Page:Folk-lore of the Holy Land.djvu/215
selves, but they can, and sometimes do, intermarry with the other sons and daughters of Adam, often against the will of the latter, when these have neglected to ask the protection of Allah. In proof of this I will relate an incident that occurred some years ago.
There was a man of the village of El Isawìyeh, in the valley north of the Mount of Olives, who, going down to reap his harvest in the neighbourhood of Ushwah, near Artif, was not heard of for nine years. It was said he had been devoured by a hyena. But in the end he reappeared and told his story. He was sleeping one night on the threshing-floor to protect his store of dhurra when he was awakened about midnight by a sound of voices drawing near. Supposing it to be the taxgatherer and his assistant “khaydleh,”[1] he lay quite still for fear of being beaten. But it was a party of the Jan, and, as, at lying down, he had neglected through weariness to invoke the protection of Allah, so now, sudden fear kept him from using that simple precaution, and left him at the mercy of the demons. He did not realise who they were till it was too late and he had become their victim. All he knew at first was that a woman came and smote his forehead, and the blow bereft him of all strength of will. She bade him follow her, and he obeyed blindly.
When they had gone some distance from the threshing-floor she told him she was his wife, and that, unless he submitted to her desire, her brothers,
- ↑ Irregular cavalry.