Charm against the Child-stealing Witch. 147
very reason did I not like to open the door.' The saints, lifting their hands to heaven, cried and prayed that power be granted to them over that evil demon. When they had prayed for a while, the Lord sent his angel, who said unto them, ' The Lord has heard your prayer, and has granted you power over that accursed demon.' They went out of the tower, saddled their horses, and flying as on wings, they searched and looked into every corner and nook of the Liban. Meeting a pine-tree, they asked whether it had seen the accursed one passing by ? The pine-tree answered that it had not seen her. The saints replied, ' Why hast thou hidden the truth from us, and pro- tected the accursed one ? May thy stem be without roots and thy fruit dried up ! ' They met then the olive-tree, and said unto it, ' Hast thou seen the accursed one passing this way ? ' The tree replied, ' My lords, 1 have seen her going by this way to the sea (and she is lying ?) under twenty bushes, under the heads of Fasces (?) under the marrow of children^ there she is now resting.' The saints said, ' May thy fruit be blessed and used in the temples of the Lord.' They then found the accursed one at the sea- shore, and said unto her, ' The Lord commands thee through us to stay.' As soon as she beheld the saints, she ran swiftly to the sea, but they overtook her and laid hands on her. The accursed one said, ' O Sisynne and thou Sisyno- dore, why do you pursue me?' And the holy Sisynnios replied, ' Give us back the seven children of Melitena and we will no further molest thee.' She replied, 'If you will be able to bring up the milk which you sucked from your mother's breast, I will return you the children of Meli- tena.' Whereupon the saint prayed to God and said, ' O Lord, thou hast said there is nothing impossible before God, show now thy goodness also to me, so that all shall see it, and recognise that there is no God beside thee.' The holy Sisynnios at once brought up his mother's milk in his mouth, and he said to the accursed one, ' Here is my I, 2
