The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

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12 illustration(s) from this book
Ornamental Title.--At the foot is the Title in Arabic
Ornamental Title.--At the foot is the Title in Arabic
printer's mark
printer's mark
illustration
Illustration 3
Head-piece to Preface.--The Vase is formed of the Arabic words signifying 'In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful' (always placed at the head of a Muslim work), written doubly, and contrarily
Head-piece to Preface.--The Vase is formed of the Arabic words signifying 'In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful' (always placed at the head of a Muslim work), written doubly, and contrarily
Tail-piece to Preface
Tail-piece to Preface
Head-piece to Table of Contents
Head-piece to Table of Contents
Tail-piece to Table of Contents
Tail-piece to Table of Contents
Head-piece to List of Illustrations
Head-piece to List of Illustrations
Shahriyár going out to hunt, and Ornamental Border
Shahriyár going out to hunt, and Ornamental Border
The Wezeer presenting the letter to Sháh-Zemán
The Wezeer presenting the letter to Sháh-Zemán
Sháh-Zemán, after having killed his Wife
Sháh-Zemán, after having killed his Wife
Meeting of Shahriyár and Sháh-Zemán
Meeting of Shahriyár and Sháh-Zemán
The Seạláh, or Saạláh, is another demoniacal creature, described by some [or rather, by most authors] as of the Jinn. It is said that it is mostly found in forests, and that when it captures a man, it makes him dance, and plays with him as the cat plays with the mouse. A man of Iṣfahán asserted that many beings of this kind abounded in his country; that sometimes the wolf would hunt one of them by night, and devour it, and that, when it had seized it, the Seạláh would cry out, "Come to my help, for the wolf devoureth me!" or it would cry, "Who will liberate me? I have a hundred deenárs, and he shall receive them!" but the people knowing that it was the cry of the Seạláh, no one would liberate it; and so the wolf would eat it.[94]--An island in the sea of Eṣ-Ṣeen (or China) is called "the Island of the Seạláh," by Arab geographers, from its being said to be inhabited by the demons so named: they are described as creatures of hideous forms, supposed to be Sheyṭáns, the offspring of human beings and Jinn, who eat men.[95] The Ghaddár, or Gharrár (for its name is written differently in two different MSS. in my possession), is another creature of a similar nature, described as being found in the borders of El-Yemen, and sometimes in Tihámeh, and in the upper parts of Egypt. It is said that it entices a man to it, and either tortures him in a manner not to be described, or merely terrifies him, and leaves him.[96]
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