The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 06 (of 10)
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Title: The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 06 (of 10)
Translator: Sir Richard Francis Burton
Release date: September 1, 2002 [eBook #3440]
Most recently updated: April 26, 2021
Language: English
Original publication: The Burton Club, 1885
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT — VOLUME 06 (OF 10) ***
THE BOOK OF THE
THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
A Plain and Literal Translation
of the Arabian Nights Entertainments
Translated and Annotated by
Richard F. Burton
VOLUME SIX
Privately Printed By The Burton Club
I Inscribe This Volume
To My Old And Valued Correspondent,
I Whose Debt I Am Deep,
Professor Aloys Sprenger
(of Heidelberg),
Arabist, Philosopher and Friend.
Richard F. Burton.
Contents of the Sixth Volume
133. Sindbad the Seaman and Sindbad the Landsman
a. The First Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman
b. The Second Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman
c. The Third Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman
d. The Fourth Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman
e. The Fifth Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman
f. The Sixth Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman
g. The Seventh Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman
The Seventh Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman
(according to the Calcutta Edition)
134. The City of Brass
135. The Craft and Malice of Woman
a. The King and His Wazir’s Wife
b. The Confectioner, His Wife and the Parrot
c. The Fuller and His Son
d. The Rake’s Trick Against the Chaste Wife
e. The Miser and the Loaves of Bread
f. The Lady and Her Two Lovers
g. The King’s Son and the Ogress
h. The Drop of Honey
i. The Woman Who Made Her Husband Sift Dust
j. The Enchanted Spring
k. The Wazir’s Son and the Hamman-Keeper’s Wife
l. The Wife’s Device to Cheat her Husband
m. The Goldsmith and the Cashmere Singing-Girl
n. The Man who Never Laughed During the Rest of His Days
o. The King’s Son and the Merchant’s Wife
p. The Page Who Feigned to Know the Speech of Birds
q. The Lady and Her Five Suitors
r. The Three Wishes, or the Man Who Longed to see the Night of Power
s. The Stolen Necklace
t. The Two Pigeons
u. Prince Behram and the Princess Al-Datma
v. The House With the Belvedere
w. The King’s Son and the Ifrit’s Mistress
x. The Sandal-Wood Merchant and the Sharpers
y. The Debauchee and the Three-Year-Old Child
z. The Stolen Purse
aa. The Fox and the Folk
136. Judar and His Brethren
137. The History of Gharib and His Brother Ajib
The Book Of The
THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
Sindbad The Seaman[FN#1] and Sindbad The Landsman.
There lived in the city of Baghdad, during the reign of the Commander
of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, a man named Sindbád the Hammál,[FN#2]
one in poor case who bore burdens on his head for hire. It happened to
him one day of great heat that whilst he was carrying a heavy load, he
became exceeding weary and sweated profusely, the heat and the weight
alike oppressing him. Presently, as he was passing the gate of a
merchant’s house, before which the ground was swept and watered, and
there the air was temperate, he sighted a broad bench beside the door;
so he set his load thereon, to take rest and smell the air,—And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Hammal
set his load upon the bench to take rest and smell the air, there came
out upon him from the court-door a pleasant breeze and a delicious
fragrance. He sat down on the edge of the bench, and at once heard from
within the melodious sound of lutes and other stringed instruments, and
mirth-exciting voices singing and reciting, together with the song of
birds warbling and glorifying Almighty Allah in various tunes and
tongues; turtles, mocking-birds, merles, nightingales, cushats and
stone-curlews,[FN#3] whereat he marvelled in himself and was moved to
mighty joy and solace. Then he went up to the gate and saw within a
great flower-garden wherein were pages and black slaves and such a
train of servants and attendants and so forth as is found only with
Kings and Sultans; and his nostrils were greeted with the savoury
odours of all manner meats rich and delicate, and delicious and
generous wines. So he raised his eyes heavenwards and said, “Glory to
Thee, O Lord, O Creator and Provider, who providest whomso Thou wilt
without count or stint! O mine Holy One, I cry Thee pardon for all sins
and turn to Thee repenting of all offences! O Lord, there is no
gainsaying Thee in Thine ordinance and Thy dominion, neither wilt Thou
be questioned of that Thou dost, for Thou indeed over all things art
Almighty! Extolled be Thy perfection: whom Thou wilt Thou makest poor
and whom Thou wilt Thou makest rich! Whom Thou wilt Thou exaltest and
whom Thou wilt Thou abasest and there is no god but Thou! How mighty is
Thy majesty and how enduring Thy dominion and how excellent Thy
government! Verily, Thou favourest whom Thou wilt of Thy servants,
whereby the owner of this place abideth in all joyance of life and
delighteth himself with pleasant scents and delicious meats and
exquisite wines of all kinds. For indeed Thou appointest unto Thy
creatures that which Thou wilt and that which Thou hast foreordained
unto them; wherefore are some weary and others are at rest and some
enjoy fair fortune and affluence, whilst others suffer the extreme of
travail and misery, even as I do.” And he fell to reciting,
“How many by my labours, that evermore endure, * All goods of
life enjoy and in cooly shade recline?
Each morn that dawns I wake in travail and in woe, * And strange
is my condition and my burden gars me pine:
Many others are in luck and from miseries are free, * And Fortune
never loads them with loads the like o’ mine:
They live their happy days in all solace and delight; * Eat,
drink and dwell in honour ’mid the noble and the digne:
All living things were made of a little drop of sperm, * Thine
origin is mine and my provenance is thine;
Yet the difference and distance ’twixt the twain of us are far *
As the difference of savour ’twixt vinegar and wine:
But at Thee, O God All-wise! I venture not to rail * Whose
ordinance is just and whose justice cannot fail.”
When Sindbad the Porter had made an end of reciting his verses, he bore
up his burden and was about to fare on, when there came forth to him
from the gate a little foot-page, fair of face and shapely of shape and
dainty of dress who caught him by the hand saying, “Come in and speak
with my lord, for he calleth for thee.” The Porter would have excused
himself to the page but the lad would take no refusal; so he left his
load with the doorkeeper in the vestibule and followed the boy into the
house, which he found to be a goodly mansion, radiant and full of
majesty, till he brought him to a grand sitting-room wherein he saw a
company of nobles and great lords, seated at tables garnished with all
manner of flowers and sweet-scented herbs, besides great plenty of
dainty viands and fruits dried and fresh and confections and wines of
the choicest vintages. There also were instruments of music and mirth
and lovely slave-girls playing and singing. All the company was ranged
according to rank; and in the highest place sat a man of worshipful and
noble aspect whose beard-sides hoariness had stricken; and he was
stately of stature and fair of favour, agreeable of aspect and full of
gravity and dignity and majesty. So Sindbad the Porter was confounded
at that which he beheld and said in himself, “By Allah, this must be
either a piece of Paradise or some King’s palace!” Then he saluted the
company with much respect praying for their prosperity, and kissing the
ground before them, stood with his head bowed down in humble
attitude.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Porter, after kissing ground between their hands stood with his head
bowed down in humble attitude. The master of the house bade him draw
near and be seated and bespoke him kindly, bidding him welcome. Then he
set before him various kinds of viands, rich and delicate and
delicious, and the Porter, after saying his Bismillah, fell to and ate
his fill, after which he exclaimed, “Praised be Allah whatso be our
case![FN#4]” and, washing his hands, returned thanks to the company for
his entertainment. Quoth the host, “Thou art welcome and thy day is a
blessed. But what is thy name and calling?” Quoth the other, “O my
lord, my name is Sindbad the Hammal, and I carry folk’s goods on my
head for hire.” The house-master smiled and rejoined, “Know, O Porter
that thy name is even as mine, for I am Sindbad the Seaman; and now, O
Porter, I would have thee let me hear the couplets thou recitedst at
the gate anon.” The Porter was abashed and replied, “Allah upon thee!
Excuse me, for toil and travail and lack of luck when the hand is
empty, teach a man ill manners and boorish ways.” Said the host, “Be
not ashamed; thou art become my brother; but repeat to me the verses,
for they pleased me whenas I heard thee recite them at the gate.
Hereupon the Porter repeated the couplets and they delighted the
merchant, who said to him,—Know, O Hammal, that my story is a
wonderful one, and thou shalt hear all that befel me and all I
underwent ere I rose to this state of prosperity and became the lord of
this place wherein thou seest me; for I came not to this high estate
save after travail sore and perils galore, and how much toil and
trouble have I not suffered in days of yore! I have made seven voyages,
by each of which hangeth a marvellous tale, such as confoundeth the
reason, and all this came to pass by doom of fortune and fate; for from
what destiny doth write there is neither refuge nor flight. Know, then,
good my lords (continued he) that I am about to relate the
First Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman.”[FN#5]
My father was a merchant, one of the notables of my native place, a
monied man and ample of means, who died whilst I was yet a child,
leaving me much wealth in money and lands and farmhouses. When I grew
up, I laid hands on the whole and ate of the best and drank freely and
wore rich clothes and lived lavishly, companioning and consorting with
youths of my own age, and considering that this course of life would
continue for ever and ken no change. Thus did I for a long time, but at
last I awoke from my heedlessness and, returning to my senses, I found
my wealth had become unwealth and my condition ill-conditioned and all
I once hent had left my hand. And recovering my reason I was stricken
with dismay and confusion and bethought me of a saying of our lord
Solomon, son of David (on whom be peace!), which I had heard aforetime
from my father, “Three things are better than other three; the day of
death is better than the day of birth, a live dog is better than a dead
lion and the grave is better than want.”[FN#6] Then I got together my
remains of estates and property and sold all, even my clothes, for
three thousand dirhams, with which I resolved to travel to foreign
parts, remembering the saying of the poet,
“By means of toil man shall scale the height; * Who to fame
aspires mustn’t sleep o’ night:
Who seeketh pearl in the deep must dive, * Winning weal and
wealth by his main and might:
And who seeketh Fame without toil and strife * Th’ impossible
seeketh and wasteth life.”
So taking heart I bought me goods, merchandise and all needed for a
voyage and, impatient to be at sea, I embarked, with a company of
merchants, on board a ship bound for Bassorah. There we again embarked
and sailed many days and nights, and we passed from isle to isle and
sea to sea and shore to shore, buying and selling and bartering
everywhere the ship touched, and continued our course till we came to
an island as it were a garth of the gardens of Paradise. Here the
captain cast anchor and making fast to the shore, put out the landing
planks. So all on board landed and made furnaces[FN#7] and lighting
fires therein, busied themselves in various ways, some cooking and some
washing, whilst other some walked about the island for solace, and the
crew fell to eating and drinking and playing and sporting. I was one of
the walkers but, as we were thus engaged, behold the master who was
standing on the gunwale cried out to us at the top of his voice,
saying, “Ho there! passengers, run for your lives and hasten back to
the ship and leave your gear and save yourselves from destruction,
Allah preserve you! For this island whereon ye stand is no true island,
but a great fish stationary a-middlemost of the sea, whereon the sand
hath settled and trees have sprung up of old time, so that it is become
like unto an island;[FN#8] but, when ye lighted fires on it, it felt
the heat and moved; and in a moment it will sink with you into the sea
and ye will all be drowned. So leave your gear and seek your safety ere
ye die!”— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
ship-master cried to the passengers, “Leave your gear and seek safety,
ere ye die;” all who heard him left gear and goods, clothes washed and
unwashed, fire pots and brass cooking-pots, and fled back to the ship
for their lives, and some reached it while others (amongst whom was I)
did not, for suddenly the island shook and sank into the abysses of the
deep, with all that were thereon, and the dashing sea surged over it
with clashing waves. I sank with the others down, down into the deep,
but Almighty Allah preserved me from drowning and threw in my way a
great wooden tub of those that had served the ship’s company for
tubbing. I gripped it for the sweetness of life and, bestriding it like
one riding, paddled with my feet like oars, whilst the waves tossed me
as in sport right and left. Meanwhile the captain made sail and
departed with those who had reached the ship, regardless of the
drowning and the drowned; and I ceased not following the vessel with my
eyes, till she was hid from sight and I made sure of death. Darkness
closed in upon me while in this plight and the winds and waves bore me
on all that night and the next day, till the tub brought to with me
under the lee of a lofty island, with trees overhanging the tide. I
caught hold of a branch and by its aid clambered up on to the land,
after coming nigh upon death; but when I reached the shore, I found my
legs cramped and numbed and my feet bore traces of the nibbling of fish
upon their soles; withal I had felt nothing for excess of anguish and
fatigue. I threw myself down on the island ground, like a dead man, and
drowned in desolation swooned away, nor did I return to my senses till
next morning, when the sun rose and revived me. But I found my feet
swollen, so made shift to move by shuffling on my breech and crawling
on my knees, for in that island were found store of fruits and springs
of sweet water. I ate of the fruits which strengthened me; and thus I
abode days and nights, till my life seemed to return and my spirits
began to revive and I was better able to move about. So, after due
consideration, I fell to exploring the island and diverting myself with
gazing upon all things that Allah Almighty had created there; and
rested under the trees from one of which I cut me a staff to lean upon.
One day as I walked along the marge, I caught sight of some object in
the distance and thought it a wild beast or one of the
monster-creatures of the sea; but, as I drew near it, looking hard the
while, I saw that it was a noble mare, tethered on the beach. Presently
I went up to her, but she cried out against me with a great cry, so
that I trembled for fear and turned to go away, when there came forth a
man from under the earth and followed me, crying out and saying, “Who
and whence art thou, and what caused thee to come hither?” “O my lord,”
answered I, “I am in very sooth, a waif, a stranger, and was left to
drown with sundry others by the ship we voyaged in;[FN#9] but Allah
graciously sent me a wooden tub; so I saved myself thereon and it
floated with me, till the waves cast me up on this island.” When he
heard this, he took my hand and saying, “Come with me,” carried me into
a great Sardab, or underground chamber, which was spacious as a saloon.
He made me sit down at its upper end; then he brought me somewhat of
food and, being anhungered, I ate till I was satisfied and refreshed;
and when he had put me at mine ease he questioned me of myself, and I
told him all that had befallen me from first to last; and, as he
wondered at my adventure, I said, “By Allah, O my lord, excuse me; I
have told thee the truth of my case and the accident which betided me;
and now I desire that thou tell me who thou art and why thou abidest
here under the earth and why thou hast tethered yonder mare on the
brink of the sea.” Answered he, “Know, that I am one of the several who
are stationed in different parts of this island, and we are of the
grooms of King Mihrjan[FN#10] and under our hand are all his horses.
Every month, about new-moon tide we bring hither our best mares which
have never been covered, and picket them on the sea-shore and hide
ourselves in this place under the ground, so that none may espy us.
Presently, the stallions of the sea scent the mares and come up out of
the water and seeing no one, leap the mares and do their will of them.
When they have covered them, they try to drag them away with them, but
cannot, by reason of the leg-ropes; so they cry out at them and butt at
them and kick them, which we hearing, know that the stallions have
dismounted; so we run out and shout at them, whereupon they are
startled and return in fear to the sea. Then the mares conceive by them
and bear colts and fillies worth a mint of money, nor is their like to
be found on earth’s face. This is the time of the coming forth of the
sea-stallions; and Inshallah! I will bear thee to King Mihrjan”—And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Fortieth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
Syce[FN#11] said to Sindbad the Seaman, “I will bear thee to King
Mihrjan and show thee our country. And know that hadst thou not
happened on us thou hadst perished miserably and none had known of
thee: but I will be the means of the saving of thy life and of thy
return to thine own land.” I called down blessings on him and thanked
him for his kindness and courtesy; and, while we were yet talking,
behold, the stallion came up out of the sea; and, giving a great cry,
sprang upon the mare and covered her. When he had done his will of her,
he dismounted and would have carried her away with him, but could not
by reason of the tether. She kicked and cried out at him, whereupon the
groom took a sword and target[FN#12] and ran out of the underground
saloon, smiting the buckler with the blade and calling to his company,
who came up shouting and brandishing spears; and the stallion took
fright at them and plunging into the sea, like a buffalo, disappeared
under the waves.[FN#13] After this we sat awhile, till the rest of the
grooms came up, each leading a mare, and seeing me with their
fellow-Syce, questioned me of my case and I repeated my story to them.
Thereupon they drew near me and spreading the table, ate and invited me
to eat; so I ate with them, after which they took horse and mounting me
on one of the mares, set out with me and fared on without ceasing, till
we came to the capital city of King Mihrjan, and going in to him
acquainted him with my story. Then he sent for me, and when they set me
before him and salams had been exchanged, he gave me a cordial welcome
and wishing me long life bade me tell him my tale. So I related to him
all that I had seen and all that had befallen me from first to last,
whereat he marvelled and said to me, “By Allah, O my son, thou hast
indeed been miraculously preserved! Were not the term of thy life a
long one, thou hadst not escaped from these straits; but praised by
Allah for safety!” Then he spoke cheerily to me and entreated me with
kindness and consideration: moreover, he made me his agent for the port
and registrar of all ships that entered the harbour. I attended him
regularly, to receive his commandments, and he favoured me and did me
all manner of kindness and invested me with costly and splendid robes.
