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whereupon Gherib went away, rejoicing in the [anticipated] fulfilment of his hopes, and went in to his mother, to whom he related what had passed. ‘O my son,’ said she, ‘know that Merdas hates thee and doth but send thee to this mountain, to bereave me of thee; so take me with thee and let us depart the tents of this tyrant.’ But he answered, saying, ‘O my mother, I will not depart hence till I have compassed my desire and overcome my enemy.’
Then he slept, till the morning arose with its light and shone, and hardly had he mounted his charger when his friends, the young men, came up to him, two hundred stout cavaliers, and cried out to him, saying, ‘Take us with thee; we will help thee and keep thee company by the way.’ And he rejoiced in them and said, ‘God requite you for us with good! Come, my friends, let us go.’ So they set out and fared on for two days, till the evening of the second day, when they halted at the foot of a high scarped bill and unbridled their horses. As for Gherib, he left the rest and fared on into the mountain, till he came to a cave, whence issued a light. So he entered and found, at the upper end of the cave, an old man, three hundred and forty years old, whose eyebrows hung down over his eyes and whose moustaches hid his mouth. His aspect filled Gherib with awe and veneration, and the hermit said to him, ‘O my son, methinks thou art of the idolaters that worship stones in the stead of the All-powerful King, the Creator of Night and Day and the revolving sphere.’ When Gherib heard his words, his nerves quivered and he said, ‘O elder, where is this lord of whom thou speakest, that I may worship him and take my fill of his sight?’ ‘O my son,’ replied the old man, ‘this is the Supreme Lord, none in the world may look upon Him; He seeth and is not seen. He is the Most High of aspect and is present everywhere in His works. He it is who maketh all things to be and ordereth the march of time; He is the Creator
