that belonged to him--even the Talisman of Solomon.

Young Aben Hassen the Fool had never seen so much money as now
belonged to him. It seemed to him that there was nothing in the world
he could not enjoy. He found friends by the dozens and scores, and
everybody seemed to be very fond of him.

He asked no questions of the Talisman of Solomon, for to his
mind there was no need of being both wise and rich. So he began
enjoying himself with his new friends. Day and night there was
feasting and drinking and singing and dancing and merrymaking and
carousing; and the money that the old man had made by trading and
wise living poured out like water through a sieve.

Then, one day came an end to all this junketing, and nothing
remained to the young spend-thrift of all the wealth that his father
had left him. Then the officers of the law came down upon him and
seized all that was left of the fine things, and his fair-weather
friends flew away from his troubles like flies from vinegar. Then the
young man began to think of the Talisman of Wisdom. For it was with
him as it is with so many of us: When folly has emptied the platter,
wisdom is called in to pick the bones.

"Tell me," said the young man to the Talisman of Solomon, "what
shall I do, now that everything is gone?"

"Go," said the Talisman of Solomon, "and work as thy father has
worked before thee. Advise with me and become prosperous and
contended, but do not go dig under the cherry-tree in the garden."

"Why should I not dig under the cherry-tree in the garden?" says
the young man; "I will see what is there, at any rate."

So he straightway took a spade and went out into the garden,
where the Talisman had told him not to go. He dug and dug under the
cherry-tree, and by-and-by his spade struck something hard. It was a
vessel of brass, and it was full of silver money. Upon the lid of the
vessel were these words, engraved in the handwriting of the old man
who had died:

"My son, this vessel full of silver has been brought from the
treasure-house of the ancient kings of Egypt. Take this, then, that
thou findest; advise with the talisman; be wise and prosper."

"And they call that the Talisman of Wisdom," said the young man.
"If I had listened to it I never would have found this treasure."

The next day he began to spend the money he had found, and his
friends soon gathered around him again.

The vessel of silver money lasted a week, and then it was all
gone; not a single piece was left.

Then the young man bethought himself again of the Talisman of
Solomon. "What shall I do now," said he, "to save myself from
ruin?"

"Earn thy bread with honest labor," said the Talisman, "and I
will teach thee how to prosper; but do not dig beneath the fig-tree
that stands by the fountain in the garden."

The young man did not tarry long after he heard what the
Talisman had said. He seized a spade and hurried away to the fig-tree
in the garden as fast as he could run. He dug and dug, and by-and-by
his spade struck something hard. It was a copper vessel, and it was
filled with gold money. Upon the lid of the vessel was engraved these
words in the handwriting of the old man who had gone: "My son, my
son," they said, "thou hast been warned once; be warned again. The
gold money in this vessel has been brought from the treasure-house of
the ancient kings of Egypt. Take it; be advised by the Talisman of
Solomon; be wise and prosper."

"And to think that if I had listened to the Talisman, I would
never have found this," said the young man.

The gold in the vessel lasted maybe for a month of jollity and
merrymaking, but at the end of that time there was nothing left--not
a copper farthing.

"Tell me," said the young man to the Talisman, "what shall I do
now?"

"Thou fool," said the Talisman, "go sweat and toil, but do not
go down into the vault beneath this house. There in the vault is a
red stone built into the wall. The red stone turns upon a pivot.
Behind the stone is a hollow space. As thou wouldst save thy life
from peril, go not near it!"

"Hear that now," says the young man, "first, this Talisman told
me not to go, and I found silver. Then it told me not to go, and I
found gold; now it tells me not to go--perhaps I shall find precious
stones enough for a king's ransom."

He lit a lantern and went down into the vault beneath the house.
There, as the Talisman had said, was the red stone built into the
wall. He pressed the stone, and it turned upon its pivot as the
Talisman had said it would turn. Within was a hollow space, as the
Talisman said there would be. In the hollow space there was a casket
of silver. The young man snatched it up, and his hands trembled for
joy.