Indeed, I was high in credit with him, as an intercessor for the folk
and an intermediary between them and him, when they wanted aught of
him. I abode thus a great while and, as often as I passed through the
city to the port, I questioned the merchants and travellers and sailors
of the city of Baghdad; so haply I might hear of an occasion to return
to my native land, but could find none who knew it or knew any who
resorted thither. At this I was chagrined, for I was weary of long
strangerhood; and my disappointment endured for a time till one day,
going in to King Mihrjan, I found him with a company of Indians. I
saluted them and they returned my salam; and politely welcomed me and
asked me of my country.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Forty-first Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman said:—When they asked me of my country I questioned them of
theirs and they told me that they were of various castes, some being
called Shakiriyah[FN#14] who are the noblest of their castes and
neither oppress nor offer violence to any, and others Brahmans, a folk
who abstain from wine, but live in delight and solace and merriment and
own camels and horses and cattle. Moreover, they told me that the
people of India are divided into two-and-seventy castes, and I
marvelled at this with exceeding marvel. Amongst other things that I
saw in King Mihrjan’s dominions was an island called Kásil,[FN#15]
wherein all night is heard the beating of drums and tabrets; but we were
told by the neighbouring islanders and by travellers that the
inhabitants are people of diligence and judgment.[FN#16] In this sea I
saw also a fish two hundred cubits long and the fishermen fear it; so
they strike together pieces of wood and put it to flight.[FN#17] I also
saw another fish, with a head like that of an owl, besides many other
wonders and rarities, which it would be tedious to recount. I occupied
myself thus in visiting the islands till, one day, as I stood in the
port, with a staff in my hand, according to my custom, behold, a great
ship, wherein were many merchants, came sailing for the harbour. When
it reached the small inner port where ships anchor under the city, the
master furled his sails and making fast to the shore, put out the
landing-planks, whereupon the crew fell to breaking bulk and landing
cargo whilst I stood by, taking written note of them. They were long in
bringing the goods ashore so I asked the master, “Is there aught left
in thy ship?”; and he answered, “O my lord, there are divers bales of
merchandise in the hold, whose owner was drowned from amongst us at one
of the islands on our course; so his goods remained in our charge by
way of trust and we purpose to sell them and note their price, that we
may convey it to his people in the city of Baghdad, the Home of Peace.”
“What was the merchant’s name?” quoth I, and quoth he, “Sindbad the
Seaman;” whereupon I straitly considered him and knowing him, cried out
to him with a great cry, saying, “O captain, I am that Sindbad the
Seaman who travelled with other merchants; and when the fish heaved and
thou calledst to us some saved themselves and others sank, I being one
of them. But Allah Almighty threw in my way a great tub of wood, of
those the crew had used to wash withal, and the winds and waves carried
me to this island, where by Allah’s grace, I fell in with King
Mihrjan’s grooms and they brought me hither to the King their master.
When I told him my story, he entreated me with favour and made me his
harbour-master, and I have prospered in his service and found
acceptance with him. These bales, therefore are mine, the goods which
God hath given me.”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Forty-second Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sindbad
the Seaman said to the captain, “These bales are mine, the goods which
Allah hath given me,” the other exclaimed, “There is no Majesty and
there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Verily, there
is neither conscience nor good faith left among men!” said I, “O
Rais,[FN#18] what mean these words, seeing that I have told thee my
case?” And he answered, “Because thou heardest me say that I had with
me goods whose owner was drowned, thou thinkest to take them without
right; but this is forbidden by law to thee, for we saw him drown
before our eyes, together with many other passengers, nor was one of
them saved. So how canst thou pretend that thou art the owner of the
goods?” “O captain,” said I, “listen to my story and give heed to my
words, and my truth will be manifest to thee; for lying and leasing are
the letter-marks of the hypocrites.” Then I recounted to him all that
had befallen me since I sailed from Baghdad with him to the time when
we came to the fish-island where we were nearly drowned; and I reminded
him of certain matters which had passed between us; whereupon both he
and the merchants were certified at the truth of my story and
recognized me and gave me joy of my deliverance, saying, “By Allah, we
thought not that thou hadst escaped drowning! But the Lord hath granted
thee new life.” Then they delivered my bales to me, and I found my name
written thereon, nor was aught thereof lacking. So I opened them and
making up a present for King Mihrjan of the finest and costliest of the
contents, caused the sailors carry it up to the palace, where I went in
to the King and laid my present at his feet, acquainting him with what
had happened, especially concerning the ship and my goods; whereat he
wondered with exceeding wonder and the truth of all that I had told him
was made manifest to him. His affection for me redoubled after that and
he showed me exceeding honour and bestowed on me a great present in
return for mine. Then I sold my bales and what other matters I owned
making a great profit on them, and bought me other goods and gear of
the growth and fashion of the island-city. When the merchants were
about to start on their homeward voyage, I embarked on board the ship
all that I possessed, and going in to the King, thanked him for all his
favours and friendship and craved his leave to return to my own land
and friends. He farewelled me and bestowed on me great store of the
country-stuffs and produce; and I took leave of him and embarked. Then
we set sail and fared on nights and days, by the permission of Allah
Almighty; and Fortune served us and Fate favoured us, so that we
arrived in safety at Bassorah-city where I landed rejoiced at my safe
return to my natal soil. After a short stay, I set out for Baghdad, the
House of Peace, with store of goods and commodities of great price.
Reaching the city in due time, I went straight to my own quarter and
entered my house where all my friends and kinsfolk came to greet me.
Then I bought me eunuchs and concubines, servants and negro slaves till
I had a large establishment, and I bought me houses, and lands and
gardens, till I was richer and in better case than before, and returned
to enjoy the society of my friends and familiars more assiduously than
ever, forgetting all I had suffered of fatigue and hardship and
strangerhood and every peril of travel; and I applied myself to all
manner joys and solaces and delights, eating the dantiest viands and
drinking the deliciousest wines; and my wealth allowed this state of
things to endure. “This, then, is the story of my first voyage, and
to-morrow, Inshallah! I will tell you the tale of the second of my
seven voyages.” (Saith he who telleth the tale), Then Sindbad the
Seaman made Sindbad the Landsman sup with him and bade give him an
hundred gold pieces, saying, “Thou hast cheered us with thy company
this day.”[FN#19] The Porter thanked him and, taking the gift, went his
way, pondering that which he had heard and marvelling mightily at what
things betide mankind. He passed the night in his own place and with
early morning repaired to the abode of Sindbad the Seaman, who received
him with honour and seated him by his side. As soon as the rest of the
company was assembled, he set meat and drink before them and, when they
had well eaten and drunken and were merry and in cheerful case, he took
up his discourse and recounted to them in these words the narrative of
The Second Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman.
Know, O my brother, that I was living a most comfortable and enjoyable
life, in all solace and delight, as I told you yesterday,—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Forty-third Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sindbad
the Seaman’s guests were all gathered together he thus bespake them:—I
was living a most enjoyable life until one day my mind became possessed
with the thought of travelling about the world of men and seeing their
cities and islands; and a longing seized me to traffic and to make
money by trade. Upon this resolve I took a great store of cash and,
buying goods and gear fit for travel, bound them up in bales. Then I
went down to the river-bank, where I found a noble ship and brand-new
about to sail, equipped with sails of fine cloth and well manned and
provided; so I took passage in her, with a number of other merchants,
and after embarking our goods we weighed anchor the same day. Right
fair was our voyage and we sailed from place to place and from isle to
isle; and whenever we anchored we met a crowd of merchants and notables
and customers, and we took to buying and selling and bartering. At last
Destiny brought us to an island, fair and verdant, in trees abundant,
with yellow-ripe fruits luxuriant, and flowers fragrant and birds
warbling soft descant; and streams crystalline and radiant; but no sign
of man showed to the descrier, no, not a blower of the fire.[FN#20] The
captain made fast with us to this island, and the merchants and sailors
landed and walked about, enjoying the shade of the trees and the song
of the birds, that chanted the praises of the One, the Victorious, and
marvelling at the works of the Omnipotent King.[FN#21] I landed with
the rest; and, sitting down by a spring of sweet water that welled up
among the trees, took out some vivers I had with me and ate of that
which Allah Almighty had allotted unto me. And so sweet was the zephyr
and so fragrant were the flowers, that presently I waxed drowsy and,
lying down in that place, was soon drowned in sleep. When I awoke, I
found myself alone, for the ship had sailed and left me behind, nor had
one of the merchants or sailors bethought himself of me. I seared the
island right and left, but found neither man nor Jinn, whereat I was
beyond measure troubled and my gall was like to burst for stress of
chagrin and anguish and concern, because I was left quite alone,
without aught of worldly gear or meat or drink, weary and heart-broken.
So I gave myself up for lost and said, “Not always doth the crock
escape the shock. I was saved the first time by finding one who brought
me from the desert island to an inhabited place, but now there is no
hope for me.” Then I fell to weeping and wailing and gave myself up to
an access of rage, blaming myself for having again ventured upon the
perils and hardships of voyage, whenas I was at my ease in mine own
house in mine own land, taking my pleasure with good meat and good
drink and good clothes and lacking nothing, neither money nor goods.
And I repented me of having left Baghdad, and this the more after all
the travails and dangers I had undergone in my first voyage, wherein I
had so narrowly escaped destruction, and exclaimed “Verily we are
Allah’s and unto Him we are returning!” I was indeed even as one mad
and Jinn-struck and presently I rose and walked about the island, right
and left and every whither, unable for trouble to sit or tarry in any
one place. Then I climbed a tall tree and looked in all directions, but
saw nothing save sky and sea and trees and birds and isles and sands.
However, after a while my eager glances fell upon some great white
thing, afar off in the interior of the island; so I came down from the
tree and made for that which I had seen; and behold, it was a huge
white dome rising high in air and of vast compass. I walked all around
it, but found no door thereto, nor could I muster strength or
nimbleness by reason of its exceeding smoothness and slipperiness. So I
marked the spot where I stood and went round about the dome to measure
its circumference which I found fifty good paces. And as I stood,
casting about how to gain an entrance the day being near its fall and
the sun being near the horizon, behold, the sun was suddenly hidden
from me and the air became dull and dark. Methought a cloud had come
over the sun, but it was the season of summer; so I marvelled at this
and lifting my head looked steadfastly at the sky, when I saw that the
cloud was none other than an enormous bird, of gigantic girth and
inordinately wide of wing which, as it flew through the air, veiled the
sun and hid it from the island. At this sight my wonder redoubled and I
remembered a story,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued in these words:—My wonder redoubled and I remembered a
story I had heard aforetime of pilgrims and travellers, how in a
certain island dwelleth a huge bird, called the “Rukh”[FN#22] which
feedeth its young on elephants; and I was certified that the dome which
caught my sight was none other than a Rukh’s egg. As I looked and
wondered at the marvellous works of the Almighty, the bird alighted on
the dome and brooded over it with its wings covering it and its legs
stretched out behind it on the ground, and in this posture it fell
asleep, glory be to Him who sleepeth not! When I saw this, I arose and,
unwinding my turband from my head, doubled it and twisted it into a
rope, with which I girt my middle and bound my waist fast to the legs
of the Rukh, saying in myself, “Peradventure, this bird may carry me to
a land of cities and inhabitants, and that will be better than abiding
in this desert island.” I passed the night watching and fearing to
sleep, lest the bird should fly away with me unawares; and, as soon as
the dawn broke and morn shone, the Rukh rose off its egg and spreading
its wings with a great cry flew up into the air dragging me with it;
nor ceased it to soar and to tower till I thought it had reached the
limit of the firmament; after which it descended, earthwards, little by
little, till it lighted on the top of a high hill. As soon as I found
myself on the hard ground, I made haste to unbind myself, quaking for
fear of the bird, though it took no heed of me nor even felt me; and,
loosing my turband from its feet, I made off with my best speed.
Presently, I saw it catch up in its huge claws something from the earth
and rise with it high in air, and observing it narrowly I saw it to be
a serpent big of bulk and gigantic of girth, wherewith it flew away
clean out of sight. I marvelled at this and faring forwards found
myself on a peak overlooking a valley, exceeding great and wide and
deep, and bounded by vast mountains that spired high in air: none could
descry their summits, for the excess of their height, nor was any able
to climb up thereto. When I saw this, I blamed myself for that which I
had done and said, “Would Heaven I had tarried in the island! It was
better than this wild desert; for there I had at least fruits to eat
and water to drink, and here are neither trees nor fruits nor streams.
But there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the
Glorious, the Great! Verily, as often as I am quit of one peril, I fall
into a worse danger and a more grievous.” However, I took courage and
walking along the Wady found that its soil was of diamond, the stone
wherewith they pierce minerals and precious stones and porcelain and
the onyx, for that it is a dense stone and a dure, whereon neither iron
nor hardhead hath effect, neither can we cut off aught therefrom nor
break it, save by means of leadstone.[FN#23] Moreover, the valley
swarmed with snakes and vipers, each big as a palm tree, that would
have made but one gulp of an elephant; and they came out by night,
hiding during the day, lest the Rukhs and eagles pounce on them and
tear them to pieces, as was their wont, why I wot not. And I repented
of what I had done and said, “By Allah, I have made haste to bring
destruction upon myself!” The day began to wane as I went along and I
looked about for a place where I might pass the night, being in fear of
the serpents; and I took no thought of meat and drink in my concern for
my life. Presently, I caught sight of a cave nearhand, with a narrow
doorway; so I entered and seeing a great stone close to the mouth, I
rolled it up and stopped the entrance, saying to myself, “I am safe
here for the night; and as soon as it is day, I will go forth and see
what destiny will do.” Then I looked within the cave and saw to the
upper end a great serpent brooding on her eggs, at which my flesh
quaked and my hair stood on end; but I raised my eyes to Heaven and,
committing my case to fate and lot, abode all that night without sleep
till daybreak, when I rolled back the stone from the mouth of the cave
and went forth, staggering like a drunken man and giddy with watching
and fear and hunger. As in this sore case I walked along the valley,
behold, there fell down before me a slaughtered beast; but I saw no
one, whereat I marvelled with great marvel and presently remembered a
story I had heard aforetime of traders and pilgrims and travellers; how
the mountains where are the diamonds are full of perils and terrors,
nor can any fare through them; but the merchants who traffic in
diamonds have a device by which they obtain them, that is to say, they
take a sheep and slaughter and skin it and cut it in pieces and cast
them down from the mountain-tops into the valley-sole, where the meat
being fresh and sticky with blood, some of the gems cleave to it. There
they leave it till mid-day, when the eagles and vultures swoop down
upon it and carry it in their claws to the mountain-summits, whereupon
the merchants come and shout at them and scare them away from the meat.
Then they come and, taking the diamonds which they find sticking to it,
go their ways with them and leave the meat to the birds and beasts; nor
can any come at the diamonds but by this device,—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,
She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued his relation of what befel him in the Mountain of
Diamonds, and informed them that the merchants cannot come at the
diamonds save by the device aforesaid. So, when I saw the slaughtered
beast fall (he pursued) and bethought me of the story, I went up to it
and filled my pockets and shawl-girdle and turband and the folds of my
clothes with the choicest diamonds; and, as I was thus engaged, down
fell before me another great piece of meat. Then with my unrolled
turband and lying on my back, I set the bit on my breast so that I was
hidden by the meat, which was thus raised above the ground. Hardly had
I gripped it, when an eagle swooped down upon the flesh and, seizing it
with his talons, flew up with it high in air and me clinging thereto,
and ceased not its flight till it alighted on the head of one of the
mountains where, dropping the carcass he fell to rending it; but,
behold, there arose behind him a great noise of shouting and clattering
of wood, whereat the bird took fright and flew away. Then I loosed off
myself the meat, with clothes daubed with blood therefrom, and stood up
by its side; whereupon up came the merchant, who had cried out at the
eagle, and seeing me standing there, bespoke me not, but was affrighted
at me and shook with fear. However, he went up to the carcass and
turning it over, found no diamonds sticking to it, whereat he gave a
great cry and exclaimed, “Harrow, my disappointment! There is no
Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah with whom we seek refuge
from Satan the stoned!” And he bemoaned himself and beat hand upon
hand, saying, “Alas, the pity of it! How cometh this?” Then I went up
to him and he said to me, “Who art thou and what causeth thee to come
hither?” And I, “Fear not, I am a man and a good man and a merchant. My
story is a wondrous and my adventures marvellous and the manner of my
coming hither is prodigious. So be of good cheer, thou shalt receive of
me what shall rejoice thee, for I have with me great plenty of diamonds
and I will give thee thereof what shall suffice thee; for each is
better than aught thou couldst get otherwise. So fear nothing.” The man
rejoiced thereat and thanked and blessed me; then we talked together
till the other merchants, hearing me in discourse with their fellow,
came up and saluted me; for each of them had thrown down his piece of
meat. And as I went off with them I told them my whole story, how I had
suffered hardships at sea and the fashion of my reaching the valley.
But I gave the owner of the meat a number of the stones I had by me, so
they all wished me joy of my escape, saying, “By Allah a new life hath
been decreed to thee, for none ever reached yonder valley and came off
thence alive before thee; but praised be Allah for thy safety!” We
passed the night together in a safe and pleasant place, beyond measure
rejoiced at my deliverance from the Valley of Serpents and my arrival
in an inhabited land; and on the morrow we set out and journeyed over
the mighty range of mountains, seeing many serpents in the valley, till
we came to a fair great island, wherein was a garden of huge camphor
trees under each of which an hundred men might take shelter. When the
folk have a mind to get camphor, they bore into the upper part of the
bole with a long iron; whereupon the liquid camphor, which is the sap
of the tree, floweth out and they catch it in vessels, where it
concreteth like gum; but, after this, the tree dieth and becometh
firewood.[FN#24] Moreover, there is in this island a kind of wild
beast, called “Rhinoceros,”[FN#25] that pastureth as do steers and
buffalos with us; but it is a huge brute, bigger of body than the camel
and like it feedeth upon the leaves and twigs of trees. It is a
remarkable animal with a great and thick horn, ten cubits long,
amiddleward its head; wherein, when cleft in twain, is the likeness of
a man. Voyagers and pilgrims and travellers declare that this beast
called “Karkadan” will carry off a great elephant on its horn and graze
about the island and the sea-coast therewith and take no heed of it,
till the elephant dieth and its fat, melting in the sun, runneth down
into the rhinoceros’s eyes and blindeth him, so that he lieth down on
the shore. Then comes the bird Rukh and carrieth off both the
rhinoceros’s eyes and blindeth him, so that he lieth down on the shore.
Then comes the bird Rukh and carrieth off both the rhinoceros and that
which is on its horn to feed its young withal. Moreover, I saw in this
island many kinds of oxen and buffalos, whose like are not found in our
country. Here I sold some of the diamonds which I had by me for gold
dinars and silver dirhams and bartered others for the produce of the
country; and, loading them upon beasts of burden, fared on with the
merchants from valley to valley and town to town, buying and selling
and viewing foreign countries and the works and creatures of Allah,
till we came to Bassorah-city, where we abode a few days, after which I
continued my journey to Baghdad.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sindbad the
Seaman returned from his travel to Baghdad, the House of Peace, he
arrived at home with great store of diamonds and money and goods.
