' Then he entered and found Asaad lying
asleep, with his head on his sleeve; so he raised his head and
looking in his face, knew him for him on whose account he had
lost his goods and his ship, and said, 'Art thou yet alive?'
Then he bound him and gagged him, without further parley, and
carried him to his house, where he clapped heavy shackles on his
feet and lowered him into the underground dungeon aforesaid,
affected to the tormenting of Muslims, bidding a daughter of his,
by name Bustan, torture him night and day, till the next year,
when they would again visit the Mountain of Fire and offer him up
as a sacrifice there. Then he beat him grievously and locking
the dungeon door upon him, gave the keys to his daughter. By and
by, she opened the door and went down to beat him, but finding
him a comely sweet-faced youth, with arched brows and melting
black eyes, fell in love with him and said to him, 'What is thy
name?' 'My name is Assad,'[FN#72] answered he. 'Mayst thou
indeed be happy,' exclaimed she, 'and happy be thy days! Thou
deservest not torture and blows, and I see thou hast been
unjustly entreated.' And she comforted him with kind words and
loosed his bonds. Then she questioned him of the faith of Islam,
and he told her that it was the true and orthodox faith and that
our lord Mohammed had approved himself by surpassing miracles and
manifest signs and that the [worship of] fire was not profitable,
but harmful; and he went on to expound to her the tenets of
Islam, till she was persuaded and the love of the True Faith
entered her heart.
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