Upon the lid of the box were these words in the father's
handwriting, written in letters as red as blood: "Fool, fool! Thou
hast been a fool once, thou hast been a fool twice; be not a fool for
a third time. Restore this casket whence it was taken, and
depart."

"I will see what is in the box, at any rate," said the young
man.

He opened it. There was nothing in it but a hollow glass jar the
size of an egg. The young man took the jar from the box; it was as
hot as fire. He cried out and let it fall. The jar burst upon the
floor with a crack of thunder; the house shook and rocked, and the
dust flew about in clouds. Then all was still; and when Aben Hassen
the Fool could see through the cloud of terror that enveloped him he
beheld a great, tall, hideous being as black as ink, and with eyes
that shone like coals of fire.

When the young man saw that terrible creature his tongue clave
to the roof of his mouth, and his knees smote together with fear, for
he thought that his end had now certainly come.

"Who are you?" he croaked, as soon as he could find his
voice.

"I am the King of the Demons of the Earth, and my name is
Zadok," answered the being. "I was once thy father's slave, and now I
am thine, thou being his son. When thou speakest I must obey, and
whatever thou commandest me to do that I must do."

"For instance, what can you do for me?" said the young man.

"I can do whatsoever you ask me; I can make you rich."

"You can make me rich?"

"Yes, I can make you richer than a king."

"Then make me rich as soon as you can," said Aben Hassen the
Fool, "and that is all that I shall ask of you now."

"It shall be done," said the Demon; "spend all that thou canst
spend, and thou shalt always have more. Has my lord any further
commands for his slave?"

"No," said the young man, "there is nothing more; you may go
now."

And thereupon the Demon vanished like a flash.

"And to think," said the young man, as he came up out of the
vault--"and to think that all this I should never have found if I had
obeyed the Talisman."

Such riches were never seen in that land as the young man now
possessed. There was no end to the treasure that poured in upon him.
He lived like an emperor. He built a palace more splendid than the
palace of the king. He laid out vast gardens of the most exquisite
beauty, in which there were fountains as white as snow, trees of rare
fruit and flowers that filled all the air with their perfume,
summer-houses of alabaster and ebony.

Every one who visited him was received like a prince,
entertained like a king, given a present fit for an emperor, and sent
away happy. The fame of all these things went out through all the
land, and every one talked of him and the magnificence that
surrounded him.

It came at last to the ears of the king himself, and one day he
said to his minister, "Let us go and see with our own eyes if all the
things reported of this merchant's son are true."

So the king and his minister disguised themselves as foreign
merchants, and went that evening to the palace where the young man
lived. A servant dressed in clothes of gold and silver cloth stood at
the door, and called to them to come in and be made welcome. He led
them in, and to a chamber lit with perfumed lamps of gold. Then six
black slaves took them in charge and led them to a bath of white
marble. They were bathed in perfumed water and dried with towels of
fine linen. When they came forth they were clad in clothes of cloth
of silver, stiff with gold and jewels. Then twelve handsome white
slaves led them through a vast and splendid hall to a
banqueting-room.

When they entered they were deafened with the noise of carousing
and merrymaking.

Aben Hassen the Fool sat at the head of the table upon a throne
of gold, with a canopy of gold above his head. When he saw the king
and the minister enter, he beckoned to them to come and sit beside
him. He showed them special favor because they were strangers, and
special servants waited upon them.

The king and his minister had never seen anything like what they
then saw. They could hardly believe it was not all magic and
enchantment. At the end of the feast each of the guests was given a
present of great value, and was sent away rejoicing. The king
received a pearl as big as a marble; the minister a cup of wrought
gold.

