hat am I, O Baba Mustapha?'

So he said, 'Not thou, O bright shooter of beams, but I, wullahy! I'm but
a bundle of points through the pertinacity of this flea! a house of
irritabilities! a mere mass of fretfulness! and I've no thought but for
the chasing of this unlucky flea: was never flea like it in the world
before this flea; and 'tis a flea to anger the holy ones, and make the
saintly Dervish swear at such a flea.' He wriggled and curled where he
sat, and Noorna cried, 'What! shall we be defeated by a flea, we that
would shave Shagpat, and release this city and the world from bondage?'
And she looked up to the sky that was then without a cloud, blazing with
the sun on his mid seat, and exclaimed, 'O star of Shagpat! wilt thou
constantly be in the ascendant, and defeat us, the liberators of men,
with a flea?'

Now, whenever one of the twain, Baba Mustapha and the Vizier Feshnavat,
commenced speaking of the dish of pomegranate grain, the torment of the
flea took all tongue from him, and was destruction to the gravity of
council and deliberation. The dish of pomegranate grain was brought to
them by slaves, and the drug to induce sleep, yet neither could say aught
concerning it, they were as jointy grasshoppers through the action of the
flea, and the torment of the flea became a madness, they shrieking, ''Tis
now with thee! 'Tis now with me! Fires of the damned on this flea!' In
their extremity, they called to Allah for help, but no help came, save
when they abandoned all speech concerning the dish of pomegranate grain,
then were they for a moment eased of the flea. So Noorna recognized the
presence of her enemy Karaz, and his malicious working; and she went and
fetched a jar brimmed with water for the bath, and stirred it with her
forefinger, and drew on it a flame from the rays of the sun till there
rose up from the jar a white thick smoke. She rustled her raiment, making
the wind of it collect round Baba Mustapha and Feshnavat, and did this
till the sweat streamed from their brows and bodies, and they were
sensible of peace and the absence of the flea. Then she whisked away the
smoke, and they were attended by slaves with fresh robes, and were as new
men, and sat together over the dish of pomegranate grain, praising the
wisdom of Noorna and her power. Then Baba Mustapha revived in briskness,
and cried, 'Here the dish! and 'tis in my hands an instrument, an
instrument of vengeance! and one to endow the skilful wielder