In the middle of the night, there came a great-clap of thunder, and a rowing wind filled the room. Usu! sprang up, and the thunder became a voice feat spoke on every side. "Welcome, little dessert. Dost thou know to which place thou hast invited thyself, and whose guest thou art?" "No/* said Usul, "but I came into the feted to see wonders, and I am ready to pay for them." "So thou shall," said die thunder. "This is Kalatorano, the Castle of Sand, and it is my sietch, the sietch of Alhen, Naib of All the Djinn." "And I am Usul," Usul replied, "and your castie belongs to me, for Dune is my world, and when I am ready, all shall know it." Usul did not know that alhen means death, but he spoke bravely even though he was afraid, for he knew he was a king's son. The roaring wind sounded hke laughter then, and a great marid appeared before him, rilling the room. As the demon laughed, his teeth showed like burning coals. "Well," said the Marid, "empty boasts will not fill my stomach. Thou hast eaten my meal, and now thou must take its place." Usul then remembered what his mother used to say when someone threatened her, so he answered the demon with the words ' 'Jild an hayy ma tumal minn-u harakis (Shoes are not made of the hide of a living animal)." With that the demon roared again, and laughed so hard that the whole castle shook. When he stopped, he said to Usul, "Thou art a funny little fellow, and I shall be sorry to eat thee, but no one can come here and leave again. Thou, like all others, must pay the water tribute. But thou seem'st so small, I doubt thou wilt be more than a mouthful for me. Thou wilt be put to better use as a nosebag for one of my donkeys." And with that he grabbed Usul by the hair of his head and threw him into a pit in the center of the castle. Usul sat at the bottom of the pit and thought that his yearning to see wonders had been satisfied in a way not altogether to his liking. As he thought of his own hearthfire, he heard a small voice near him: "Ya mawla, argab uanina!" He looked in the darkness and saw a small mouse with its head bent low. Usul said to the mouse, "Why do you call me 'mawla"? I am no one's lord And how can I intercede for you if, like you, I am myself a captive?" "Ya mawla," said the mouse, "my wife has given birth, and my tribe will starve if I cannot get out of this pit I have fallen into. I am everything to them, but to your strength I am nothing You can throw me out of the pit with ease." "I will do what I can," said Usul, and lifting up the mouse in his hand, he threw it high overhead out of the pit. The mouse looked down, bowed its head, and said, "Tija al-sadaqa (The gift will return to the giver)." And with that the mouse departed, and Usul passed the rest of the night alone. When morning came, the Marid Alhen returned. He reached his arm down into the pit and grabbed Usul by the hair once again. The heat of his breath singed the eyebrow