The next morning the king and the prime-minister were talking
over what they had seen. "Sire," said the prime-minister, "I have no
doubt but that the young man has discovered some vast hidden
treasure. Now, according to the laws of this kingdom, the half of any
treasure that is discovered shall belong to the king's treasury. If I
were in your place I would send for this young man and compel him to
tell me whence comes all this vast wealth."

"That is true," said the king; "I had not thought of that
before. The young man shall tell me all about it."

So they sent a royal guard and brought the young man to the
king's palace. When the young man saw in the king and the
prime-minister his guests of the night before, whom he had thought to
be only foreign merchants, he fell on his face and kissed the ground
before the throne. But the king spoke to him kindly, and raised him
up and sat him on the seat beside him. They talked for a while
concerning different things, and then the king said at last, "Tell
me, my friend, whence comes all the inestimable wealth that you must
possess to allow you to live as you do?"

"Sire," said the young man, "I cannot tell you whence it comes.
I can only tell you that it is given to me."

The king frowned. "You cannot tell," said he; "you must tell. It
is for that that I have sent for you, and you must tell me."

Then the young man began to be frightened. "I beseech you," said
he," do not ask me whence it comes. I cannot tell you."

Then the king's brows grew as black as thunder. "What!" cried
he, "do you dare to bandy words with me? I know that you have
discovered some treasure. Tell me upon the instant where it is; for
the half of it, by the laws of the land, belongs to me, and I will
have it."

At the king's words Aben Hassen the Fool fell on his knees.
"Sire," said he, "I will tell you all the truth. There is a demon
named Zadok--a monster as black as a coal. He is my slave, and it is
he that brings me all the treasure that I enjoy." The king thought
nothing else than that Aben Hassen the Fool was trying to deceive
him. He laughed; he was very angry. "What," cried he, "do you amuse
me by such an absurd and unbelievable tale? Now I am more than ever
sure that you have discovered a treasure and that you wish to keep
the knowledge of it from me, knowing, as you do, that the one-half of
it by law belongs to me. Take him away!" cried he to his attendants.
"Give him fifty lashes, and throw him into prison. He shall stay
there and have fifty lashes every day until he tells me where his
wealth is hidden."

It was done as the king said, and by-and-by Aben Hassen the Fool
lay in the prison, smarting and sore with the whipping he had had.

Then he began again to think of the Talisman of Solomon.

"Tell me," said he to the Talisman, "What shall I do now to help
myself in this trouble?"

"Bear thy punishment, thou fool," said the Talisman. "Know that
the king will by-and-by pardon thee and will let thee go. In the
meantime bear thy punishment; perhaps it will cure thee of thy folly.
Only do not call upon Zadok, the King of the Demons, in this thy
trouble."

The young man smote his hand upon his head. "What a fool I am,"
said he, "not to have thought to call upon Zadok before this!" Then
he called aloud, "Zadok, Zadok! If thou art indeed my slave, come
hither at my bidding."

In an instant there sounded a rumble as of thunder. The floor
swayed and rocked beneath the young man's feet. The dust flew in
clouds, and there stood Zadok as black as ink, and with eyes that
shone like coals of fire.

"I have come," said Zadok, "and first let me cure thy smarts, O
master."

He removed the cloths from the young man's back, and rubbed the
places that smarted with a cooling unguent. Instantly the pain and
smarting ceased, and the merchant's son had perfect ease.

"Now," said Zadok, "what is thy bidding?"

"Tell me," said Aben Hassen the Fool, "whence comes all the
wealth that you have brought me? The king has commanded me to tell
him and I could not, and so he has had me beaten with fifty
lashes."

"I bring the treasure," said Zadok, "from the treasure-house of
the ancient kings of Egypt. That treasure I at one time discovered to
your father, and he, not desiring it himself, hid it in the earth so
that no one might find it."

"And where is this treasure-house, O Zadok?" said the young
man.

"It is in the city of the queen of the Black Isles," said the
King of the Demons; "there thy father lived in a palace of such
magnificence as thou hast never dreamed of. It was I that brought him
thence to this place with one vessel of gold money and one vessel of
silver money."