(Continued he) I foregathered with my friends and relations and gave
alms and largesse and bestowed curious gifts and made presents to all
my friends and companions. Then I betook myself to eating well and
drinking well and wearing fine clothes and making merry with my
fellows, and forgot all my sufferings in the pleasures of return to the
solace and delight of life, with light heart and broadened breast. And
every one who heard of my return came and questioned me of my
adventures and of foreign countries, and I related to them all that had
befallen me, and the much I had suffered, whereat they wondered and
gave me joy of my safe return. “This, then is the end of the story of
my second voyage; and to-morrow, Inshallah! I will tell you what befel
me in my third voyage.” The company marvelled at his story and supped
with him; after which he ordered an hundred dinars of gold to be given
to the Porter, who took the sum with many thanks and blessings (which
he stinted not even when he reached home) and went his way, wondering
at what he had heard. Next morning as soon as day came in its sheen and
shone, he rose and praying the dawn-prayer, repaired to the house of
Sindbad the Seaman, even as he had bidden him, and went in and gave him
good-morrow. The merchant welcomed him and made him sit with him, till
the rest of the company arrived; and when they had well eaten and
drunken and were merry with joy and jollity, their host began by
saying, “Hearken, O my brothers, to what I am about to tell you; for it
is even more wondrous than what you have already heard; but Allah alone
kenneth what things His Omniscience concealed from man! And listen to
The Third Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman.
As I told you yesterday, I returned from my second voyage overjoyed at
my safety and with great increase of wealth, Allah having requited me
all that I had wasted and lost, and I abode awhile in Baghdad-city
savouring the utmost ease and prosperity and comfort and happiness,
till the carnal man was once more seized with longing for travel and
diversion and adventure, and yearned after traffic and lucre and
emolument, for that the human heart is naturally prone to evil. So
making up my mind I laid in great plenty of goods suitable for a
sea-voyage and repairing to Bassorah, went down to the shore and found
there a fine ship ready to sail, with a full crew and a numerous
company of merchants, men of worth and substance; faith, piety and
consideration. I embarked with them and we set sail on the blessing of
Allah Almighty and on His aidance and His favour to bring our voyage to
a safe and prosperous issue and already we congratulated one another on
our good fortune and boon voyage. We fared on from sea to sea and from
island to island and city to city, in all delight and contentment,
buying and selling wherever we touched, and taking our solace and our
pleasure, till one day when, as we sailed athwart the dashing sea,
swollen with clashing billows, behold, the master (who stood on the
gunwale examining the ocean in all directions) cried out with a great
cry, and buffeted his face and pluckt out his beard and rent his
raiment, and bade furl the sail and cast the anchors. So we said to
him, “O Rais, what is the matter?” “Know, O my brethren (Allah preserve
you!), that the wind hath gotten the better of us and hath driven us
out of our course into mid-ocean, and destiny, for our ill luck, hath
brought us to the Mountain of the Zughb, a hairy folk like apes,[FN#26]
among whom no man ever fell and came forth alive; and my heart
presageth that we all be dead men.” Hardly had the master made an end
of his speech when the apes were upon us. They surrounded the ship on
all sides swarming like locusts and crowding the shore. They were the
most frightful of wild creatures, covered with black hair like felt,
foul of favour and small of stature, being but four spans high,
yellow-eyed and black-faced; none knoweth their language nor what they
are, and they shun the company of men. We feared to slay them or strike
them or drive them away, because of their inconceivable multitude;
lest, if we hurt one, the rest fall on us and slay us, for numbers
prevail over courage; so we let them do their will, albeit we feared
they would plunder our goods and gear. They swarmed up the cables and
gnawed them asunder, and on like wise they did with all the ropes of
the ship, so that it fell off from the wind and stranded upon their
mountainous coast. Then they laid hands on all the merchants and crew,
and landing us on the island, made off with the ship and its cargo and
went their ways, we wot not whither. We were thus left on the island,
eating of its fruits and pot-herbs and drinking of its streams till,
one day, we espied in its midst what seemed an inhabited house. So we
made for it as fast as our feet could carry us and behold, it was a
castle strong and tall, compassed about with a lofty wall, and having a
two-leaved gate of ebony-wood both of which leaves open stood. We
entered and found within a space wide and bare like a great square,
round which stood many high doors open thrown, and at the farther end a
long bench of stone and brasiers, with cooking gear hanging thereon and
about it great plenty of bones; but we saw no one and marvelled thereat
with exceeding wonder. Then we sat down in the courtyard a little while
and presently falling asleep, slept from the forenoon till sundown,
when lo! the earth trembled under our feet and the air rumbled with a
terrible tone. Then there came down upon us, from the top of the
castle, a huge creature in the likeness of a man, black of colour, tall
and big of bulk, as he were a great date-tree, with eyes like coals of
fire and eye-teeth like boar’s tusks and a vast big gape like the mouth
of a well. Moreover, he had long loose lips like camel’s, hanging down
upon his breast and ears like two Jarms[FN#27] falling over his
shoulder-blades and the nails of his hands were like the claws of a
lion.[FN#28] When we saw this frightful giant, we were like to faint
and every moment increased our fear and terror; and we became as dead
men for excess of horror and affright.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:—When we saw this frightful giant we were struck with
exceeding terror and horror. And after trampling upon the earth, he sat
awhile on the bench; then he arose and coming to us seized me by the
arm choosing me out from among my comrades the merchants. He took me up
in his hand and turning me over felt me, as a butcher feeleth a sheep
he is about to slaughter, and I but a little mouthful in his hands; but
finding me lean and fleshless for stress of toil and trouble and
weariness, let me go and took up another, whom in like manner he turned
over and felt and let go; nor did he cease to feel and turn over the
rest of us, one after another, till he came to the master of the ship.
Now he was a sturdy, stout, broad-shouldered wight, fat and in full
vigour; so he pleased the giant, who seized him, as a butcher seizeth a
beast, and throwing him down, set his foot on his neck and brake it;
after which he fetched a long spit and thrusting it up his backside,
brought it forth of the crown of his head. Then, lighting a fierce
fire, he set over it the spit with the Rais thereon, and turned it over
the coals, till the flesh was roasted, when he took the spit off the
fire and set it like a Kabáb-stick before him. Then he tare the body,
limb from limb, as one jointeth a chicken and, rending the flesh with
his nails, fell to eating of it and gnawing the bones, till there was
nothing left but some of these, which he threw on one side of the wall.
This done, he sat for a while; then he lay down on the stone-bench and
fell asleep, snarking and snoring like the gurgling of a lamb or a cow
with its throat cut; nor did he awake till morning, when he rose and
fared forth and went his ways. As soon as we were certified that he was
gone, we began to talk with one another, weeping and bemoaning
ourselves for the risk we ran, and saying, “Would Heaven we had been
drowned in the sea or that the apes had eaten us! That were better than
to be roasted over the coals; by Allah, this is a vile, foul death! But
whatso the Lord willeth must come to pass and there is no Majesty and
there is no Might, save in Him, the Glorious, the Great! We shall
assuredly perish miserably and none will know of us; as there is no
escape for us from this place.” Then we arose and roamed about the
island, hoping that haply we might find a place to hide us in or a
means of flight, for indeed death was a light matter to us, provided we
were not roasted over the fire[FN#29] and eaten. However, we could find
no hiding-place and the evening overtook us; so, of the excess of our
terror, we returned to the castle and sat down awhile. Presently, the
earth trembled under our feet and the black ogre came up to us and
turning us over, felt one after other, till he found a man to his
liking, whom he took and served as he had done the captain, killing and
roasting and eating him: after which he lay down on the bench[FN#30]
and slept all night, snarking and snoring like a beast with its throat
cut, till daybreak, when he arose and went out as before. Then we drew
together and conversed and said one to other, “By Allah, we had better
throw ourselves into the sea and be drowned than die roasted; for this
is an abominable death!” Quoth one of us, “Hear ye my words! let us
cast about to kill him, and be at peace from the grief of him and rid
the Moslems of his barbarity and tyranny.” Then said I, “Hear me, O my
brothers; if there is nothing for it but to slay him, let us carry some
of this firewood and planks down to the sea-shore and make us a boat
wherein, if we succeed in slaughtering him, we may either embark and
let the waters carry us whither Allah willeth, or else abide here till
some ship pass, when we will take passage in it. If we fail to kill
him, we will embark in the boat and put out to sea; and if we be
drowned, we shall at least escape being roasted over a kitchen fire
with sliced weasands; whilst, if we escape, we escape, and if we be
drowned, we die martyrs.” “By Allah,” said they all, “this rede is a
right;” and we agreed upon this, and set about carrying it out. So we
haled down to the beach the pieces of wood which lay about the bench;
and, making a boat, moored it to the strand, after which we stowed
therein somewhat of victual and returned to the castle. As soon as
evening fell the earth trembled under our feet and in came the
blackamoor upon us, snarling like a dog about to bite. He came up to us
and feeling us and turning us over one by one, took one of us and did
with him as he had done before and ate him, after which he lay down on
the bench and snored and snorted like thunder. As soon as we were
assured that he slept, we arose and taking two iron spits of those
standing there, heated them in the fiercest of the fire, till they were
red-hot, like burning coals, when we gripped fast hold of them and
going up to the giant, as he lay snoring on the bench, thrust them into
his eyes and pressed upon them, all of us, with our united might, so
that his eyeballs burst and he became stone blind. Thereupon he cried
with a great cry, whereat our hearts trembled, and springing up from
the bench, he fell a-groping after us, blind-fold. We fled from him
right and left and he saw us not, for his sight was altogether blent;
but we were in terrible fear of him and made sure we were dead men
despairing of escape. Then he found the door, feeling for it with his
hands and went out roaring aloud; and behold, the earth shook under us,
for the noise of his roaring, and we quaked for fear. As he quitted the
castle we followed him and betook ourselves to the place where we had
moored our boat, saying to one another, “If this accursed abide absent
till the going down of the sun and come not to the castle, we shall
know that he is dead; and if he come back, we will embark in the boat
and paddle till we escape, committing our affair to Allah.” But, as we
spoke, behold, up came the blackamoor with other two as they were
Ghuls, fouler and more frightful than he, with eyes like red-hot coals;
which when we saw, we hurried into the boat and casting off the
moorings paddled away and pushed out to sea.[FN#31] As soon as the
ogres caught sight of us, they cried out at us and running down to the
sea-shore, fell a-pelting us with rocks, whereof some fell amongst us
and others fell into the sea. We paddled with all our might till we
were beyond their reach, but the most part of us were slain by the
rock-throwing, and the winds and waves sported with us and carried us
into the midst of the dashing sea, swollen with billows clashing. We
knew not whither we went and my fellows died one after another, till
there remained but three, myself and two others;—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman thus continued:—Most part of us were slain by the rock-thowing
and only three of us remained on board the boat for, as often as one
died, we threw him into the sea. We were sore exhausted for stress of
hunger, but we took courage and heartened one another and worked for
dear life and paddled with main and might, till the winds cast us upon
an island, as we were dead men for fatigue and fear and famine. We
landed on the island and walked about it for a while, finding that it
abounded in trees and streams and birds; and we ate of the fruits and
rejoiced in our escape from the black and our deliverance from the
perils of the sea; and thus we did till nightfall, when we lay down and
fell asleep for excess of fatigue. But we had hardly closed our eyes
before we were aroused by a hissing sound like the sough of wind, and
awaking, saw a serpent like a dragon, a seld-seen sight, of monstrous
make and belly of enormous bulk which lay in a circle around us.
Presently it reared its head and, seizing one of my companions,
swallowed him up to his shoulders; then it gulped down the rest of him,
and we heard his ribs crack in its belly. Presently it went its way,
and we abode in sore amazement and grief for our comrade and mortal
fear for ourselves, saying, “By Allah, this is a marvellous thing! Each
kind of death that threatened us is more terrible than the last. We
were rejoicing in our escape from the black ogre and our deliverance
from the perils of the sea; but now we have fallen into that which is
worse. There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah! By the
Almighty, we have escaped from the blackamoor and from drowning: but
how shall we escape from this abominable and viperish monster?” Then we
walked about the island, eating of its fruits and drinking of its
streams till dusk, when we climbed up into a high tree and went to
sleep there, I being on the topmost bough. As soon as it was dark
night, up came the serpent, looking right and left; and, making for the
tree whereon we were, climbed up to my comrade and swallowed him down
to his shoulders. Then it coiled about the bole[FN#32] with him, whilst
I, who could not take my eyes off the sight, heard his bones crack in
its belly, and it swallowed him whole, after which it slid down from
the tree. When the day broke and the light showed me that the serpent
was gone, I came down, as I were a dead man for stress of fear and
anguish, and thought to cast myself into the sea and be at rest from
the woes of the world; but could not bring myself to this, for verily
life is dear. So I took five pieces of wood, broad and long, and bound
one crosswise to the soles of my feet and others in like fashion on my
right and left sides and over my breast; and the broadest and largest I
bound across my head and made them fast with ropes. Then I lay down on
the ground on my back, so that I was completely fenced in by the pieces
of wood, which enclosed me like a bier.[FN#33] So as soon as it was
dark, up came the serpent, as usual, and made towards me, but could not
get at me to swallow me for the wood that fenced me in. So it wriggled
round me on every side, whilst I looked on, like one dead by reason of
my terror; and every now and then it would glide away and come back;
but as often as it tried to come at me, it was hindered by the pieces
of wood wherewith I had bound myself on every side. It ceased not to
beset me thus from sundown till dawn, but when the light of day shone
upon the beast it made off, in the utmost fury and extreme
disappointment. Then I put out my hand and unbound myself, well-nigh
down among the dead men for fear and suffering; and went down to the
island-shore, whence a ship afar off in the midst of the waves suddenly
struck my sight. So I tore off a great branch of a tree and made signs
with it to the crew, shouting out the while; which when the ship’s
company saw they said to another, “We must stand in and see what this
is; peradventure ’tis a man.” So they made for the island and presently
heard my cries, whereupon they took me on board and questioned me of my
case. I told them all my adventures from first to last, whereat they
marvelled mightily and covered my shame[FN#34] with some of their
clothes. Moreover, they set before me somewhat of food and I ate my
fill and I drank cold sweet water and was mightily refreshed; and Allah
Almighty quickened me after I was virtually dead. So I praised the Most
Highest and thanked Him for His favours and exceeding mercies, and my
heart revived in me after utter despair, till meseemed as if all I had
suffered were but a dream I had dreamed. We sailed on with a fair wind
the Almighty sent us till we came to an island, called
Al-Saláhitah,[FN#35] which aboundeth in sandal-wood when the captain
cast anchor,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:—And when we had cast anchor, the merchants and the
sailors landed with their goods to sell and to buy. Then the captain
turned to me and said, “Hark’ee, thou art a stranger and a pauper and
tellest us that thou hast undergone frightful hardship; wherefore I
have a mind to benefit thee with somewhat that may further thee to thy
native land, so thou wilt ever bless me and pray for me.” “So be it,”
answered I; “thou shalt have my prayers.” Quoth he, “Know then that
there was with us a man, a traveller, whom we lost, and we know not if
he be alive or dead, for we had no news of him; so I purpose to commit
his bales of goods to thy charge, that thou mayst sell them in this
island. A part of the proceeds we will give thee as an equivalent for
thy pains and service, and the rest we will keep till we return to
Baghdad, where we will enquire for his family and deliver it to them,
together with the unsold goods. Say me then, wilt thou undertake the
charge and land and sell them as other merchants do?” I replied
“Hearkening and obedience to thee, O my lord; and great is thy kindness
to me,” and thanked him; whereupon he bade the sailors and porters bear
the bales in question ashore and commit them to my charge. The ship’s
scribe asked him, “O master, what bales are these and what merchant’s
name shall I write upon them?”; and he answered, “Write on them the
name of Sindbad the Seaman, him who was with us in the ship and whom we
lost at the Rukh’s island, and of whom we have no tidings; for we mean
this stranger to sell them; and we will give him a part of the price
for his pains and keep the rest till we return to Baghdad where, if we
find the owner we will make it over to him, and if not, to his family.”
And the clerk said, “Thy words are apposite and thy rede is right.” Now
when I heard the captain give orders for the bales to be inscribed with
my name, I said to myself, “By Allah, I am Sindbad the Seaman!” So I
armed myself with courage and patience and waited till all the
merchants had landed and were gathered together, talking and chaffering
about buying and selling; then I went up to the captain and asked him,
“O my lord, knowest thou what manner of man was this Sindbad, whose
goods thou hast committed to me for sale?”; and he answered, “I know of
him naught save that he was a man from Baghdad-city, Sindbad hight the
Seaman, who was drowned with many others when we lay anchored at such
an island and I have heard nothing of him since then.” At this I cried
out with a great cry and said, “O captain, whom Allah keep! know that I
am that Sindbad the Seaman and that I was not drowned, but when thou
castest anchor at the island, I landed with the rest of the merchants
and crew; and I sat down in a pleasant place by myself and ate somewhat
of food I had with me and enjoyed myself till I became drowsy and was
drowned in sleep; and when I awoke, I found no ship and none near me.
