enter. Finding which, they said to him, "It appears to us that thou desirest to escape."
He replied, "Not so; but nevertheless I will never enter a polytheistic habitation."
"But of a truth we will not leave thee," said they; "for verily the lions will kill thee."
Said Saʾîd, "If my Lord bewith me, He will turn them away from me; and should such be the will of the Most High, He can convert them into a guard for me against all evil."
They asked, "Art thou a prophet?"
"I am not among the prophets," he answered, "but am, on the contrary, a slave among the erring and sinful servants of God."
So they said, "Swear to us that thou wilt not flee." And he swore it. Then the monk cried out to them, "Come up into the monastery, and string your bows in readiness to scare away the lions from this pious slave. For verily the thought of your taking up your abode with me in the chapel was abhorrent to him."
So they entered the monastery, and strung their bows. And lo! they beheld a lioness approaching. But when she came near Saʾîd, she rubbed herself