"It was you who brought him here, did you say, Zadok? Then, tell
me, can you take me from here to the city of the queen of the Black
Isles, whence you brought him?"

"Yes," said Zadok, "with ease."

"Then," said the young man, "I command you to take me thither
instantly, and to show me the treasure."

"I obey," said Zadok.

He stamped his foot upon the ground. In an instant the walls of
the prison split asunder, and the sky was above them. The Demon
leaped from the earth, carrying the young man by the girdle, and flew
through the air so swiftly that the stars appeared to slide away
behind them. In a moment he set the young man again upon the ground,
and Aben Hassen the Fool found himself at the end of what appeared to
be a vast and splendid garden.

"We are now," said Zadok, "above the treasure-house of which I
spoke. It was here that I saw thy father seal it so that no one but
the master of Zadok may enter. Thou mayst go in any time it may
please thee, for it is thine."

"I would enter into it now," said Aben Hassen the Fool.

"Thou shalt enter," said Zadok. He stooped, and with his
finger-point he drew a circle upon the ground where they stood; then
he stamped with his heel upon the circle. Instantly the earth opened,
and there appeared a flight of marble steps leading downward into the
earth. Zadok led the way down the steps and the young man followed.
At the bottom of the steps there was a door of adamant. Upon the door
were these words in letters as black as ink, in the handwriting of
the old man who had gone:

"Oh, fool! Fool! Beware what thou doest. Within here shalt thou
find death!"

There was a key of brass in the door. The King of the Demons
turned the key and opened the door. The young man entered after
him.

Aben Hassen the Fool found himself in a vast vaulted room, lit
by the light of a single carbuncle set in the centre of the dome
above. In the middle of the marble floor was a great basin twenty
paces broad, and filled to the brim with money such as he had found
in the brazen vessel in the garden.

The young man could not believe what he saw with his own eyes.
"Oh, marvel of marvels!" he cried; "little wonder you could give me
boundless wealth from such a storehouse as this."

Zadok laughed. "This," said he, "is nothing; come with me."

He led him from this room to another--like it vaulted, and like
it lit by a carbuncle set in the dome of the roof above. In the
middle of the floor was a basin such as Aben Hassen the Fool had seen
in the other room beyond; only this was filled with gold as that had
been filled with silver, and the gold was like that he had found in
the garden. When the young man saw this vast and amazing wealth he
stood speechless and breathless with wonder. The Demon Zadok laughed.
"This," said he," is great, but it is little. Come and I will show
thee a marvel indeed."

He took the young man by the hand and led him into a third
room--vaulted as the other two had been, lit as they had been by a
carbuncle in the roof above. But when the young man's eyes saw what
was in this third room, he was like a man turned drunk with wonder.
He had to lean against the wall behind him, for the sight made him
dizzy.

In the middle of the room was such as basin as he had seen in
the two other rooms, only it was filled with jewels--diamonds and
rubies and emeralds and sapphires and precious stones of all
kinds--that sparkled and blazed and flamed like a million stars.
Around the wall, and facing the basin from all sides, stood six
golden statues. Three of them were statues of the kings and three of
them were statues of the queens who had gathered together all this
vast and measureless wealth of ancient Egypt.

There was space for a seventh statue, but where it should have
stood was a great arched door of adamant. The door was tightly shut,
and there was neither lock nor key to it. Upon the door were written
these words in letters of flame:

"Behold! Beyond this door is that alone which shall satisfy all
thy desires."

"Tell me, Zadok," said the young man, after he had filled his
soul with all the other wonders that surrounded him--"tell me what is
there that lies beyond that door?"

"That I am forbidden to tell thee, O master!" said the King of
the Demons of the Earth.

"Then open the door for me," said the young man; "for I cannot
open it for myself, as there is neither lock nor key to it."

"That also I am forbidden to do," said Zadok.