These goods are my goods and these bales are my bales; and all the
merchants who fetch jewels from the Valley of Diamonds saw me there and
will bear me witness that I am the very Sindbad the Seaman; for I
related to them everything that had befallen me and told them how you
forgot me and left me sleeping on the island, and that betided me which
betided me.” When the passengers and crew heard my words, they gathered
about me and some of them believed me and others disbelieved; but
presently, behold, one of the merchants, hearing me mention the Valley
of Diamonds, came up to me and said to them, “Hear what I say, good
people! When I related to you the most wonderful thing in my travels,
and I told you that, at the time we cast down our slaughtered animals
into the Valley of Serpents (I casting with the rest as was my wont),
there came up a man hanging to mine, ye believed me not and gave me the
lie.” “Yes,” quoth they, “thou didst tell us some such tale, but we had
no call to credit thee.” He resumed, “Now this is the very man, by
token that he gave me diamonds of great value, and high price whose
like are not to be found, requiting me more than would have come up
sticking to my quarter of meat; and I companied with him to
Bassorah-city, where he took leave of us and went on to his native
stead, whilst we returned to our own land. This is he; and he told us
his name, Sindbad the Seaman, and how the ship left him on the desert
island. And know ye that Allah hath sent him hither, so might the truth
of my story be made manifest to you. Moreover, these are his goods for,
when he first foregathered with us, he told us of them; and the truth
of his words is patent.” Hearing the merchant’s speech the captain came
up to me and considered me straitly awhile, after which he said, “What
was the mark on thy bales?” “Thus and thus,” answered I, and reminded
him of somewhat that had passed between him and me, when I shipped with
him from Bassorah. Thereupon he was convinced that I was indeed Sindbad
the Seaman and took me round the neck and gave me joy of my safety,
saying, “By Allah, O my lord, thy case is indeed wondrous and thy tale
marvellous; but lauded be Allah who hath brought thee and me together
again, and who hath restored to thee thy goods and gear!”—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Fiftieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman thus continued:—“Alhamdolillah!” quoth the captain, “lauded be
Allah who hath restored unto thee thy goods and gear.” Then I disposed
of my merchandise to the best of my skill, and profited largely on them
whereat I rejoiced with exceeding joy and congratulated myself on my
safety and the recovery of my goods. We ceased not to buy and sell at
the several islands till we came to the land of Hind, where we bought
cloves and ginger and all manner spices; and thence we fared on to the
land of Sind, where also we bought and sold. In these Indian seas, I
saw wonders without number or count, amongst others a fish like a cow
which bringeth forth its young and suckleth them like human beings; and
of its skin bucklers are made.[FN#36] There were eke fishes like asses
and camels[FN#37] and tortoises twenty cubits wide.[FN#38] And I saw
also a bird that cometh out of a sea-shell and layeth eggs and hatcheth
her chicks on the surface of the water, never coming up from the sea to
the land.[FN#39] Then we set sail again with a fair wind and the
blessing of Almighty Allah; and, after a prosperous voyage, arrived
safe and sound at Bassorah. Here I abode a few days and presently
returned to Baghdad where I went at once to my quarter and my house and
saluted my family and familiars and friends. I had gained on this
voyage what was beyond count and reckoning, so I gave alms and largesse
and clad the widow and the orphan, by way of thanksgiving for my happy
return, and fell to feasting and making merry with my companions and
intimates and forgot, while eating well and drinking well and dressing
well, everything that had befallen me and all the perils and hardships
I had suffered. “These, then, are the most admirable things I sighted
on my third voyage, and to-morrow, an it be the will of Allah, you
shall come to me and I will relate the adventures of my fourth voyage,
which is still more wonderful than those you have already heard.”
(Saith he who telleth the tale), Then Sindbad the Seaman bade give
Sindbad the Landsman an hundred golden dinars as of wont and called for
food. So they spread the tables and the company ate the night-meal and
went their ways, marvelling at the tale they had heard. The Porter
after taking his gold passed the night in his own house, also wondering
at what his namesake the Seaman had told him, and as soon as day broke
and the morning showed with its sheen and shone, he rose and praying
the dawn-prayer betook himself to Sindbad the Seaman, who returned his
salute and received him with an open breast and cheerful favour and
made him sit with him till the rest of the company arrived, when he
caused set on food and they ate and drank and made merry. Then Sindbad
the Seaman bespake them and related to them the narrative of
The Fourth Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman.
Know, O my brethren that after my return from my third voyage and
foregathering with my friends, and forgetting all my perils and
hardships in the enjoyment of ease and comfort and repose, I was
visited one day by a company of merchants who sat down with me and
talked of foreign travel and traffic, till the old bad man within me
yearned to go with them and enjoy the sight of strange countries, and I
longed for the society of the various races of mankind and for traffic
and profit. So I resolved to travel with them and buying the
necessaries for a long voyage, and great store of costly goods, more
than ever before, transported them from Baghdad to Bassorah where I
took ship with the merchants in question, who were of the chief of the
town. We set out, trusting in the blessing of Almighty Allah; and with
a favouring breeze and the best conditions we sailed from island to
island and sea to sea, till, one day, there arose against us a contrary
wind and the captain cast out his anchors and brought the ship to a
standsill, fearing lest she should founder in mid-ocean. Then we all
fell to prayer and humbling ourselves before the Most High; but, as we
were thus engaged there smote us a furious squall which tore the sails
to rags and tatters: the anchor-cable parted and, the ship foundering,
we were cast into the sea, goods and all. I kept myself afloat by
swimming half the day, till, when I had given myself up for lost, the
Almighty threw in my way one of the planks of the ship, whereon I and
some others of the merchants scrambled.—And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Fifty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued as follows:—And when the ship foundered I scrambled on
to a plank with some others of the merchants and, mounting it as we
would a horse, paddled with our feet in the sea. We abode thus a day
and a night, the wind and waves helping us on, and on the second day
shortly before the mid-time between sunrise and noon[FN#40] the breeze
freshened and the sea wrought and the rising waves cast us upon an
island, well-nigh dead bodies for weariness and want of sleep, cold and
hunger and fear and thirst. We walked about the shore and found
abundance of herbs, whereof we ate enough to keep breath in body and to
stay our failing spirits, then lay down and slept till morning hard by
the sea. And when morning came with its sheen and shone, we arose and
walked about the island to the right and left, till we came in sight of
an inhabited house afar off. So we made towards it, and ceased not
walking till we reached the door thereof when lo! a number of naked men
issued from it and without saluting us or a word said, laid hold of us
masterfully and carried us to their king, who signed us to sit. So we
sat down and they set food before us such as we knew not[FN#41] and
whose like we had never seen in all our lives. My companions ate of it,
for stress of hunger, but my stomach revolted from it and I would not
eat; and my refraining from it was, by Allah’s favour, the cause of my
being alive till now: for no sooner had my comrades tasted of it than
their reason fled and their condition changed and they began to devour
it like madmen possessed of an evil spirit. Then the savages gave them
to drink of cocoa-nut oil and anointed them therewith; and straightway
after drinking thereof, their eyes turned into their heads and they
fell to eating greedily, against their wont. When I saw this, I was
confounded and concerned for them, nor was I less anxious about myself,
for fear of the naked folk. So I watched them narrowly, and it was not
long before I discovered them to be a tribe of Magian cannibals whose
King was a Ghul.[FN#42] All who came to their country or whoso they
caught in their valleys or on their roads they brought to this King and
fed them upon that food and anointed them with that oil, whereupon
their stomachs dilated that they might eat largely, whilst their reason
fled and they lost the power of thought and became idiots. Then they
stuffed them with cocoa-nut oil and the aforesaid food, till they
became fat and gross, when they slaughtered them by cutting their
throats and roasted them for the King’s eating; but, as for the savages
themselves, they ate human flesh raw.[FN#43] When I saw this, I was
sore dismayed for myself and my comrades, who were now become so
stupefied that they knew not what was done with them and the naked folk
committed them to one who used every day to lead them out and pasture
them on the island like cattle. And they wandered amongst the trees and
rested at will, thus waxing very fat. As for me, I wasted away and
became sickly for fear and hunger and my flesh shrivelled on my bones;
which when the savages saw, they left me alone and took no thought of
me and so far forgot me that one day I gave them the slip and walking
out of their place made for the beach which was distant and there
espied a very old man seated on a high place, girt by the waters. I
looked at him and knew him for the herdsman, who had charge of
pasturing my fellows, and with him were many others in like case. As
soon as he saw me, he knew me to be in possession of my reason and not
afflicted like the rest whom he was pasturing; so signed to me from
afar, as who should say, “Turn back and take the right-hand road, for
that will lead thee into the King’s highway.” So I turned back, as he
bade me, and followed the right-hand road, now running for fear and
then walking leisurely to rest me, till I was out of the old man’s
sight. By this time, the sun had gone down and the darkness set in; so
I sat down to rest and would have slept, but sleep came not to me that
night, for stress of fear and famine and fatigue. When the night was
half spent, I rose and walked on, till the day broke in all its beauty
and the sun rose over the heads of the lofty hills and athwart the low
gravelly plains. Now I was weary and hungry and thirsty; so I ate my
fill of herbs and grasses that grew in the island and kept life in body
and stayed my stomach, after which I set out again and fared on all
that day and the next night, staying my greed with roots and herbs; nor
did I cease walking for seven days and their nights, till the morn of
the eighth day, when I caught sight of a faint object in the distance.
So I made towards it, though my heart quaked for all I had suffered
first and last, and behold it was a company of men gathering
pepper-grains.[FN#44] As soon as they saw me, they hastened up to me
and surrounding me on all sides, said to me, “Who art thou and whence
come?” I replied, “Know, O folk, that I am a poor stranger,” and
acquainted them with my case and all the hardships and perils I had
suffered,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Fifty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:—And the men gathering pepper in the island questioned
me of my case, when I acquainted them with all the hardships and perils
I had suffered and how I had fled from the savages; whereat they
marvelled and gave me joy of my safety, saying, “By Allah, this is
wonderful! But how didst thou escape from these blacks who swarm in the
island and devour all who fall in with them; nor is any safe from them,
nor can any get out of their clutches?” And after I had told them the
fate of my companions, they made me sit by them, till they got quit of
their work; and fetched me somewhat of good food, which I ate, for I
was hungry, and rested awhile, after which they took ship with me and
carrying me to their island-home brought me before their King, who
returned my salute and received me honourably and questioned me of my
case. I told him all that had befallen me, from the day of my leaving
Baghdad-city, whereupon he wondered with great wonder at my adventures,
he and his courtiers, and bade me sit by him; then he called for food
and I ate with him what sufficed me and washed my hands and returned
thanks to Almighty Allah for all His favours praising Him and
glorifying Him. Then I left the King and walked for solace about the
city, which I found wealthy and populous, abounding in market-streets
well stocked with food and merchandise and full of buyers and sellers.
So I rejoiced at having reached so pleasant a place and took my ease
there after my fatigues; and I made friends with the townsfolk, nor was
it long before I became more in honour and favour with them and their
King than any of the chief men of the realm. Now I saw that all the
citizens, great and small, rode fine horses, high-priced and
thorough-bred, without saddles or housings, whereat I wondered and said
to the King, “Wherefore, O my lord, dost thou not ride with a saddle?
Therein is ease for the rider and increase of power.” “What is a
saddle?” asked he: “I never saw nor used such a thing in all my life;”
and I answered, “With thy permission I will make thee a saddle, that
thou mayest ride on it and see the comfort thereof.” And quoth he, “Do
so.” So quoth I to him, “Furnish me with some wood,” which being
brought, I sought me a clever carpenter and sitting by him showed him
how to make the saddle-tree, portraying for him the fashion thereof in
ink on the wood. Then I took wool and teased it and made felt of it,
and, covering the saddle-tree with leather, stuffed it and polished it
and attached the girth and stirrup leathers; after which I fetched a
blacksmith and described to him the fashion of the stirrups and
bridle-bit. So he forged a fine pair of stirrups and a bit, and filed
them smooth and tinned[FN#45] them. Moreover, I made fast to them
fringes of silk and fitted bridle-leathers to the bit. Then I fetched
one of the best of the royal horses and saddling and bridling him, hung
the stirrups to the saddle and led him to the King. The thing took his
fancy and he thanked me; then he mounted and rejoiced greatly in the
saddle and rewarded me handsomely for my work. When the King’s Wazir
saw the saddle, he asked of me one like it and I made it for him.
Furthermore, all the grandees and officers of state came for saddles to
me; so I fell to making saddles (having taught the craft to the
carpenter and blacksmith), and selling them to all who sought, till I
amassed great wealth and became in high honour and great favour with
the King and his household and grandees. I abode thus till, one day, as
I was sitting with the King in all respect and contentment, he said to
me, “Know thou, O such an one, thou art become one of us, dear as a
brother, and we hold thee in such regard and affection that we cannot
part with thee nor suffer thee to leave our city; wherefore I desire of
thee obedience in a certain matter, and I will not have thee gainsay
me.” Answered I, “O King, what is it thou desirest of me? Far be it
from me to gainsay thee in aught, for I am indebted to thee for many
favours and bounties and much kindness, and (praised be Allah!) I am
become one of thy servants.” Quoth he, “I have a mind to marry thee to
a fair, clever and agreeable wife who is wealthy as she is beautiful;
so thou mayst be naturalised and domiciled with us: I will lodge thee
with me in my palace; wherefore oppose me not neither cross me in
this.” When I heard these words I was ashamed and held my peace nor
could make him any answer,[FN#46] by reason of my much bashfulness
before him. Asked he, “Why dost thou not reply to me, O my son?”; and I
answered saying, “O my master, it is thine to command, O King of the
age!” So he summoned the Kazi and the witnesses and married me
straightway to a lady of a noble tree and high pedigree; wealthy in
moneys and means; the flower of an ancient race; of surpassing beauty
and grace, and the owner of farms and estates and many a
dwelling-place.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Fifty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued in these words:—Now after the King my master had
married me to this choice wife, he also gave me a great and goodly
house standing alone, together with slaves and officers, and assigned
me pay and allowances. So I became in all ease and contentment and
delight and forgot everything which had befallen me of weariness and
trouble and hardship; for I loved my wife with fondest love and she
loved me no less, and we were as one and abode in the utmost comfort of
life and in its happiness. And I said in myself, “When I return to my
native land, I will carry her with me.” But whatso is predestined to a
man, that needs must be, and none knoweth what shall befal him. We
lived thus a great while, till Almighty Allah bereft one of my
neighbours of his wife. Now he was a gossip of mine; so hearing the cry
of the keeners I went in to condole with him on his loss and found him
in very ill plight, full of trouble and weary of soul and mind. I
condoled with him and comforted him, saying, “Mourn not for thy wife
who hath now found the mercy of Allah; the Lord will surely give thee a
better in her stead and thy name shall be great and thy life shall be
long in the land, Inshallah!”[FN#47] But he wept bitter tears and
replied, “O my friend, how can I marry another wife and how shall Allah
replace her to me with a better than she, whenas I have but one day
left to live?” “O my brother,” said I, “return to thy senses and
announce not the glad tidings of thine own death, for thou art well,
sound and in good case.” “By thy life, O my friend,” rejoined he,
“to-morrow thou wilt lose me and wilt never see me again till the Day
of Resurrection.” I asked, “How so?” and he answered, “This very day
they bury my wife, and they bury me with her in one tomb; for it is the
custom with us, if the wife die first, to bury the husband alive with
her and in like manner the wife, if the husband die first; so that
neither may enjoy life after losing his or her mate.” “By Allah,” cried
I, “this is a most vile, lewd custom and not to be endured of any!”
Meanwhile, behold, the most part of the townsfolk came in and fell to
condoling with my gossip for his wife and for himself. Presently they
laid the dead woman out, as was their wont; and, setting her on a bier,
carried her and her husband without the city, till they came to a place
in the side of the mountain at the end of the island by the sea; and
here they raised a great rock and discovered the mouth of a
stone-rivetted pit or well,[FN#48] leading down into a vast underground
cavern that ran beneath the mountain. Into this pit they threw the
corpse, then tying a rope of palm-fibres under the husband’s armpits,
they let him down into the cavern, and with him a great pitcher of
fresh water and seven scones by way of viaticum.[FN#49] When he came to
the bottom, he loosed himself from the rope and they drew it up; and,
stopping the mouth of the pit with the great stone, they returned to
the city, leaving my friend in the cavern with his dead wife. When I
saw this, I said to myself, “By Allah, this fashion of death is more
grievous than the first!” And I went in to the King and said to him, “O
my lord, why do ye bury the quick with the dead?” Quoth he, “It hath
been the custom, thou must know, of our forbears and our olden Kings
from time immemorial, if the husband die first, to bury his wife with
him, and the like with the wife, so we may not sever them, alive or
dead.” I asked, “O King of the age, if the wife of a foreigner like
myself die among you, deal ye with him as with yonder man?”; and he
answered, “Assuredly, we do with him even as thou hast seen.” When I
heard this, my gall-bladder was like to burst, for the violence of my
dismay and concern for myself: my wit became dazed; I felt as if in a
vile dungeon; and hated their society; for I went about in fear lest my
wife should die before me and they bury me alive with her. However,
after a while, I comforted myself, saying, “Haply I shall predecease
her, or shall have returned to my own land before she die, for none
knoweth which shall go first and which shall go last.” Then I applied
myself to diverting my mind from this thought with various occupations;
but it was not long before my wife sickened and complained and took to
her pillow and fared after a few days to the mercy of Allah; and the
King and the rest of the folk came, as was their wont, to condole with
me and her family and to console us for her loss and not less to
condole with me for myself. Then the women washed her and arraying her
in her richest raiment and golden ornaments, necklaces and jewellery,
laid her on the bier and bore her to the mountain aforesaid, where they
lifted the cover of the pit and cast her in; after which all my
intimates and acquaintances and my wife’s kith and kin came round me,
to farewell me in my lifetime and console me for my own death, whilst I
cried out among them, saying, “Almighty Allah never made it lawful to
bury the quick with the dead! I am a stranger, not one of your kind;
and I cannot abear your custom, and had I known it I never would have
wedded among you!” They heard me not and paid no heed to my words, but
laying hold of me, bound me by force and let me down into the cavern,
with a large gugglet of sweet water and seven cakes of bread, according
to their custom. When I came to the bottom, they called out to me to
cast myself loose from the cords, but I refused to do so; so they threw
them down on me and, closing the mouth of the pit with the stones
aforesaid, went their ways,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:—When they left me in the cavern with my dead wife
and, closing the mouth of the pit, went their ways, I looked about me
and found myself in a vast cave full of dead bodies, that exhaled a
fulsome and loathsome smell and the air was heavy with the groans of
the dying. Thereupon I fell to blaming myself for what I had done,
saying, “By Allah, I deserve all that hath befallen me and all that
shall befal me! What curse was upon me to take a wife in this city?
