On sight of these ships, he
treated him more cruelly than before. He was very much puzzled
what to do when he found he was encompassed. To keep Assad was to
declare himself guilty; to kill him was as dangerous, for he
feared some token of it might be seen; he therefore commanded him
to be unfettered, and brought from the bottom of the hold where
he lay. When he came before him, It is thou, said he, who art the
cause of my being pursued; and upon that he flung him in the sea.
Prince Assad, knowing how to swim, got safe to shore. The first
thing he did, after landing, was to thank Heaven, who had
delivered him from so great a danger, and once more rescued him
out of the hands of the adorers of fire. He then stripped
himself, and wringing the water out of his clothes, he spread
them on a rock, where, by the heat of the sun and the rock
together, they soon dried; after which, he lay down to rest,
deploring his miserable condition, not knowing in what country he
was, nor where to turn himself. He refreshed himself as well as
he could with wild fruits and fair water, and then went on his
way, keeping as near the sea-side as he could. At last he came to
a sort of path, which he followed, and travelled ten days through
a country not inhabited, still living on herbs, plants, and
fruits. On the eleventh he approached near a city, which be knew
to be that of the magicians, where he had been so ill used, and
where his brother Amgrad was grand vizier.
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