"I wish that I knew what was there," said the young man.

The Demon laughed. "Some time," said he, "thou mayest find for
thyself. Come, let us leave here and go to the palace which thy
father built years ago, and which he left behind him when he quitted
this place for the place in which thou knewest him."

He led the way and the young man followed; they passed through
the vaulted rooms and out through the door of adamant, and Zadok
locked it behind them and gave the key to the young man.

"All this is thine now," he said; "I give it to thee as I gave
it to thy father. I have shown thee how to enter, and thou mayst go
in whenever it pleases thee to do so."

They ascended the steps, and so reached the garden above. Then
Zadok struck his heel upon the ground, and the earth closed as it had
opened. He led the young man from the spot until they had come to a
wide avenue that led to the palace beyond. "Here I leave thee," said
the Demon, "But if ever thou hast need of me, call and I will
come."

Thereupon he vanished like a flash, leaving the young man
standing like one in a dream.

He saw before him a garden of such splendor and magnificence as
he had never dreamed of even in his wildest fancy. There were seven
fountains as clear as crystal that shot high into the air and fell
back into basins of alabaster. There was a broad avenue as white as
snow, and thousands of lights lit up everything as light as day. Upon
either side of the avenue stood a row of black slaves, clad in
garments of white silk, and with jewelled turbans upon their heads.
Each held a flaming torch of sandal-wood. Behind the slaves stood a
double row of armed men, and behind them a great crowd of other
slaves and attendants, dressed each as magnificently as a prince,
blazing and flaming with innumerable jewels and ornaments of gold.

But of all these things the young man thought nothing and saw
nothing; for at the end of the marble avenue there arose a palace,
the like of which was not in the four quarters of the earth--a palace
of marble and gold and carmine and ultramarine--rising into the
purple starry sky, and shining in the moonlight like a vision of
Paradise. The palace was illuminated from top to bottom and from end
to end; the windows shone like crystal, and from it came sounds of
music and rejoicing.

When the crowd that stood waiting saw the young man appear, they
shouted: "Welcome! Welcome! To the master who has come again! To Aben
Hassen the Fool!"

The young man walked up the avenue of marble to the palace,
surrounded by the armed attendants in their dresses of jewels and
gold, and preceded by dancing-girls as beautiful as houris, who
danced and sung before him. He was dizzy with joy. "All--all this,"
he exulted, "belongs to me. And to think that if I had listened to
the Talisman of Solomon I would have had none of it."

That was the way he came back to the treasure of the ancient
kings of Egypt, and to the palace of enchantment that his father had
quitted.

For seven months he lived a life of joy and delight, surrounded
by crowds of courtiers as though they were a king, and going from
pleasure to pleasure without end. Nor had he any fear of an end
coming to it, for he knew that his treasure was inexhaustible. He
made friends with the princes and nobles of the land. From far and
wide people came to visit him, and the renown of his magnificence
filled all the world. When men would praise any one they would say,
"He is as rich," or as "magnificent," or as "generous, as Aben Hassen
the Fool."

So for seven months he lived a life of joy and delight; then one
morning he awakened and found everything changed to grief and
mourning. Where the day before had been laughter, to-day was crying.
Where the day before had been mirth, to-day was lamentation. All the
city was shrouded in gloom, and everywhere was weeping and crying.

Seven black slaves stood on guard near Aben Hassen the Fool as
he lay upon his couch. "What means all this sorrow?" said he to one
of the slaves.

Instantly all the slaves began howling and beating their heads,
and he to whom the young man had spoken fell down with his face in
the dust, and lay there twisting and writhing like a worm.

"He has asked the question!" howled the slaves--"he has asked
the question!"

"Are you mad?" cried the young man. "What is the matter with
you?"

At the doorway of the room stood a beautiful female slave,
bearing in her hands a jewelled basin of gold, filled with
rose-water, and a fine linen napkin for the young man to wash and dry
his hands upon. "Tell me," said the young man, "what means all this
sorrow and lamentation?"