There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious,
the Great! As often as I say, I have escaped from one calamity, I fall
into a worse. By Allah, this is an abominable death to die! Would
Heaven I had died a decent death and been washed and shrouded like a
man and a Moslem. Would I had been drowned at sea or perished in the
mountains! It were better than to die this miserable death!” And on
such wise I kept blaming my own folly and greed of gain in that black
hole, knowing not night from day; and I ceased not to ban the Foul
Fiend and to bless the Almighty Friend. Then I threw myself down on the
bones of the dead and lay there, imploring Allah’s help and in the
violence of my despair, invoking death which came not to me, till the
fire of hunger burned my stomach and thirst set my throat aflame when I
sat up and feeling for the bread, ate a morsel and upon it swallowed a
mouthful of water. After this, the worst night I ever knew, I arose,
and exploring the cavern, found that it extended a long way with
hollows in its sides; and its floor was strewn with dead bodies and
rotten bones, that had lain there from olden time. So I made myself a
place in a cavity of the cavern, afar from the corpses lately thrown
down and there slept. I abode thus a long while, till my provision was
like to give out; and yet I ate not save once every day or second day;
nor did I drink more than an occasional draught, for fear my victual
should fail me before my death; and I said to myself, “Eat little and
drink little; belike the Lord shall vouchsafe deliverance to thee!” One
day, as I sat thus, pondering my case and bethinking me how I should
do, when my bread and water should be exhausted, behold, the stone that
covered the opening was suddenly rolled away and the light streamed
down upon me. Quoth I, “I wonder what is the matter: haply they have
brought another corpse.” Then I espied folk standing about the mouth of
the pit, who presently let down a dead man and a live woman, weeping
and bemoaning herself, and with her an ampler supply of bread and water
than usual.[FN#50] I saw her and she was a beautiful woman; but she saw
me not; and they closed up the opening and went away. Then I took the
leg-bone of a dead man and, going up to the woman, smote her on the
crown of the head; and she cried one cry and fell down in a swoon. I
smote her a second and a third time, till she was dead, when I laid
hands on her bread and water and found on her great plenty of ornaments
and rich apparel, necklaces, jewels and gold trinkets;[FN#51] for it
was their custom to bury women in all their finery. I carried the
vivers to my sleeping place in the cavern-side and ate and drank of
them sparingly, no more than sufficed to keep the life in me, lest the
provaunt come speedily to an end and I perish of hunger and thirst. Yet
did I never wholly lose hope in Almighty Allah. I abode thus a great
while, killing all the live folk they let down into the cavern and
taking their provisions of meat and drink; till one day, as I slept, I
was awakened by something scratching and burrowing among the bodies in
a corner of the cave and said, “What can this be?” fearing wolves or
hyaenas. So I sprang up and seizing the leg-bone aforesaid, made for
the noise. As soon as the thing was ware of me, it fled from me into
the inward of the cavern, and lo! it was a wild beast. However, I
followed it to the further end, till I saw afar off a point of light
not bigger than a star, now appearing and then disappearing. So I made
for it, and as I drew near, it grew larger and brighter, till I was
certified that it was a crevice in the rock, leading to the open
country; and I said to myself, “There must be some reason for this
opening: either it is the mouth of a second pit, such as that by which
they let me down, or else it is a natural fissure in the stonery.” So I
bethought me awhile and nearing the light, found that it came from a
breach in the back side of the mountain, which the wild beasts had
enlarged by burrowing, that they might enter and devour the dead and
freely go to and fro. When I saw this, my spirits revived and hope came
back to me and I made sure of life, after having died a death. So I
went on, as in a dream, and making shift to scramble through the breach
found myself on the slope of a high mountain, overlooking the salt sea
and cutting off all access thereto from the island, so that none could
come at that part of the beach from the city.[FN#52] I praised my Lord
and thanked Him, rejoicing greatly and heartening myself with the
prospect of deliverance; then I returned through the crack to the
cavern and brought out all the food and water I had saved up and donned
some of the dead folk’s clothes over my own; after which I gathered
together all the collars and necklaces of pearls and jewels and
trinkets of gold and silver set with precious stones and other
ornaments and valuables I could find upon the corpses; and, making them
into bundles with the grave clothes and raiment of the dead, carried
them out to the back of the mountain facing the sea-shore, where I
established myself, purposing to wait there till it should please
Almighty Allah to send me relief by means of some passing ship. I
visited the cavern daily and as often as I found folk buried alive
there, I killed them all indifferently, men and women, and took their
victual and valuables and transported them to my seat on the sea-shore.
Thus I abode a long while,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:—And after carrying all my victuals and valuables from
the cavern to the coast I abode a long while by the sea, pondering my
case, till one day I caught sight of a ship passing in the midst of the
clashing sea, swollen with dashing billows. So I took a piece of a
white shroud I had with me and, tying it to a staff, ran along the
sea-shore, making signals therewith and calling to the people in the
ship, till they espied me and hearing my shouts, sent a boat to fetch
me off. When it drew near, the crew called out to me, saying, “Who art
thou and how camest thou to be on this mountain, whereon never saw we
any in our born days?” I answered, “I am a gentleman[FN#53] and a
merchant, who hath been wrecked and saved myself on one of the planks
of the ship, with some of my goods; and by the blessing of the Almighty
and the decrees of Destiny and my own strength and skill, after much
toil and moil I have landed with my gear in this place where I awaited
some passing ship to take me off.” So they took me in their boat
together with the bundles I had made of the jewels and valuables from
the cavern, tied up in clothes and shrouds, and rowed back with me to
the ship, where the captain said to me, “How camest thou, O man, to
yonder place on yonder mountain behind which lieth a great city? All my
life I have sailed these seas and passed to and fro hard by these
heights; yet never saw I here any living thing save wild beasts and
birds.” I repeated to him the story I had told the sailors,[FN#54] but
acquainted him with nothing of that which had befallen me in the city
and the cavern, lest there should be any of the islandry in the ship.
Then I took out some of the best pearls I had with me and offered them
to the captain, saying, “O my lord, thou hast been the means of saving
me off this mountain. I have no ready money; but take this from me in
requital of thy kindness and good offices.” But he refused to accept it
of me, saying, “When we find a shipwrecked man on the sea-shore or on
an island, we take him up and give him meat and drink, and if he be
naked we clothe him; nor take we aught from him; nay, when we reach a
port of safety, we set him ashore with a present of our own money and
entreat him kindly and charitably, for the love of Allah the Most
High.” So I prayed that his life be long in the land and rejoiced in my
escape, trusting to be delivered from my stress and to forget my past
mishaps; for every time I remembered being let down into the cave with
my dead wife I shuddered in horror. Then we pursued our voyage and
sailed from island to island and sea to sea, till we arrived at the
Island of the Bell, which containeth a city two days’ journey in
extent, whence after a six days’ run we reached the Island Kala, hard
by the land of Hind.[FN#55] This place is governed by a potent and
puissant King and it produceth excellent camphor and an abundance of
the Indian rattan: here also is a lead mine. At last by the decree of
Allah, we arrived in safety at Bassorah-town where I tarried a few
days, then went on to Baghdad-city, and, finding my quarter, entered my
house with lively pleasure. There I foregathered with my family and
friends, who rejoiced in my happy return and gave my joy of my safety.
I laid up in my storehouses all the goods I had brought with me, and
gave alms and largesse to Fakirs and beggars and clothed the widow and
the orphan. Then I gave myself up to pleasure and enjoyment, returning
to my old merry mode of life. “Such, then, be the most marvellous
adventures of my fourth voyage, but to-morrow if you will kindly come
to me, I will tell you that which befel me in my fifth voyage, which
was yet rarer and more marvellous than those which forewent it. And
thou, O my brother Sindbad the Landsman, shalt sup with me as thou art
wont.” (Saith he who telleth the tale), When Sindbad the Seaman had
made an end of his story, he called for supper; so they spread the
table and the guests ate the evening meal; after which he gave the
Porter an hundred dinars as usual, and he and the rest of the company
went their ways, glad at heart and marvelling at the tales they had
heard, for that each story was more extraordinary than that which
forewent it. The porter Sindbad passed the night in his own house, in
all joy and cheer and wonderment; and, as soon as morning came with its
sheen and shone, he prayed the dawn-prayer and repaired to the house of
Sindbad the Seaman, who welcomed him and bade him sit with him till the
rest of the company arrived, when they ate and drank and made merry and
the talk went round amongst them. Presently, their host began the
narrative of the fifth voyage,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the host began in
these words the narrative of
The Fifth Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman.
Know, O my brothers, that when I had been awhile on shore after my
fourth voyage; and when, in my comfort and pleasures and merry-makings
and in my rejoicing over my large gains and profits, I had forgotten
all I had endured of perils and sufferings, the carnal man was again
seized with the longing to travel and to see foreign countries and
islands.[FN#56] Accordingly I bought costly merchandise suited to my
purpose and, making it up into bales, repaired to Bassorah, where I
walked about the river-quay till I found a fine tall ship, newly
builded with gear unused and fitted ready for sea. She pleased me; so I
bought her and, embarking my goods in her, hired a master and crew,
over whom I set certain of my slaves and servants as inspectors. A
number of merchants also brought their outfits and paid me freight and
passage-money; then, after reciting the Fatihah we set sail over
Allah’s pool in all joy and cheer, promising ourselves a prosperous
voyage and much profit. We sailed from city to city and from island to
island and from sea to sea viewing the cities and countries by which we
passed, and selling and buying in not a few till one day we came to a
great uninhabited island, deserted and desolate, whereon was a white
dome of biggest bulk half buried in the sands. The merchants landed to
examine this dome, leaving me in the ship; and when they drew near,
behold, it was a huge Rukh’s egg. They fell a-beating it with stones,
knowing not what it was, and presently broke it open, whereupon much
water ran out of it and the young Rukh appeared within. So they pulled
it forth of the shell and cut its throat and took of it great store of
meat. Now I was in the ship and knew not what they did; but presently
one of the passengers came up to me and said, “O my lord, come and look
at the egg we thought to be a dome.” So I looked and seeing the
merchants beating it with stones, called out to them, “Stop, stop! do
not meddle with that egg, or the bird Rukh will come out and break our
ship and destroy us.”[FN#57] But they paid no heed to me and gave not
over smiting upon the egg, when behold, the day grew dark and dun and
the sun was hidden from us, as if some great cloud had passed over the
firmament.[FN#58] So we raised our eyes and saw that what we took for a
cloud was the Rukh poised between us and the sun, and it was his wings
that darkened the day. When he came and saw his egg broken, he cried a
loud cry, whereupon his mate came flying up and they both began
circling about the ship, crying out at us with voices louder than
thunder. I called to the Rais and crew, “Put out to sea and seek safety
in flight, before we be all destroyed.” So the merchants came on board
and we cast off and made haste from the island to gain the open sea.
When the Rukhs saw this, they flew off and we crowded all sail on the
ship, thinking to get out of their country; but presently the two
re-appeared and flew after us and stood over us, each carrying in its
claws a huge boulder which it had brought from the mountains. As soon
as the he-Rukh came up with us, he let fall upon us the rock he held in
his pounces; but the master put about ship, so that the rock missed her
by some small matter and plunged into the waves with such violence,
that the ship pitched high and then sank into the trough of the sea and
the bottom of the ocean appeared to us. Then the she-Rukh let fall her
rock, which was bigger than that of her mate, and as Destiny had
decreed, it fell on the poop of the ship and crushed it, the rudder
flying into twenty pieces; whereupon the vessel foundered and all and
everything on board were cast into the main.[FN#59] As for me I
struggled for sweet life, till Almighty Allah threw in my way one of
the planks of the ship, to which I clung and bestriding it, fell
a-paddling with my feet. Now the ship had gone down hard by an island
in the midst of the main and the winds and waves bore me on till, by
permission of the Most High, they cast me up on the shore of the
island, at the last gasp for toil and distress and half dead with
hunger and thirst. So I landed more like a corpse than a live man and
throwing myself down on the beach, lay there awhile, till I began to
revive and recover spirits, when I walked about the island and found it
as it were one of the garths and gardens of Paradise. Its trees, in
abundance dight, bore ripe-yellow fruit for freight; its streams ran
clear and bright; its flowers were fair to scent and to sight and its
birds warbled with delight the praises of Him to whom belong permanence
and all-might. So I ate my fill of the fruits and slaked my thirst with
the water of the streams till I could no more and I returned thanks to
the Most High and glorified Him;—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:—So when I escaped drowning and reached the island
which afforded me fruit to eat and water to drink, I returned thanks to
the Most High and glorified Him; after which I sat till nightfall,
hearing no voice and seeing none inhabitant. Then I lay down, well-nigh
dead for travail and trouble and terror, and slept without surcease
till morning, when I arose and walked about under the trees, till I
came to the channel of a draw-well fed by a spring of running water, by
which well sat an old man of venerable aspect, girt about with a
waist-cloth[FN#60] made of the fibre of palm-fronds.[FN#61] Quoth I to
myself, “Haply this Shaykh is one of those who were wrecked in the ship
and hath made his way to this island.” So I drew near to him and
saluted him, and he returned my salam by signs, but spoke not; and I
said to him, “O nuncle mine, what causeth thee to sit here?” He shook
his head and moaned and signed to me with his hands as who should say,
“Take me on thy shoulders and carry me to the other side of the
well-channel.” And quoth I in my mind, “I will deal kindly with him and
do what he desireth; it may be I shall win me a reward in Heaven for he
may be a paralytic.” So I took him on my back and carrying him to the
place whereat he pointed, said to him, “Dismount at thy leisure.” But
he would not get off my back and wound his legs about my neck. I looked
at them and seeing that they were like a buffalo’s hide for blackness
and roughness,[FN#62] was affrighted and would have cast him off; but
he clung to me and gripped my neck with his legs, till I was well-nigh
choked, the world grew black in my sight and I fell senseless to the
ground like one dead. But he still kept his seat and raising his legs
drummed with his heels and beat harder than palm-rods my back and
shoulders, till he forced me to rise for excess of pain. Then he signed
to me with his hand to carry him hither and thither among the trees
which bore the best fruits; and if ever I refused to do his bidding or
loitered or took my leisure he beat me with his feet more grievously
than if I had been beaten with whips. He ceased not to signal with his
hand wherever he was minded to go; so I carried him about the island,
like a captive slave, and he bepissed and conskited my shoulders and
back, dismounting not night nor day; and whenas he wished to sleep he
wound his legs about my neck and leaned back and slept awhile, then
arose and beat me; whereupon I sprang up in haste, unable to gainsay
him because of the pain he inflicted on me. And indeed I blamed myself
and sore repented me of having taken compassion on him and continued in
this condition, suffering fatigue not to be described, till I said to
myself, “I wrought him a weal and he requited me with my ill; by Allah,
never more will I do any man a service so long as I live!” And again
and again I besought the Most High that I might die, for stress of
weariness and misery; and thus I abode a long while till, one day, I
came with him to a place wherein was abundance of gourds, many of them
dry. So I took a great dry gourd and, cutting open the head, scooped
out the inside and cleaned it; after which I gathered grapes from a
vine which grew hard by and squeezed them into the gourd, till it was
full of the juice. Then I stopped up the mouth and set it in the sun,
where I left it for some days, until it became strong wine; and every
day I used to drink of it, to comfort and sustain me under my fatigues
with that froward and obstinate fiend; and as often as I drank myself
drunk, I forgot my troubles and took new heart. One day he saw me
drinking and signed to me with his hand, as who should say, “What is
that?” Quoth I, “It is an excellent cordial, which cheereth the heart
and reviveth the spirits.” Then, being heated with wine, I ran and
danced with him among the trees, clapping my hands and singing and
making merry; and I staggered under him by design. When he saw this, he
signed to me to give him the gourd that he might drink, and I feared
him and gave it him. So he took it and, draining it to the dregs, cast
it on the ground, whereupon he grew frolicsome and began to clap hands
and jig to and fro on my shoulders and he made water upon me so
copiously that all my dress was drenched. But presently the fumes of
the wine rising to his head, he became helplessly drunk and his
side-muscles and limbs relaxed and he swayed to and fro on my back. When I
saw that he had lost his senses for drunkenness, I put my hand to his
legs and, loosing them from my neck, stooped down well-nigh to the
ground and threw him at full length,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:—So I threw the devil off my shoulders, hardly
crediting my deliverance from him and fearing lest he should shake off
his drunkenness and do me a mischief. Then I took up a great stone from
among the trees and coming up to him smote him therewith on the head
with all my might and crushed in his skull as he lay dead drunk.
Thereupon his flesh and fat and blood being in a pulp, he died and went
to his deserts, The Fire, no mercy of Allah be upon him! I then
returned, with a heart at ease, to my former station on the sea-shore
and abode in that island many days, eating of its fruits and drinking
of its waters and keeping a look-out for passing ships; till one day,
as I sat on the beach, recalling all that had befallen me and saying,
“I wonder if Allah will save me alive and restore me to my home and
family and friends!” behold, a ship was making for the island through
the dashing sea and clashing waves. Presently, it cast anchor and the
passengers landed; so I made for them, and when they saw me all
hastened up to me and gathering round me questioned me of my case and
how I came thither. I told them all that had betided me, whereat they
marvelled with exceeding marvel and said, “He who rode on thy shoulder
is called the ‘Shaykh al-Bahr’ or Old Man of the Sea,[FN#63] and none
ever felt his legs on neck and came off alive but thou; and those who
die under him he eateth: so praised be Allah for thy safety!” Then they
set somewhat of food before me, whereof I ate my fill, and gave me
somewhat of clothes wherewith I clad myself anew and covered my
nakedness; after which they took me up into the ship, and we sailed
days and nights, till fate brought us to a place called the City of
Apes, builded with lofty houses, all of which gave upon the sea and it
had a single gate studded and strengthened with iron nails. Now every
night, as soon as it is dusk the dwellers in this city use to come
forth of the gates and, putting out to sea in boats and ships, pass the
night upon the waters in their fear lest the apes should come down on
them from the mountains. Hearing this I was sore troubled remembering
what I had before suffered from the ape-kind. Presently I landed to
solace myself in the city, but meanwhile the ship set sail without me
and I repented of having gone ashore, and calling to mind my companions
and what had befallen me with the apes, first and after, sat down and
fell a-weeping and lamenting. Presently one of the townsfolk accosted
me and said to me, “O my lord, meseemeth thou art a stranger to these
parts?” “Yes,” answered I, “I am indeed a stranger and a poor one, who
came hither in a ship which cast anchor here, and I landed to visit the
town; but when I would have gone on board again, I found they had
sailed without me.” Quoth he, “Come and embark with us, for if thou lie
the night in the city, the apes will destroy thee.” “Hearkening and
obedience,” replied I, and rising, straightway embarked with him in one
of the boats, whereupon they pushed off from shore and anchoring a mile
or so from the land, there passed the night. At daybreak, they rowed
back to the city and landing, went each about his business. Thus they
did every night, for if any tarried in the town by night the apes came
down on him and slew him. As soon as it was day, the apes left the
place and ate of the fruits of the gardens, then went back to the
mountains and slept there till nightfall, when they again came down
upon the city.[FN#64] Now this place was in the farthest part of the
country of the blacks, and one of the strangest things that befel me
during my sojourn in the city was on this wise. One of the company with
whom I passed the night in the boat, asked me, “O my lord, thou art
apparently a stranger in these parts; hast thou any craft whereat thou
canst work?”; and I answered, “By Allah, O my brother, I have no trade
nor know I any handicraft, for I was a merchant and a man of money and
substance and had a ship of my own, laden with great store of goods and
merchandise; but it foundered at sea and all were drowned excepting me
who saved myself on a piece of plank which Allah vouchsafed to me of
His favour.” Upon this he brought me a cotton bag and giving it to me,
said, “Take this bag and fill it with pebbles from the beach and go
forth with a company of the townsfolk to whom I will give a charge
respecting thee. Do as they do and belike thou shalt gain what may
further thy return voyage to thy native land.” Then he carried me to
the beach, where I filled my bag with pebbles large and small, and
presently we saw a company of folk issue from the town, each bearing a
bag like mine, filled with pebbles. To these he committed me,
commending me to their care, and saying, “This man is a stranger, so
take him with you and teach him how to gather, that he may get his
daily bread, and you will earn your reward and recompense in Heaven.”
