Page 70 - Arabiab Studies (IV)

60 Arabian Studies IV

The story runs:7
Once a man and his mother were in the desert plain with the camels and
they saw no one.8 The lad used to feed himself on milk and meat. He was
strong and quick and used to throw his stick up in the air in front of him
and then run and catch it.9
Then one day he said to his mother, ‘Is there anyone to compare with
me?’ She said, ‘No, but they say ...’ ‘But what? Tell me the truth.’ She
said, ‘They say Bayt Abu Zayd al-Hilali is better than you.’ He said, ‘I
swear I’ll slaughter a camel if ever I see them.’
One night they saw men coming towards them and when they arrived
the boy asked them who they were.10 They said, ‘They call us Bayt Abu
Zayd al-Hil&U.*11 He said, ‘Welcome! I was hoping you would come.’ Then
they said, ‘Why? Has anything happened to you?’ ‘Not at all!’, he replied,
‘But I want to go with you.*
They stayed the night and he slaughtered a camel. They divided it into
five lots, two for the boy and his mother and three for them, one lot each.
By the time the Hil&lis had finished, the boy and his mother had still only
eaten a little.
They said, ‘If you want to come with us on our travels, you’ll have to
finish your share.’ He said, ‘I can’t. This much would do my mother and
me for a month or more.’ The Hilalls then told him, ‘Well you're no good
to us then. It’s our custom to kill off anybody that doesn’t finish up his
share.’ ‘Just the same’, he replied, ‘I want to come with you and see
whether you really are braver than I am, or whether I’m better than you.’
In the morning they saddled up their horses and he followed suit. His
mother told him it would be better if he did not go with them and that
they were people already famous for their exploits. He only said, ‘I am
better than they are.*
They set out, and at nightfall arrived at a big valley where they found
the daughter of a ruler tied to a tree, with bread and other food beside her.
They asked her what the matter was and why she was there.
She said, ‘I’ve been tied up here for the serpent in this valley who’s a
jinnl. They give him a maiden and (other) food for his supper every night.
If they didn’t he would lay the country waste. Now he’s gone through all
the girls in the country except me and I’m the ruler’s daughter. You’d
better look out for yourselves before the jinnl comes and eats you.’
Anyway they untied the girl and ate the food. She warned them the
jinnl would lay the country waste but they just said, ‘Don’t be afraid.
We’re with you now.*
Later in the night they heard the sound of the serpent and the boy who
had come with them began to shake. They covered him with blankets but
he was crying with fear and whimpering, ‘Oh, I wish I was with my
mother!*
Abu Zayd11 gave each one his duties. Each of the three was to take a
watch for a third of the night. One said he wanted the first watch, one
wanted the middle watch, so Abu Zayd took the last one.
Eventually the serpent came along, shouting for his dates and his

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