Instantly the beautiful slave dropped the golden basin upon the
stone floor, and began shrieking and tearing her clothes. "He has
asked the question!" she screamed--"he has asked the question!"

The young man began to grow frightened; he arose from his couch,
and with uneven steps went out into the anteroom. There he found his
chamberlain waiting for him with a crowd of attendants and courtiers.
"Tell me," said Aben Hassen the Fool, "why are you all so
sorrowful?"

Instantly they who stood waiting began crying and tearing their
clothes and beating their hands. As for the chamberlain--he was a
reverend old man--his eyes sparkled with anger, and his fingers
twitched as though he would have struck if he had dared. "What," he
cried, "art thou not contented with all thou hast and with all that
we do for thee without asking the forbidden question?"

Thereupon he tore his cap from his head and flung it upon the
ground, and began beating himself violently upon the head with great
outcrying.

Aben Hassen the Fool, not knowing what to think or what was to
happen, ran back into the bedroom again. "I think everybody in this
place has gone mad," said he. "Nevertheless, if I do not find out
what it all means, I shall go mad myself."

Then he bethought himself, for the first time since he came to
that land, of the Talisman of Solomon.

"Tell me, O Talisman," said he, "why all these people weep and
wail so continuously?"

"Rest content," said the Talisman of Solomon, "with knowing that
which concerns thine own self, and seek not to find an answer that
will be to thine own undoing. Be thou also further advised: do not
question the Demon Zadok."

"Fool that I am," said the young man, stamping his foot; "here
am I wasting all this time when, if I had but thought of Zadok at
first, he would have told me all. Then he called aloud, Zadok! Zadok!
Zadok!"

Instantly the ground shook beneath his feet, the dust rose in
clouds, and there stood Zadok as black as ink, and with eyes that
shone like fire.

"Tell me," said the young man; "I command thee to tell me, O
Zadok! Why are the people all gone mad this morning, and why do they
weep and wail, and why do they go crazy when I do but ask them why
they are so afflicted?"

"I will tell thee," said Zadok. "Seven-and-thirty years ago
there was a queen over this land--the most beautiful that ever was
seen. Thy father, who was the wisest and most cunning magician in the
world, turned her into stone, and with her all the attendants in her
palace. No one since that time has been permitted to enter the
palace--it is forbidden for any one even to ask a question concerning
it; but every year, on the day on which the queen was turned to
stone, the whole land mourns with weeping and wailing. And now thou
knowest all!"

"What you tell me," said the young man, "passes wonder. But tell
me further, O Zadok, is it possible for me to see this queen whom my
father turned to stone?"

"Nothing is easier," said Zadok.

"Then," said the young man, "I command you to take me to where
she is, so that I may see her with mine own eyes."

"I hear and obey," said the Demon.

He seized the young man by the girdle, and in an instant flew
away with him to a hanging-garden that lay before the queen's
palace.

"Thou art the first man," said Zadok, "who has seen what thou
art about to see for seven-and-thirty years. Come, I will show thee a
queen, the most beautiful that the eyes of man ever looked upon."

He led the way, and the young man followed, filled with wonder
and astonishment. Not a sound was to be heard, not a thing moved, but
silence hung like a veil between the earth and the sky.

Following the Demon, the young man ascended a flight of steps,
and so entered the vestibule of the palace. There stood guards in
armor of brass and silver and gold. But they were without life--they
were all of stone as white as alabaster. Thence they passed through
room after room and apartment after apartment crowded with courtiers
and nobles and lords in their robes of office, magnificent beyond
fancying, but each silent and motionless--each a stone as white as
alabaster. At last they entered an apartment in the very centre of
the palace. There sat seven-and-forty female attendants around a
couch of purple and gold. Each of the seven-and-forty was beautiful
beyond what the young man could have believed possible, and each was
clad in a garment of silk as white as snow, embroidered with threads
of silver and studded with glistening diamonds. But each sat silent
and motionless--each was a stone as white as alabaster.