“On our head and eyes be it!” answered they and bidding me welcome,
fared on with me till we came to a spacious Wady, full of lofty trees
with trunks so smooth that none might climb them. Now sleeping under
these trees were many apes, which when they saw us rose and fled from
us and swarmed up among the branches; whereupon my companions began to
pelt them with what they had in their bags, and the apes fell to
plucking of the fruit of the trees and casting them at the folk. I
looked at the fruits they cast at us and found them to be Indian[FN#65]
or cocoa-nuts; so I chose out a great tree, full of apes, and going up
to it, began to pelt them with stones, and they in return pelted me
with nuts, which I collected, as did the rest; so that even before I
had made an end of my bagful of pebbles, I had gotten great plenty of
nuts; and as soon as my companions had in like manner gotten as many
nuts as they could carry, we returned to the city, where we arrived at
the fag-end of day. Then I went in to the kindly man who had brought me
in company with the nut-gatherers and gave him all I had gotten,
thanking him for his kindness; but he would not accept them, saying,
“Sell them and make profit by the price;” and presently he added (giving
me the key of a closet in his house) “Store thy nuts in this safe place
and go thou forth every morning and gather them as thou hast done
to-day, and choose out the worst for sale and supplying thyself; but
lay up the rest here, so haply thou mayst collect enough to serve thee
for thy return home.” “Allah requite thee!” answered I and did as he
advised me, going out daily with the cocoa-nut gatherers, who commended
me to one another and showed me the best-stocked trees.[FN#66] Thus did
I for some time, till I had laid up great store of excellent nuts,
besides a large sum of money, the price of those I had sold. I became
thus at my ease and bought all I saw and had a mind to, and passed my
time pleasantly greatly enjoying my stay in the city, till, as I stood
on the beach, one day, a great ship steering through the heart of the
sea presently cast anchor by the shore and landed a company of
merchants, who proceeded to sell and buy and barter their goods for
cocoa-nuts and other commodities. Then I went to my friend and told him
of the coming of the ship and how I had a mind to return to my own
country; and he said, “’Tis for thee to decide.” So I thanked him for
his bounties and took leave of him; then, going to the captain of the
ship, I agreed with him for my passage and embarked my cocoa-nuts and
what else I possessed. We weighed anchor,—And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:—So I left the City of the Apes and embarked my
cocoa-nuts and what else I possessed. We weighed anchor the same day
and sailed from island to island and sea to sea; and whenever we
stopped, I sold and traded with my cocoa-nuts, and the Lord requited me
more than I erst had and lost. Amongst other places, we came to an
island abounding in cloves[FN#67] and cinnamon and pepper; and the
country people told me that by the side of each pepper-bunch groweth a
great leaf which shadeth it from the sun and casteth the water off it
in the wet season; but, when the rain ceaseth the leaf turneth over and
droopeth down by the side of the bunch.[FN#68] Here I took in great
store of pepper and cloves and cinnamon, in exchange for cocoa-nuts,
and we passed thence to the Island of Al-Usirat,[FN#69] whence cometh
the Comorin aloes-wood and thence to another island, five days’ journey
in length, where grows the Chinese lign-aloes, which is better than the
Comorin; but the people of this island[FN#70] are fouler of condition
and religion than those of the other, for that they love fornication
and wine-bibbing, and know not prayer nor call to prayer. Thence we
came to the pearl-fisheries, and I gave the divers some of my
cocoa-nuts and said to them, “Dive for my luck and lot!” They did so
and brought up from the deep bight[FN#71] great store of large and
priceless pearls; and they said to me, “By Allah, O my master, thy luck
is a lucky!” Then we sailed on, with the blessing of Allah (whose name
be exalted!); and ceased not sailing till we arrived safely at
Bassorah. There I abode a little and then went on to Baghdad, where I
entered my quarter and found my house and foregathered with my family
and saluted my friends who gave me joy of my safe return, and I laid up
all my goods and valuables in my storehouses. Then I distributed alms
and largesse and clothed the widow and the orphan and made presents to
my relations and comrades; for the Lord had requited me fourfold that I
had lost. After which I returned to my old merry way of life and forgot
all I had suffered in the great profit and gain I had made. “Such,
then, is the history of my fifth voyage and its wonderments, and now to
supper; and to-morrow, come again and I will tell you what befel me in
my sixth voyage; for it was still more wonderful than this.” (Saith he
who telleth the tale), Then he called for food; and the servants spread
the table, and when they had eaten the evening-meal, he bade give
Sindbad the porter an hundred golden dinars and the Landsman returned
home and lay him down to sleep, much marvelling at all he had heard.
Next morning, as soon as it was light, he prayed the dawn-prayer; and,
after blessing Mohammed the Cream of all creatures, betook himself to
the house of Sindbad the Seaman and wished him a good day. The merchant
bade him sit and talked with him, till the rest of the company arrived.
Then the servants spread the table and when they had well eaten and
drunken and were mirthful and merry, Sindbad the Seaman began in these
words the narrative of
The Sixth Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman.
Know, O my brothers and friends and companions all, that I abode some
time, after my return from my fifth voyage, in great solace and
satisfaction and mirth and merriment, joyance and enjoyment; and I
forgot what I had suffered, seeing the great gain and profit I had made
till, one day, as I sat making merry and enjoying myself with my
friends, there came in to me a company of merchants whose case told
tales of travel, and talked with me of voyage and adventure and
greatness of pelf and lucre. Hereupon I remembered the days of my
return from abroad, and my joy at once more seeing my native land and
foregathering with my family and friends; and my soul yearned for
travel and traffic. So compelled by Fate and Fortune I resolved to
undertake another voyage; and, buying me fine and costly merchandise
meet for foreign trade, made it up into bales, with which I journeyed
from Baghdad to Bassorah. Here I found a great ship ready for sea and
full of merchants and notables, who had with them goods of price; so I
embarked my bales therein. And we left Bassorah in safety and good
spirits under the safeguard of the King, the Preserver.—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:—And after embarking my bales and leaving Bassorah in
safety and good spirits, we continued our voyage from place to place
and from city to city, buying and selling and profiting and diverting
ourselves with the sight of countries where strange folk dwell. And
Fortune and the voyage smiled upon us, till one day, as we went along,
behold, the captain suddenly cried with a great cry and cast his
turband on the deck. Then he buffeted his face like a woman and plucked
out his beard and fell down in the waist of the ship will nigh fainting
for stress of grief and rage, and crying, “Oh and alas for the ruin of
my house and the orphanship of my poor children!” So all the merchant
and sailors came round about him and asked him, “O master, what is the
matter?”; for the light had become night before their sight. And he
answered, saying, “Know, O folk, that we have wandered from our course
and left the sea whose ways we wot, and come into a sea whose ways I
know not; and unless Allah vouchsafe us a means of escape, we are all
dead men; wherefore pray ye to the Most High, that He deliver us from
this strait. Haply amongst you is one righteous whose prayers the Lord
will accept.” Then he arose and clomb the mast to see an there were any
escape from that strait; and he would have loosed the sails; but the
wind redoubled upon the ship and whirled her round thrice and drave her
backwards; whereupon her rudder brake and she fell off towards a high
mountain. With this the captain came down from the mast, saying, “There
is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the
Great; nor can man prevent that which is fore-ordained of fate! By
Allah, we are fallen on a place of sure destruction, and there is no
way of escape for us, nor can any of us be saved!” Then we all fell
a-weeping over ourselves and bidding one another farewell for that our
days were come to an end, and we had lost all hopes of life. Presently
the ship struck the mountain and broke up, and all and everything on
board of her were plunged into the sea. Some of the merchants were
drowned and others made shift to reach the shore and save themselves
upon the mountain; I amongst the number, and when we got ashore, we
found a great island, or rather peninsula[FN#72] whose base was strewn
with wreckage of crafts and goods and gear cast up by the sea from
broken ships whose passengers had been drowned; and the quantity
confounded compt and calculation. So I climbed the cliffs into the
inward of the isle and walked on inland, till I came to a stream of
sweet water, that welled up at the nearest foot of the mountains and
disappeared in the earth under the range of hills on the opposite side.
But all the other passengers went over the mountains to the inner
tracts; and, dispersing hither and thither, were confounded at what
they saw and became like madmen at the sight of the wealth and
treasures wherewith the shores were strewn. As for me I looked into the
bed of the stream aforesaid and saw therein great plenty of rubies, and
great royal pearls[FN#73] and all kinds of jewels and precious stones
which were as gravel in the bed of the rivulets that ran through the
fields, and the sands sparkled and glittered with gems and precious
ores. Moreover we found in the island abundance of the finest
lign-aloes, both Chinese and Comorin; and there also is a spring of
crude ambergris[FN#74] which floweth like wax or gum over the
stream-banks, for the great heat of the sun, and runneth down to the
sea-shore, where the monsters of the deep come up and swallowing it,
return into the sea. But it burneth in their bellies; so they cast it
up again and it congealeth on the surface of the water, whereby its
color and quantities are changed; and at last, the waves cast it
ashore, and the travellers and merchants who know it, collect it and
sell it. But as to the raw ambergris which is not swallowed, it floweth
over the channel and congealeth on the banks and when the sun shineth
on it, it melteth and scenteth the whole valley with a musk-like
fragrance: then, when the sun ceaseth from it, it congealeth again. But
none can get to this place where is the crude ambergris, because of the
mountains which enclose the island on all sides and which foot of man
cannot ascend.[FN#75] We continued thus to explore the island,
marvelling at the wonderful works of Allah and the riches we found
there, but sore troubled for our own case, and dismayed at our
prospects. Now we had picked up on the beach some small matter of
victual from the wreck and husbanded it carefully, eating but once
every day or two, in our fear lest it should fail us and we die
miserably of famine or affright. Moreover, we were weak for colic
brought on by sea-sickness and low diet, and my companions deceased,
one after other, till there was but a small company of us left. Each
that died we washed and shrouded in some of the clothes and linen cast
ashore by the tides; and after a little, the rest of my fellows
perished, one by one, till I had buried the last of the party and abode
alone on the island, with but a little provision left, I who was wont
to have so much. And I wept over myself, saying, “Would Heaven I had
died before my companions and they had washed and buried me! It had
been better than I should perish and none wash me and shroud me and
bury me. But there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the
Glorious, the Great!”— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued in these words:—Now after I had buried the last of my
party and abode alone on the island, I arose and dug me a deep grave on
the sea-shore, saying to myself, “Whenas I grow weak and know that
death cometh to me, I will cast myself into the grave and die there, so
the wind may drift the sand over me and cover me and I be buried
therein.”[FN#76] Then I fell to reproaching myself for my little wit in
leaving my native land and betaking me again to travel, after all I had
suffered during my first five voyages, and when I had not made a single
one without suffering more horrible perils and more terrible hardships
than in its forerunner and having no hope of escape from my present
stress; and I repented me of my folly and bemoaned myself, especially
as I had no need of money, seeing that I had enough and more than
enough and could not spend what I had, no, nor a half of it in all my
life. However, after a while Allah sent me a thought and I said to
myself, “By God, needs must this stream have an end as well as a
beginning; ergo an issue somewhere, and belike its course may lead to
some inhabited place; so my best plan is to make me a little
boat[FN#77] big enough to sit in, and carry it and launching it on the
river, embark therein and drop down the stream. If I escape, I escape,
by God’s leave; and if I perish, better die in the river than here.”
Then, sighing for myself, I set to work collecting a number of pieces
of Chinese and Comorin aloes-wood and I bound them together with ropes
from the wreckage; then I chose out from the broken-up ships straight
planks of even size and fixed them firmly upon the aloes-wood, making
me a boat-raft a little narrower than the channel of the stream; and I
tied it tightly and firmly as though it were nailed. Then I loaded it
with the goods, precious ores and jewels: and the union pearls which
were like gravel and the best of the ambergris crude and pure, together
with what I had collected on the island and what was left me of victual
and wild herbs. Lastly I lashed a piece of wood on either side, to
serve me as oars; and launched it, and embarking, did according to the
saying of the poet,
“Fly, fly with life whenas evils threat; * Leave the house to
tell of its builder’s fate!
Land after land shalt thou seek and find * But no other life on
thy wish shall wait:
Fret not thy soul in thy thoughts o’ night; * All woes shall end
or sooner or late.
Whoso is born in one land to die, * There and only there shall
gang his gait:
Nor trust great things to another wight, * Soul hath only soul
for confederate.”[FN#78]
My boat-raft drifted with the stream, I pondering the issue of my
affair; and the drifting ceased not till I came to the place where it
disappeared beneath the mountain. I rowed my conveyance into the place
which was intensely dark; and the current carried the raft with it down
the underground channel.[FN#79] The thin stream bore me on through a
narrow tunnel where the raft touched either side and my head rubbed
against the roof, return therefrom being impossible. Then I blamed
myself for having thus risked my life, and said, “If this passage grow
any straiter, the raft will hardly pass, and I cannot turn back; so I
shall inevitably perish miserably in this place.” And I threw myself
down upon my face on the raft, by reason of the narrowness of the
channel, whilst the stream ceased not to carry me along, knowing not
night from day, for the excess of the gloom which encompassed me about
and my terror and concern for myself lest I should perish. And in such
condition my course continued down the channel which now grew wide and
then straiter till, sore aweary by reason of the darkness which could
be felt, I fell asleep, as I lay prone on the raft, and I slept knowing
not an the time were long or short. When I awoke at last, I found
myself in the light of Heaven and opening my eyes I saw myself in a
broad stream and the raft moored to an island in the midst of a number
of Indians and Abyssinians. As soon as these blackamoors[FN#80] saw
that I was awake, they came up to me and bespoke me in their speech;
but I understood not what they said and thought that this was a dream
and a vision which had betided me for stress of concern and chagrin.
But I was delighted at my escape from the river. When they saw I
understood them not and made them no answer, one of them came forward
and said to me in Arabic, “Peace be with thee, O my brother! Who art
thou and whence faredst thou thither? How camest thou into this river
and what manner of land lies behind yonder mountains, for never knew we
any one make his way thence to us?” Quoth I, “And upon thee be peace
and the ruth of Allah and his blessing! Who are ye and what country is
this?” “O my brother,” answered he, “we are husbandmen and tillers of
the soil, who came out to water our fields and plantations; and,
finding thee asleep on this raft, laid hold of it and made it fast by
us, against thou shouldst awake at thy leisure. So tell us how thou
camest hither?” I answered, “For Allah’s sake, O my lord, ere I speak
give me somewhat to eat, for I am starving, and after ask me what thou
wilt.” So he hastened to fetch me food and I ate my fill, till I was
refreshed and my fear was calmed by a good belly-full and my life
returned to me. Then I rendered thanks to the Most High for mercies
great and small, glad to be out of the river and rejoicing to be
amongst them, and I told them all my adventures from first to last,
especially my troubles in the narrow channel.—And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:—When I landed and found myself amongst the Indians
and Abyssinians and had taken some rest, they consulted among
themselves and said to one another, “There is no help for it but we
carry him with us and present him to our King, that he may acquaint him
with his adventures.” So they took me, together with the raft-boat and
its lading of monies and merchandise; jewels, minerals and golden gear,
and brought me to their King, who was King of Sarandib,[FN#81] telling
him what had happened; whereupon he saluted me and bade me welcome.
Then he questioned me of my condition and adventures through the man
who had spoken Arabic and I repeated to him my story from beginning to
end, whereat he marvelled exceedingly and gave me joy of my
deliverance; after which I arose and fetched from the raft great store
of precious ores and jewels and ambergris and lign-aloes and presented
them to the King, who accepted them and entreated me with the utmost
honour, appointing me a lodging in his own palace. So I consorted with
the chief of the islanders, and they paid me the utmost respect. And I
quitted not the royal palace. Now the Island Sarandib lieth under the
equinoctial line, its night and day both numbering twelve house. It
measureth eighty leagues long by a breadth of thirty and its width is
bounded by a lofty mountain[FN#82] and a deep valley, The mountain is
conspicuous from a distance of three days and it containeth many kinds
of rubies and other minerals, and spice-trees of all sorts. The surface
is covered with emery wherewith gems are cut and fashioned; diamonds
are in its rivers and pearls are in its valleys. I ascended that
mountain and solaced myself with a view of its marvels which are
indescribable and afterwards I returned to the King.[FN#83] Thereupon,
all the travellers and merchants who came to the place questioned me of
the affairs of my native land and of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid and his
rule and I told them of him and of that wherefor he was renowned, and
they praised him because of this; whilst I in turn questioned them of
the manners and customers of their own countries and got the knowledge
I desired. One day, the King himself asked me of the fashions and form
of government of my country, and I acquainted him with the circumstance
of the Caliph’s sway in the city of Baghdad and the justice of his
rule. The King marvelled at my account of his appointments and said,
“By Allah, the Caliph’s ordinances are indeed wise and his fashions of
praiseworthy guise and thou hast made me love him by what thou tellest
me; wherefore I have a mind to make him a present and send it by thee.”
