When Aqib came to the throne, he went all over his kingdom and then decided to visit the islands around so that he might meet all his subjects. Having been over all his own islands he set off to explore further lands in a fleet of ships. Things went peacefully for forty days and then a terrible storm threw them off course. The captain had no idea where they were. But suddenly, he saw a black island looming ahead and gave a shout, “We are lost!” He explained that ahead lay the Black Mountain. It was like a magnet and drew out all the iron and nails on a ship till it broke and sank! “There is a brass horse at the peak with a rider who wears a leaden breast-plate,” he went on, “It has strange writing on it and as long as it stays there, no ship is safe!”
The Brass Horseman
Aqib watched in horror as the ship was drawn to the mountain and saw the iron and the nails flying out towards it. The ship crashed against the rocks and broke into bits. Aqib held on to a broken plank and reached the shore safely. Everyone else was drowned. He reached the mountain top and was so tired that he fell asleep. An old man appeared in his dream and said, “When you wake up, dig here. You will find a brass bow and arrows with which you must shoot the horseman. The horse will fall down dead. Bury him and you will find that the mountain vanishes into the sea. A boat will appear with a brass boatman. Go home in that, but do not speak on the way!” Everything happened exactly like his dream. But as he was reaching home, Aqib cried out, “Thank heavens!” The boat vanished and he fell into the sea!
Aqib reached a shore and dried himself out, when he saw some sailors bringing a young boy ashore. He was taken to an underground cave and left there while they returned. Aqib opened the door and made friends with the boy who said he had been hidden here because it was said that a man named Aqib would kill him! So, without telling him his name, Aqib looked after him. Unfortunately, when he fetched a melon and wished to cut it with a knife, he slipped and fell on the boy, killing him. When the sailors returned, they found the boy dead and his father fell down unconscious! Aqib hid himself, for he knew they would not believe him. He saw them bury the boy and take the father away. He could only wait for the next ship! When it came, Aqib thought he would reach home safely.
Aqib was carried away by a huge roc to an island and dropped there. He saw a castle and, entering it, he found forty young ladies there in a large chamber with a hundred doors, all made of fine wood, except one golden door. The young ladies gave him food and clothes and he rested. They told him he could go into any room except the one with the golden door. He stayed for forty days during which he went into all the rooms. After the ladies had left, he became curious about the golden door and opened it. He saw a magnificent black horse standing in a beautiful garden. Unable to stop himself, he mounted the horse, but it leapt high into the air and flicked its tail, blinding his right eye! Then he ran out to the sea shore to wait for a ship. As soon as one arrived, he got aboard and went home.