Upon the couch in the centre of the apartment reclined a queen
with a crown of gold upon her head. She lay there motionless, still.
She was cold and dead--of stone as white as marble. The young man
approached and looked into her face, and when he looked his breath
became faint and his heart grew soft within him like wax in a flame
of fire.

He sighed; he melted; the tears burst from his eyes and ran down
his cheeks. "Zadok!" he cried--"Zadok! Zadok! What have you done to
show me this wonder of beauty and love! Alas! That I have seen her;
for the world is nothing to me now. O Zadok! That she were flesh and
blood, instead of cold stone! Tell me, Zadok, I command you to tell
me, was she once really alive as I am alive, and did my father truly
turn her to stone as she lies here?"

"She was really alive as thou art alive, and he did truly
transform her to this stone," said Zadok.

"And tell me," said the young man, "can she never become alive
again?"

"She can become alive, and it lies with you to make her alive,"
said the Demon. "Listen, O master. Thy father possessed a wand, half
of silver and half of gold. Whatsoever he touched with silver became
converted to stone, such as thou seest all around thee here; but
whatsoever, O master, he touched with the gold, it became alive, even
if it were a dead stone."

"Tell me, Zadok," cried the young man; "I command you to tell
me, where is that wand of silver and gold?"

"I have it with me," said Zadok.

"Then give it to me; I command you to give it to me."

"I hear and obey," said Zadok. He drew from his girdle a wand,
half of gold and half of silver, as he spoke, and gave it to the
young man.

"Thou mayst go now, Zadok," said the young man, trembling with
eagerness.

Zadok laughed and vanished. The young man stood for a while
looking down at the beautiful figure of alabaster. Then he touched
the lips with the golden tip of the wand. In an instant there came a
marvellous change. He saw the stone melt, and begin to grow flexible
and soft. He saw it become warm, and the cheeks and lips grow red
with life. Meantime a murmur had begun to rise all through the
palace. It grew louder and louder--it became a shout. The figure of
the queen that had been stone opened its eyes.

"Who are you?" it said.

Aben Hassen the Fool fell upon his knees. "I am he who was sent
to bring you to life." he said. "My father turned you to cold stone,
and I--I have brought you back to warm life again."

The queen smiled--her teeth sparkled like pearls. "If you have
brought me to life, then I am yours," she said, and she kissed him
upon the lips.

He grew suddenly dizzy; the world swam before his eyes.

For seven days nothing was heard in the town but rejoicing and
joy. The young man lived in a golden cloud of delight. "And to
think," said he, "if I had listened to that accursed Talisman of
Solomon, called The Wise,' all this happiness, this ecstasy that is
now mine, would have been lost to me."

"Tell me, beloved," said the queen, upon the morning of the
seventh day--"thy father once possessed all the hidden treasure of
the ancient kings of Egypt--tell me, is it now thine as it was once
his?"

"Yes," said the young man, "it is now all mine as it was once
all his."

"And do you really love me as you say?"

"Yes," said the young man, "and ten thousand times more than I
say."

"Then, as you love me, I beg one boon on you. It is that you
show me this treasure of which I have heard so much, and which we are
to enjoy together."

The young man was drunk with happiness. "Thou shalt see it all,"
said he.

Then, for the first time, the Talisman spoke without being
questioned. "Fool!" it cried; "wilt thou not be advised?"

"Be silent," said the young man. "Six times, vile thing, you
would have betrayed me. Six times you would have deprived me of joys
that should have been mine, and each was greater than that which went
before. Shall I now listen the seventh time? Now," said he to the
queen, "I will show you our treasure." He called aloud, "Zadok,
Zadok, Zadok!"

Instantly the ground shook beneath their feet, the dust rose in
clouds, and Zadok appeared, as black as ink, and with eyes that shone
like coals of fire.

