The Thief of Bagdad by Abdullah Achmed

Author:Abdullah, Achmed [Abdullah, Achmed]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, General
ISBN: 9781772464320
Google: ET2wCgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Aegitas
Published: 2015-10-06T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

CHAPTER VII

The garden was a sweet and charming spot.

Here the dark-hued tamala trees, bearded to the waist with grey and grayish-blue moss, served as a foil for the crimson glory of the pippal and pepper trees, the elfin-green and emerald-green exuberance of the cinnamon palms, and the majestic, columnar aisles of the banyan figs. From trunk to trunk, like bridges for the tiny, chattering rust-red monkeys to pass across, stretched cordages of tough-stemmed, waxen orchids; while the ground was a rich mosaic of scarlet asoka flowers, cliterias of palest pastel blue, daks orange-yellow as the harvest moon, madhavis as white as the snows of the Himalayas, purple star flowers, and perfumed cascades of red and white jasmine. Farther on were trellised walks closely roofed with heliotrope creepers, the golden, heavy blooms of the mango trees, and enormous, sweet-scented clusters of chambela blossoms.

There were few sounds. Only gently, softly, the humming of the bees plying their task amidst the flowers; and from time to time the dulcet notes of a kokila bird or the sobbing, minor wail of a turtle-dove deeply hid in its leafy bower.

Peace and happiness.

Peace and happiness, too, in Ahmed's heart as he walked through the garden, a song on his lips.

And then, quite suddenly, without reason, he became conscious of a feeling, not exactly of terror, but of a vague uneasiness; and the very next second he perceived the cause of it. For it seemed to him that, as he walked, the garden was walking with him, each tree and flower and bush, each orchid-laden creeper and tiniest blade of grass moving with him in a parallel line so that, for all his steady walking, he really did not move an inch.

Was it his imagination?

He decided to find out. He stopped dead in his tracks, and stared straight and hard at an enormous cluster of purple orchids spotted with tawny orange a few feet away from him, at the exact height of his eyes. Never for a second looking away, he walked on. Swiftly he walked, with a full, free swing of arms and hips. He ran, faster and faster and faster; and – yes, there was no doubt of it – the cluster of orchids remained where it was, in front of his eyes; the whole Enchanted Garden was keeping step with him.

Again he stopped. He scratched his head, deliberating what he had better do. He repeated the experiment with the same result. Once more the garden moved in a parallel line with him.

"Allah!" he exclaimed. "What miracle be this?"

The next moment, as if in answer, he heard mocking, ironic laughter issue from a gnarled tamala tree. The tree laughed so heartily that its long beard of grey moss shook and its leaves trembled and danced, while all the other trees, all the flowers and bushes and blades of grass took up the laughter in a mad, whirling chorus.

The merry sounds flowed on, pouring about Ahmed's ears like the murmur of a stream through

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.