Quoth I, “Hearkening and obedience, O my lord; I will bear thy gift to
him and inform him that thou art his sincere lover and true friend.”
Then I abode with the King in great honour and regard and consideration
for a long while till, one day, as I sat in his palace, I heard news of
a company of merchants, that were fitting out a ship for Bassorah, and
said to myself, “I cannot do better than voyage with these men.” So I
rose without stay or delay and kissed the King’s hand and acquainted
him with my longing to set out with the merchants, for that I pined
after my people and mine own land. Quoth he, “Thou art thine own
master; yet, if it be thy will to abide with us, on our head and eyes
be it, for thou gladdenest us with thy company.” “By Allah, O my lord,”
answered I, “thou hast indeed overwhelmed me with thy favours and
well-doings; but I weary for a sight of my friends and family and native
country.” When he heard this, he summoned the merchants in question and
commended me to their care, paying my freight and passage-money. Then
he bestowed on me great riches from his treasuries and charged me with
a magnificent present for the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. Moreover he gave
me a sealed letter, saying, “Carry this with thine own hand to the
Commander of the Faithful and give him many salutations from us!”
“Hearing and obedience,” I replied. The missive was written on the skin
of the Kháwi[FN#84] (which is finer than lamb-parchment and of yellow
colour), with ink of ultramarine and the contents were as follows.
“Peace be with thee from the King of Al-Hind, before whom are a
thousand elephants and upon whose palace-crenelles are a thousand
jewels. But after (laud to the Lord and praises to His Prophet!): we
send thee a trifling gift which be thou pleased to accept. Thou art to
us a brother and a sincere friend; and great is the love we bear for
thee in heart; favour us therefore with a reply. The gift besitteth not
thy dignity: but we beg of thee, O our brother, graciously to accept it
and peace be with thee.” And the present was a cup of ruby a span
high[FN#85] the inside of which was adorned with precious pearls; and a
bed covered with the skin of the serpent which swalloweth the elephant,
which skin hath spots each like a dinar and whoso sitteth upon it never
sickeneth;[FN#86] and an hundred thousand miskals of Indian lign-aloes
and a slave-girl like a shining moon. Then I took leave of him and of
all my intimates and acquaintances in the island and embarked with the
merchants aforesaid. We sailed with a fair wind, committing ourselves
to the care of Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) and by His
permission arrived at Bassorah, where I passed a few days and nights
equipping myself and packing up my bales. Then I went on to
Baghdad-city, the House of Peace, where I sought an audience of the
Caliph and laid the King’s presents before him. He asked me whence they
came and I said to him, “By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I know
not the name of the city nor the way thither!” He then asked me, “O
Sindbad, is this true which the King writeth?”; and I answered, after
kissing the ground, “O my lord, I saw in his kingdom much more than he
hath written in his letter. For state processions a throne is set for
him upon a huge elephant, eleven cubits high: and upon this he sitteth
having his great lords and officers and guests standing in two ranks,
on his right hand and on his left. At his head is a man hending in hand
a golden javelin and behind him another with a great mace of gold whose
head is an emerald[FN#87] a span long and as thick as a man’s thumb.
And when he mounteth horse there mount with him a thousand horsemen
clad in gold brocade and silk; and as the King proceedeth a man
precedeth him, crying, ‘This is the King of great dignity, of high
authority!’ And he continueth to repeat his praises in words I remember
not, saying at the end of his panegyric, ‘This is the King owning the
crown whose like nor Solomon nor the Mihraj[FN#88] ever possessed.’
Then he is silent and one behind him proclaimeth, saying, ‘He will die!
Again I say he will die!;’ and the other addeth, ‘Extolled be the
perfection of the Living who dieth not!’[FN#89] Moreover by reason of
his justice and ordinance and intelligence, there is no Kazi in his
city, and all his lieges distinguish between Truth and Falsehood.”
Quoth the Caliph, “How great is this King! His letter hath shown me
this; and as for the mightiness of his dominion thou hast told us what
thou hast eye-witnessed. By Allah, he hath been endowed with wisdom as
with wide rule.” Then I related to the Commander of the Faithful all
that had befallen me in my last voyage; at which he wondered
exceedingly and bade his historians record my story and store it up in
his treasuries, for the edification of all who might see it. Then he
conferred on me exceeding great favours, and I repaired to my quarter
and entered my home, where I warehoused all my goods and possessions.
Presently, my friends came to me and I distributed presents among my
family and gave alms and largesse; after which I yielded myself to
joyance and enjoyment, mirth and merry-making, and forgot all that I
had suffered. “Such, then, O my brothers, is the history of what befel
me in my sixth voyage, and to-morrow, Inshallah! I will tell you the
story of my seventh and last voyage, which is still more wondrous and
marvellous than that of the first six.” (Saith he who telleth the
tale), Then he bade lay the table, and the company supped with him;
after which he gave the Porter an hundred dinars, as of wont, and they
all went their ways, marvelling beyond measure at that which they had
heard.— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sindbad the
Seaman had related the history of what befel him in his sixth voyage,
and all the company had dispersed, Sindbad the Landsman went home and
slept as of wont. Next day he rose and prayed the dawn-prayer and
repaired to his namesake’s house where, after the company was all
assembled, the host began to relate
The Seventh Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman.
Know, O company, that after my return from my sixth voyage, which
brought me abundant profit, I resumed my former life in all possible
joyance and enjoyment and mirth and making merry day and night; and I
tarried some time in this solace and satisfaction till my soul began
once more to long to sail the seas and see foreign countries and
company with merchants and hear new things. So having made up my mind,
I packed up in bales a quantity of precious stuffs suited for sea-trade
and repaired with them from Baghdad-city to Bassorah-town, where I
found a ship ready for sea, and in her a company of considerable
merchants. I shipped with them and becoming friends, we set forth on
our venture, in health and safety; and sailed with a fair wind, till we
came to a city called Madínat-al-Sín; but after we had left it, as we
fared on in all cheer and confidence, devising of traffic and travel,
behold, there sprang up a violent head-wind and a tempest of rain fell
on us and drenched us and our goods. So we covered the bales with our
cloaks and garments and drugget and canvas, lest they be spoiled by the
rain, and betook ourselves to prayer and supplication to Almighty Allah
and humbled ourselves before Him for deliverance from the peril that
was upon us. But the captain arose and tightening his girdle tucked up
his skirts and, after taking refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned,
clomb to the mast-head, whence he looked out right and left and gazing
at the passengers and crew fell to buffeting his face and plucking out
his beard. So we cried to him, “O Rais, what is the matter?”; and he
replied saying, “Seek ye deliverance of the Most High from the strait
into which we have fallen and bemoan yourselves and take leave of one
another; for know that the wind hath gotten the mastery of us and hath
driven us into the uttermost of the seas of the world.” Then he came
down from the mast-head and opening his sea-chest, pulled out a bag of
blue cotton, from which he took a powder like ashes. This he set in a
saucer wetted with a little water and, after waiting a short time,
smelt and tasted it; and then he took out of the chest a booklet,
wherein he read awhile and said weeping, “Know, O ye passengers, that
in this book is a marvellous matter, denoting that whoso cometh hither
shall surely die, without hope of escape; for that this ocean is called
the Sea of the Clime of the King, wherein is the sepulchre of our lord
Solomon, son of David (on both be peace!) and therein are serpents of
vast bulk and fearsome aspect: and what ship soever cometh to these
climes there riseth to her a great fish[FN#90] out of the sea and
swalloweth her up with all and everything on board her.” Hearing these
words from the captain great was our wonder, but hardly had he made an
end of speaking, when the ship was lifted out of the water and let fall
again and we applied to praying the death-prayer[FN#91] and committing
our souls to Allah. Presently we heard a terrible great cry like the
loud-pealing thunder, whereat we were terror-struck and became as dead
men, giving ourselves up for lost. Then behold, there came up to us a
huge fish, as big as a tall mountain, at whose sight we became wild for
affright and, weeping sore, made ready for death, marvelling at its vast
size and gruesome semblance; when lo! a second fish made its appearance
than which we had seen naught more monstrous. So we bemoaned ourselves
of our lives and farewelled one another; but suddenly up came a third
fish bigger than the two first; whereupon we lost the power of thought
and reason and were stupefied for the excess of our fear and horror.
Then the three fish began circling round about the ship and the third
and biggest opened his mouth to swallow it, and we looked into its
mouth and behold, it was wider than the gate of a city and its throat
was like a long valley. So we besought the Almighty and called for
succour upon His Apostle (on whom be blessing and peace!), when
suddenly a violent squall of wind arose and smote the ship, which rose
out of the water and settled upon a great reef, the haunt of
sea-monsters, where it broke up and fell asunder into planks and all
and everything on board were plunged into the sea. As for me, I tore
off all my clothes but my gown and swam a little way, till I happened
upon one of the ship’s planks whereto I clung and bestrode it like a
horse, whilst the winds and the waters sported with me and the waves
carried me up and cast me down; and I was in most piteous plight for
fear and distress and hunger and thirst. Then I reproached myself for
what I had done and my soul was weary after a life of ease and comfort;
and I said to myself, “O Sindbad, O Seaman, thou repentest not and yet
thou art ever suffering hardships and travails; yet wilt thou not
renounce sea-travel; or, an thou say, ‘I renounce,’ thou liest in thy
renouncement. Endure then with patience that which thou sufferest, for
verily thou deservest all that betideth thee!”—And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:—But when I had bestridden the plank, quoth I to
myself, “Thou deservest all that betideth thee. All this is decreed to
me of Allah (whose name be exalted!), to turn me from my greed of gain,
whence ariseth all that I endure, for I have wealth galore.” Then I
returned to my senses and said, “In very sooth, this time I repent to
the Most High, with a sincere repentance, of my lust for gain and
venture; and never will I again name travel with tongue nor in
thought.” And I ceased not to humble myself before Almighty Allah and
weep and bewail myself, recalling my former estate of solace and
satisfaction and mirth and merriment and joyance; and thus I abode two
days, at the end of which time I came to a great island abounding in
trees and streams. There I landed and ate of the fruits of the island
and drank of its waters, till I was refreshed and my life returned to
me and my strength and spirits were restored and I recited,
“Oft when thy case shows knotty and tangled skein, * Fate downs
from Heaven and straightens every ply:
In patience keep thy soul till clear thy lot * For He who ties
the knot can eke untie.”
Then I walked about, till I found on the further side, a great river of
sweet water, running with a strong current; whereupon I called to mind
the boat-raft I had made aforetime and said to myself, “Needs must I
make another; haply I may free me from this strait. If I escape, I have
my desire and I vow to Allah Almighty to foreswear travel; and if I
perish I shall be at peace and shall rest from toil and moil.” So I
rose up and gathered together great store of pieces of wood from the
trees (which were all of the finest sanders-wood, whose like is not
albe I knew it not), and made shift to twist creepers and tree-twigs
into a kind of rope, with which I bound the billets together and so
contrived a raft. Then saying, “An I be saved, ’tis of God’s grace,” I
embarked thereon and committed myself to the current, and it bore me on
for the first day and the second and the third after leaving the
island; whilst I lay in the raft, eating not and drinking, when I was
athirst, of the water of the river, till I was weak and giddy as a
chicken, for stress of fatigue and famine and fear. At the end of this
time I came to a high mountain, whereunder ran the river; which when I
saw, I feared for my life by reason of the straitness I had suffered in
my former journey, and I would fain have stayed the raft and landed on
the mountain-side; but the current overpowered me and drew it into the
subterranean passage like an archway; whereupon I gave myself up for
lost and said, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in
Allah, the Glorious, the Great!” However, after a little, the raft
glided into open air and I saw before me a wide valley, whereinto the
river fell with a noise like the rolling of thunder and a swiftness as
the rushing of the wind. I held on to the raft, for fear of falling off
it, whilst the waves tossed me right and left; and the craft continued
to descend with the current nor could I avail to stop it nor turn it
shorewards, till it stopped with me at a great and goodly city, grandly
edified and containing much people. And when the townsfolk saw me on
the raft, dropping down with the current, they threw me out ropes which
I had not strength enough to hold; then they tossed a net over the
craft and drew it ashore with me, whereupon I fell to the ground amidst
them, as I were a dead man, for stress of fear and hunger and lack of
sleep. After awhile, there came up to me out of the crowd an old man of
reverend aspect, well stricken in years, who welcomed me and threw over
me abundance of handsome clothes, wherewith I covered my nakedness.
Then he carried me to the Hammam-bath and brought me cordial sherbets
and delicious perfumes; moreover, when I came out, he bore me to his
house, where his people made much of me and, seating me in a pleasant
place, set rich food before me, whereof I ate my fill and returned
thanks to God the Most High for my deliverance. Thereupon his pages
fetched me hot water, and I washed my hands, and his handmaids brought
me silken napkins, with which I dried them and wiped my mouth. Also the
Shaykh set apart for me an apartment in a part of his house and charged
his pages and slave-girls to wait upon me and do my will and supply my
wants. They were assiduous in my service, and I abode with him in the
guest-chamber three days, taking my ease of good eating and good
drinking and good scents till life returned to me and my terrors
subsided and my heart was calmed and my mind was eased. On the fourth
day the Shaykh, my host, came in to me and said, “Thou cheerest us with
thy company, O my son, and praised be Allah for thy safety! Say: wilt
thou now come down with me to the beach and the bazar and sell thy
goods and take their price? Belike thou mayst buy thee wherewithal to
traffic. I have ordered my servants to remove thy stock-in-trade from
the sea and they have piled it on the shore.” I was silent awhile and
said to myself, “What mean these words and what goods have I?” Then
said he, “O my son, be not troubled nor careful, but come with me to
the market and if any offer for thy goods what price contenteth thee,
take it; but, an thou be not satisfied, I will lay them up for thee in
my warehouse, against a fitting occasion for sale.” So I bethought me
of my case and said to myself, “Do his bidding and see what are these
goods!”; and I said to him, “O my nuncle the Shaykh, I hear and I obey;
I may not gainsay thee in aught for Allah’s blessing is on all thou
dost.” Accordingly he guided me to the market-street, where I found
that he had taken in pieces the raft which carried me and which was of
sandal-wood and I heard the broker calling it for sale.—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman thus resumed his tale:—I found that the Shaykh had taken to
pieces my raft which lay on the beach and the broker was crying the
sandal-wood for sale. Then the merchants came and opened the gate of
bidding for the wood and bid against one another till its price reached
a thousand dinars, when they left bidding and my host said to me,
“Hear, O my son, this is the current price of thy goods in hard times
like these: wilt thou sell them for this or shall I lay them up for
thee in my storehouses, till such time as prices rise?” “O my lord,”
answered I, “the business is in thy hands: do as thou wilt.” Then asked
he, “Wilt thou sell the wood to me, O my son, for an hundred gold
pieces over and above what the merchants have bidden for it?” and I
answered, “Yes, I have sold it to thee for monies received.”[FN#92] So,
he bade his servants transport the wood to his storehouses and,
carrying me back to his house, seated me and counted out to me the
purchase money; after which he laid it in bags and setting them in a
privy place, locked them up with an iron padlock and gave me its key.
Some days after this, the Shaykh said to me, “O my son, I have somewhat
to propose to thee, wherein I trust thou wilt do my bidding.” Quoth I,
“What is it?” Quoth he, “I am a very old man and have no son; but I
have a daughter who is young in years and fair of favour and endowed
with abounding wealth and beauty. Now I have a mind to marry her to
thee, that thou mayst abide with her in this our country, and I will
make thee master of all I have in hand for I am an old man and thou
shalt stand in my stead.” I was silent for shame and made him no
answer, whereupon he continued, “Do my desire in this, O my son, for I
wish but thy weal; and if thou wilt but do as I say, thou shalt have
her at once and be as my son; and all that is under my hand or that
cometh to me shall be thine. If thou have a mind to traffic and travel
to thy native land, none shall hinder thee, and thy property will be at
thy sole disposal; so do as thou wilt.” “By Allah, O my uncle,” replied
I, “thou art become to me even as my father, and I am a stranger and
have undergone many hardships: while for stress of that which I have
suffered naught of judgment or knowledge is left to me. It is for thee,
therefore, to decide what I shall do.” Hereupon he sent his servants
for the Kazi and the witnesses and married me to his daughter making us
for a noble marriage-feast[FN#93] and high festival. When I went in to
her, I found her perfect in beauty and loveliness and symmetry and
grace, clad in rich raiment and covered with a profusion of ornaments
and necklaces and other trinkets of gold and silver and precious
stones, worth a mint of money, a price none could pay. She pleased me
and we loved each other; and I abode with her in solace and delight of
life, till her father was taken to the mercy of Allah Almighty. So we
shrouded him and buried him, and I laid hands on the whole of his
property and all his servants and slaves became mine. Moreover, the
merchants installed me in his office, for he was their Shaykh and their
Chief; and none of them purchased aught but with his knowledge and by
his leave. And now his rank passed on to me. When I became acquainted
with the townsfolk, I found that at the beginning of each month they
were transformed, in that their faces changed and they became like
birds and they put forth wings wherewith they flew unto the upper
regions of the firmament and none remained in the city save the women
and children; and I said in my mind, “When the first of the month
cometh, I will ask one of them to carry me with them, whither they go.”