"I command you," said the young man, "to carry the queen and
myself to the garden where my treasure lies hidden."

Zadok laughed aloud. "I hear thee and obey thee, master," said
he.

He seized the queen and the young man by the girdle, and in an
instant transported them to the garden and to the treasure-house.

"Thou art where thou commandest to be," said the Demon.

The young man immediately drew a circle upon the ground with his
finger-tip. He struck his heel upon the circle. The ground opened,
disclosing the steps leading downward. The young man descended the
steps with the queen behind him, and behind them both came the Demon
Zadok.

The young man opened the door of adamant and entered the first
of the vaulted rooms.

When the queen saw the huge basin full of silver treasure, her
cheeks and her forehead flushed as red as fire.

They went into the next room, and when the queen saw the basin
of gold her face turned as white as ashes.

They went into the third room, and when the queen saw the basin
of jewels and the six golden statues her face turned as blue as lead,
and her eyes shone green like a snake's.

"Are you content?" asked the young man.

The queen looked about her. "No!" cried she, hoarsely, pointing
to the closed door that had never been opened, and whereon were
engraved these words:

"Behold! Beyond this door is that alone which shall satisfy all
thy desires."

"No!" cried she. "What is it that lies behind yon door?"

"I do not know," said the young man.

"Then open the door, and let me see what lies within."

"I cannot open the door," said he. "How can I open the door,
seeing that there is no lock nor key to it?"

"If thou dost not open the door," said the queen, " all is over
between thee and me. So do as I bid thee, or leave me forever."

They had both forgotten that the Demon Zadok was there. Then the
young man bethought himself of the Talisman of Solomon. "Tell me, O
Talisman," said he, "how shall I open yonder door?"

"Oh, wretched one!" cried the Talisman, "oh, wretched one! Fly
while there is yet time--fly, for thy doom is near! Do not push the
door open, for it is not locked!"

The young man struck his head with his clinched fist. "What a
fool am I!" he cried. "Will I never learn wisdom" Here have I been
coming to this place seven months, and have never yet thought to try
whether yonder door was locked or not!"

"Open the door!" cried the queen.

They went forward together. The young man pushed the door with
his hand. It opened swiftly and silently, and they entered.

Within was a narrow room as red as blood. A flaming lamp hung
from the ceiling above. The young man stood as though turned to
stone, for there stood a gigantic Black Demon with a napkin wrapped
around his loins and a scimitar in his right hand, the blade of which
gleamed like lightning in the flame of the lamp. Before him lay a
basket filled with sawdust.

When the queen saw what she saw she screamed in a loud voice,
"Thou hast found it! Thou hast found it! Thou hast found what alone
can satisfy all thy desires! Strike, O slave!"

The young man heard the Demon Zadok give a yell of laughter. He
saw a whirl and a flash, and then he knew nothing.

The Black had struck--the blade had fallen, and the head of Aben
Hassen the Fool rolled into the basket of sawdust that stood waiting
for it.

"Aye, aye," said St. George, "and so it should end. For what was
your Aben Hassen the Fool but a heathen Paniem? Thus should the heads
of all the like be chopped off from their shoulders. Is there not
some one here to tell us a fair story about a saint?"

"For the matter of that," said the Lad who fiddled when the Jew
was in the bramble-bush--"for the matter of that I know a very good
story that begins about a saint and a hazel-nut.

"Say you so?" said St. George. "Well, let us have it. But stay,
friend, thou hast no ale in thy pot. Wilt thou not let me pay for
having it filled?"

"That," said the Lad who fiddled when the Jew was in the
bramble-bush, "may be as you please, Sir Knight; and, to tell the
truth, I will be mightily glad for a drop to moisten my throat
withal."

"But," said Fortunatus, "you have not told us what the story is
to be about."

"It is," said the Lad who fiddled for the Jew in the
bramble-bush, "about--