But they said to him, " Fear not ; proceed." So he
passed between them until he reached King Solomon,



'ilAm-en-nAs.
who looked upon him kindly, and said to him,
" What wilt thou ? " So Mundzir informed him the
reason wherefore he had come, and presented to him
the letter from Balkis. And King Solomen read the
letter, and asked, "Where is the casket?" and he
took it from Mundzir and shook it. Then the angel
Gabriel came to him and told him what it contained.
And he said to Mundzir, "This casket contains
precious stones unpierced, and other stones pierced
crooked." "Thou art right," said Mundzir; "but
thou must pierce the jewels, and string the other
stones upon a thread." So King Solomon de-
manded of men and of genii, " Who knows how to
pierce these jewels ? " But not one among them
could tell him. Then he asked the devils. And
they answered, " Send to the worm called 'Iradah.
