In the city of Seven Gates lived King Al-Mansour and his son, Prince Faris. King Al-Mansour was a just king whom the people loved. The king went out one day to hunt in the desert. The sun was hot, so the king sat under a tree and slept. A snake came, bit the sleeping king, and suddenly stung him. The horses returned with the king to the city. The king remained sleeping continuously, neither speaking nor moving. Faris was sad about his father and did not know what to do.
The doctors began to visit the king and say to Faris, “Regrettably, the king’s condition is strange, and we do not know a cure for it.” One of the doctors advised going to seek the wise man of medicine. Faris indeed went to the wise man’s house located behind the mountain, and told him what had happened to his father, the king. The wise man said to Faris that he knew the king’s disease, and it was an old poison like a snake’s venom existing in the land of the dwarfs.
He described to him how to obtain it, for there was a beautiful bird, green in color and saying, “I am the bird of peace. I go to the city of Hamam where the jinn live.” Faris seized the bird and carried it flying southward and following him. When Faris saw Hamam a lot, he knew that he had reached the city where the poison was. There, he found a woman crying and saying, “The camel is blind. Return my son to my son.”
Faris admired what he heard and asked the woman about the secret of the camel’s blindness for her son. The woman said, “His blindness is to eat him, and we fear him and cannot stop him.” Faris, the brave hero, said, “Do not worry. I will go to the giant and rescue your son.” Faris walked until he reached a large cave and found the giant sleeping with his hand on a small child tied with ropes crying, and a large pot boiling and cooking snakes over the fire.
The evil giant felt Faris’s footsteps, so he woke immediately and ran behind him. When he was about to seize him, Faris fell upon the boiling water and seized him with its fire until he killed him. Faris rescued the small child and brought him out of the cave and gave him to his mother who was crying eagerly for her small child. The family thanked Faris because he had rescued them from the danger of the evil giant. Faris asked them about the dwarfs’ land, “Where does the jin live?” They told him, “It is behind the giant’s cave.”
Faris walked with his companion until he reached a vast, wide land. He tied his horse to one of its trees and slept soundly from the length of the journey. When he woke, he found the jin around him. They were afraid of him at first, but Faris reassured them and asked them to guide him to the field where the jin lived. They took him to the prince of the jin, who told him that there were three paths, and in the third path is the jin’s field.
Faris walked the path until he reached the field. There, he found the snakes that the wise man had told him about. Whenever he seized one, it turned in his hand into a large snake. Faris was astonished and retreated from the snake’s severity. But the snake said to him, “I will not harm you, oh Faris. You are the brave hero who loves good and helps others. I know what you want, and here is the strange disease.”
Faris rejoiced greatly and thanked the good jinn and returned to the city of Seven Gates with the strange poison. Whenever he gave it to the king, he recovered his health and returned to ruling the city. Everyone lived in happiness and comfort, and the king rejoiced greatly with his son the hero, and mentioned that he is the one who will rule the city from now on.