So when the time came and their complexion changed and their forms
altered, I went in to one of the townsfolk and said to him, “Allah upon
thee! carry me with thee, that I might divert myself with the rest and
return with you.” “This may not be,” answered he; but I ceased not to
solicit him and I importuned him till he consented. Then I went out in
his company, without telling any of my family[FN#94] or servants or
friends, and he took me on his back and flew up with me so high in air,
that I heard the angels glorifying God in the heavenly dome, whereat I
wondered and exclaimed, “Praised be Allah! Extolled be the perfection
of Allah!” Hardly had I made an end of pronouncing the Tasbih—praised
be Allah!—when there came out a fire from heaven and all but consumed
the company; whereupon they fled from it and descended with curses upon
me and, casting me down on a high mountain, went away, exceeding wroth
with me, and left me there alone. As I found myself in this plight, I
repented of what I had done and reproached myself for having undertaken
that for which I was unable, saying, “There is no Majesty and there is
no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! No sooner am I
delivered from one affliction than I fall into a worse.” And I
continued in this case knowing not whither I should go, when lo! there
came up two young men, as they were moons, each using as a staff a rod
of red gold. So I approached them and saluted them; and when they
returned my salam, I said to them, “Allah upon you twain; who are ye
and what are ye?” Quoth they, “We are of the servants of the Most High
Allah, abiding in this mountain;” and, giving me a rod of red gold they
had with them, went their ways and left me. I walked on along the
mountain-ridge staying my steps with the staff and pondering the case
of the two youths, when behold, a serpent came forth from under the
mountain, with a man in her[FN#95] jaws, whom she had swallowed even to
below his navel, and he was crying out and saying, “Whoso delivereth
me, Allah will deliver him from all adversity!” So I went up to the
serpent and smote her on the head with the golden staff, whereupon she
cast the man forth of her mouth.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman thus continued:—When I smote the serpent on the head with my
golden staff she cast the man forth of her mouth. Then I smote her a
second time, and she turned and fled; whereupon he came up to me and
said, “Since my deliverance from yonder serpent hath been at thy hands
I will never leave thee, and thou shalt be my comrade on this
mountain.” “And welcome,” answered I; so we fared on along the
mountain, till we fell in with a company of folk, and I looked and saw
amongst them the very man who had carried me and cast me down there. I
went up to him and spake him fair, excusing myself to him and saying,
“O my comrade, it is not thus that friend should deal with friend.”
Quoth he, “It was thou who well-nigh destroyed us by thy Tasbih and thy
glorifying God on my back.” Quoth I, “Pardon me, for I had no knowledge
of this matter; but, if thou wilt take me with thee, I swear not to say
a word.” So he relented and consented to carry me with him, but he made
an express condition that, so long as I abode on his back, I should
abstain from pronouncing the Tasbih or otherwise glorifying God. Then I
gave the wand of gold to him whom I had delivered from the serpent and
bade him farewell, and my friend took me on his back and flew with me
as before, till he brought me to the city and set me down in my own
house. My wife came to meet me and saluting me gave me joy of my safety
and then said, “Beware of going forth hereafter with yonder folk,
neither consort with them, for they are brethren of the devils, and
know not how to mention the name of Allah Almighty; neither worship
they Him.” “And how did thy father with them?” asked I; and she
answered, “My father was not of them, neither did he as they; and as
now he is dead methinks thou hadst better sell all we have and with the
price buy merchandise and journey to thine own country and people, and
I with thee; for I care not to tarry in this city, my father and my
mother being dead.” So I sold all the Shaykh’s property piecemeal, and
looked for one who should be journeying thence to Bassorah that I might
join myself to him. And while thus doing I heard of a company of
townsfolk who had a mind to make the voyage, but could not find them a
ship; so they bought wood and built them a great ship wherein I took
passage with them, and paid them all the hire. Then we embarked, I and
my wife, with all our moveables, leaving our houses and domains and so
forth, and set sail, and ceased not sailing from island to island and
from sea to sea, with a fair wind and a favouring, till we arrived at
Bassorah safe and sound. I made no stay there, but freighted another
vessel and, transferring my goods to her, set out forthright for
Baghdad-city, where I arrived in safety, and entering my quarter and
repairing to my house, foregathered with my family and friends and
familiars who laid up my goods in my warehouses. When my people who,
reckoning the period of my absence on this my seventh voyage, had found
it to be seven and twenty years, and had given up all hope of me, heard
of my return, they came to welcome me and to give me joy of my safety;
and I related to them all that had befallen me; whereat they marvelled
with exceeding marvel. Then I forswore travel and vowed to Allah the
Most High I would venture no more by land or sea, for that this seventh
and last voyage had surfeited me of travel and adventure; and I thanked
the Lord (be He praised and glorified!), and blessed Him for having
restored me to my kith and kin and country and home. “Consider,
therefore, O Sindbad, O Landsman,” continued Sindbad the Seaman, “what
sufferings I have undergone and what perils and hardships I have
endured before coming to my present state.” “Allah upon thee, O my
Lord!” answered Sindbad the Landsman, “pardon me the wrong I did
thee.”[FN#96] “And they ceased not from friendship and fellowship,
abiding in all cheer and pleasures and solace of life till there came
to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of Societies, and the
Shatterer of palaces and the Caterer for Cemeteries to wit, the Cup of
Death, and glory be to the Living One who dieth not!”[FN#97]
A Translation of
The Seventh Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman
according to
the version of the
Calcutta Edition
which differs in essential form
from the preceding
tale
Know, O my brothers and friends and companions all, that when I left
voyaging and commercing, I said in myself, “Sufficeth me that hath
befallen me;” and I spent my time in solace and pleasure. One day as I
sat at home there came a knock at the door, and when the porter opened
a page entered and said, “The Caliph biddeth thee to him.” I went with
him to the King’s majesty and kissed ground and saluted him; whereupon
he welcomed me and entreated me with honour and said, “O Sindbad, I
have an occasion for thee: wilt thou do it?” So I kissed his hand and
asked him, saying, “O my lord, what occasion hath the master for the
slave?”; whereto he answered me, “I am minded that thou travel to the
King of Sarandib and carry to him our writ and our gift, for that he
hath sent to us a present and a letter.” I trembled at these words and
rejoined, “By Allah the Omnipotent, O my lord, I have taken a loathing
to wayfare, and when I hear the words ‘Voyage’ or ‘Travel,’ my limbs
tremble for what hath befallen me of hardships and horrors. Indeed I
have no desire whatever for this; more by token as I have bound myself
by oath not to quit Baghdad.” Then I informed the Caliph of all I had
passed through from first to last, and he marvelled with exceeding
marvel and said, “By the Almighty, O Sindbad, from ages of old such
mishaps as happened to thee were never known to happen to any, and thou
dost only right never even to talk of travel. For our sake, however,
thou wilt go this time and carry our present and our letter to him of
Sarandib; and Inshallah—by God’s leave!—thou shalt return quickly; and
on this wise we shall be under no obligation to the said King.” I
replied that I heard and obeyed, being unable to oppose his command, so
he gave me the gifts and the missive with money to pay my way and I
kissed hands and left the presence. Then I dropped down from Baghdad to
the Gulf, and with other merchants embarked, and our ship sailed before
a fair wind many days and nights till, by Allah’s aid, we reached the
island of Sarandib. As soon as we had made fast we landed and I took
the present and the letter; and, going in with them to the King, kissed
ground before him. When he saw me, he said, “Well come, O Sindbad! By
Allah Omnipotent we were longing to see thee, and glory be to God who
hath again shown us thy face!” Then taking me by the hand he made me
sit by his side, rejoicing, and he welcomed me with familiar kindness
again and entreated me as a friend. After this he began to converse
with me and courteously addressed me and asked, “What was the cause of
thy coming to us, O Sindbad?” So after kissing his hand and thanking
him I answered, “O my lord, I have brought thee a present from my
master, the Caliph Harun Al-Rashid;” and offered him the present and
the letter which he read and at which he rejoiced with passing joy. The
present consisted of a mare worth ten thousand ducats, bearing a golden
saddle set with jewels; a book; a sumptuous suit of clothes and an
hundred different kinds of white Cairene cloths and silks of
Suez,[FN#98] Cufa and Alexandria; Greek carpets and an hundred
maunds[FN#99] weight of linen and raw silk. Moreover there was a
wondrous rarety, a marvellous cup of crystal middlemost of which was
the figure of a lion faced by a kneeling man grasping a bow with arrow
drawn to the very head, together with the food-tray[FN#100] of Sulayman
the son of David (on whom be peace!). The missive ran as follows,
“Peace from King Al-Rashid, the aided of Allah (who hath vouchsafed to
him and his forefathers noble rank and wide-spread glory), be on the
fortunate Sultan. But after. Thy letter came to our hands and we
rejoiced thereat; and we have sent the book entitled ‘Delight of the
Intelligent and for Friends the Rare Present,’[FN#101] together with
sundry curiosities suitable for Kings; so do thou favour us by
accepting them: and peace be with thee!” Then the King lavished upon me
much wealth and entreated me with all honour; so I prayed for him and
thanked him for his munificence. Some days after I craved his leave to
depart, but could not obtain it except by great pressing, whereupon I
farewelled him and fared forth from his city, with merchants and other
companions, homewards-bound without any desire for travel or trade. We
continued voyaging and coasting along many islands; but, when we were
half-way, we were surrounded by a number of canoes, wherein were men
like devils armed with bows and arrows, swords and daggers; habited in
mail-coats and other armoury. They fell upon us and wounded and slew
all who opposed them; then, having captured the ship and her contents,
carried us to an island, where they sold us at the meanest price. Now I
was bought by a wealthy man who, taking me to his house, gave me meat
and drink and clothing and treated me in the friendliest manner; so I
was heartened and I rested a little. One day he asked me, “Dost thou
know any art or craft?” and I answered him, “O my lord, I am a merchant
and know nothing but trade and traffic.” “Dost thou know,” rejoined he,
“how to use bow and arrow?” “Yes,” replied I, “I know that much.”
Thereupon he brought me a bow and arrows and mounted me behind him upon
an elephant: then he set out as night was well nigh over and, passing
through a forest of huge growths, came to a tall and sturdy tree up
which he made me climb. Then he gave me the bow and arrows, saying,
“Sit here now, and when the elephants troop hither in early morning,
shoot at them; belike thou wilt hit one; and, if he fall, come and tell
me.” With this he left me. I hid myself in the tree being in sore
terror and trembled till the sun arose; and, when the elephants
appeared and wandered about among the trees, I shot my arrows at them
and continued till I had shot down one of them. In the evening I
reported my success to my master who was delighted in me and entreated
me with high honour; and next morning he removed the slain elephant. In
this wise I continued, every morning shooting an elephant which my
master would remove till, one day, as I was perched in hiding on the
tree there came on suddenly and unexpectedly an innumerable host of
elephants whose screaming and trumpeting were such that I imagined the
earth trembled under them. All surrounded my tree, whose circumference
was some fifty cubits,[FN#102] and one enormous monster came up to it
and winding his trunk round the bole haled it up by the roots, and
dashed it to the ground. I fell down fainting amongst the beasts when
the monster elephant wound his trunk about me and, setting me on his
back, went off with me, the others accompanying us. He carried me still
unconscious till he reached the place for which he was making, when he
rolled me off his back and presently went his ways followed by the
others. So I rested a little; and, when my terror had subsided, I
looked about me and I found myself among the bones of elephants,
whereby I concluded that this was their burial-place, and that the
monster elephant had led me thither on account of the tusks.[FN#103] So
I arose and walked a whole day and night till I arrived at the house of
my master, who saw my colour changed by stress of affright and famine.
He rejoiced in my return and said to me, “By Allah, thou hast made my
heart sore! I went when thou wast missing and found the tree torn up,
and thought that the elephants had slain thee. Tell me how it was with
thee.” I acquainted him with all that had betided me; whereat he
wondered greatly, and rejoiced and at last asked me, “Dost thou know
the place?”; whereto I answered, “Yes, O my master!” So we mounted an
elephant and fared until we came to the spot and, when my master beheld
the heaps of tusks, he rejoiced greatly; then carrying away as many as
he wanted he returned with me home. After this, he entreated me with
increased favour and said, “O my son, thou hast shown us the way to
great gain, wherefore Allah requite thee! Thou art freed for the
Almighty’s sake and before His face! The elephants used to destroy many
of us on account of our hunting them for their ivories and sorivellos;
but Allah hath preserved thee from them, and thou hast profited us by
the heaps to which thou hast led us.” “O my master,” replied I, “God
free thy neck from the fire! And do thou grant me, O my master, thy
gracious leave to return to my own country.” “Yes” quoth he, “thou
shalt have that permission. But we have a yearly fair, when merchants
come to us from various quarters to buy up these ivories. The time is
drawing near; and, when they shall have done their business, I will
send thee under their charge and will give thee wherewithal to reach
thy home.” So I blessed and thanked him and remained with him, treated
with respect and honour, for some days, when the merchants came as he
had foretold, and bought and sold and bartered; and when they had made
their preparations to return, my master came to me and said, “Rise and
get thee ready to travel with the traders en route to thy country.”
They had bought a number of tusks which they had bound together in
loads and were embarking them when my master sent me with them, paying
for my passage and settling all my debts; besides which he gave me a
large present in goods. We set out and voyaged from island to island
till we had crossed the sea and landed on the shores of the Persian
Gulf, when the merchants brought out and sold their stores: I also sold
what I had at a high profit; and I bought some of the prettiest things
in the place for presents and beautiful rarities and everything else I
wanted. I likewise bought for myself a beast and we fared forth and
crossed the deserts from country to country till I reached Baghdad.
Here I went in to the Caliph and, after saluting him and kissing hands,
informed him of all that had befallen me; whereupon he rejoiced in my
safety and thanked Almighty Allah; and he bade my story be written in
letters of gold. I then entered my house and met my family and
brethren: and such is the end of the history that happened to me during
my seven voyages. Praise be to Allah, the One, the Creator, the Maker
of all things in Heaven and Earth!—
Now when Shahrazad had ended her story of the two Sindbads, Dinarzad
exclaimed, “O my sister, how pleasant is thy tale and how tasteful! How
sweet and how grateful!” She replied, “And what is this compared with
that I could tell thee to-morrow night?” Quoth the King, “What may it
be?” And she said:—It is a tale touching
THE CITY OF BRASS.[FN#104]
It is related that there was, in tide of yore and in times and years
long gone before, at Damascus of Syria, a Caliph known as Abd al-Malik
bin Marwan, the fifth of the Ommiade house. As this Commander of the
Faithful was seated one day in his palace, conversing with his Sultans
and Kings and the Grandees of his empire, the talk turned upon the
legends of past peoples and the traditions of our lord Solomon, David’s
son (on the twain be peace!), and on that which Allah Almighty had
bestowed on him of lordship and dominion over men and Jinn and birds
and beasts and reptiles and the wind and other created things; and
quoth the Caliph, “Of a truth we hear from those who forewent us that
the Lord (extolled and exalted be He!) vouchsafed unto none the like of
that which He vouchsafed unto our lord Solomon and that he attained
unto that whereto never attained other than he, in that he was wont to
imprison Jinns and Marids and Satans in cucurbites of copper and to
stop them with lead and seal[FN#105] them with his ring.”—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Caliph
Abd al-Malik bin Marwan sat conversing with his Grandees concerning our
lord Solomon, and these noted what Allah had bestowed upon him of
lordship and dominion, quoth the Commander of the Faithful, “Indeed he
attained unto that whereto never attained other than he, in that he was
wont to imprison Jinns and Marids and Satans in cucurbites of copper
and stop them with lead and seal them with his ring.” Then said Talib
bin Sahl (who was a seeker after treasures and had books that
discovered to him hoards and wealth hidden under the earth), “O
Commander of the Faithful,—Allah make thy dominion to endure and exalt
thy dignity here and hereafter!—my father told me of my grandfather,
that he once took ship with a company, intending for the island of
Sikiliyah or Sicily, and sailed until there arose against them a
contrary wind, which drove them from their course and brought them,
after a month, to a great mountain in one of the lands of Allah the
Most High, but where that land was they wot not. Quoth my
grandfather:—This was in the darkness of the night and as soon as it
was day, there came forth to us, from the caves of the mountain, folk
black of colour and naked of body, as they were wild beasts,
understanding not one word of what was addressed to them; nor was there
any of them who knew Arabic, save their King who was of their own kind.
When he saw the ship, he came down to it with a company of his
followers and saluting us, bade us welcome and questioned us of our
case and our faith. We told him all concerning ourselves and he said,
Be of good cheer for no harm shall befal you. And when we, in turn,
asked them of their faith, we found that each was of one of the many
creeds prevailing before the preaching of Al-Islam and the mission of
Mohammed, whom may Allah bless and keep! So my shipmates remarked, We
wot not what thou sayest. Then quoth the King, No Adam-son hath ever
come to our land before you: but fear not, and rejoice in the assurance
of safety and of return to your own country. Then he entertained us
three days, feeding us on the flesh of birds and wild beasts and
fishes, than which they had no other meat; and, on the fourth day, he
carried us down to the beach, that we might divert ourselves by looking
upon the fisher-folk. There we saw a man casting his net to catch
fish, and presently he pulled them up and behold, in them was a
cucurbite of copper, stopped with lead and sealed with the signet of
Solomon, son of David, on whom be peace! He brought the vessel to land
and broke it open, when there came forth a smoke, which rose a-twisting
blue to the zenith, and we heard a horrible voice, saying, I repent! I
repent! Pardon, O Prophet of Allah! I will never return to that which I
did aforetime. Then the smoke became a terrible Giant frightful of
form, whose head was level with the mountain-tops, and he vanished from
our sight, whilst our hearts were well-nigh torn out for terror; but
the blacks thought nothing of it. Then we returned to the King and
questioned him of the matter; whereupon quoth he, Know that this was
one of the Jinns whom Solomon, son of David, being wroth with them,
shut up in these vessels and cast into the sea, after stopping the
mouths with melted lead. Our fishermen ofttimes, in casting their nets,
bring up such bottles, which being broken open, there come forth of
them Jinnis who, deeming that Solomon is still alive and can pardon
them, make their submission to him and say, I repent, O Prophet of
Allah!” The Caliph marvelled at Talib’s story and said, “Glory be to
God! Verily, to Solomon was given a mighty dominion.” Now al-Nábighah
al-Zubyání[FN#106] was present, and he said, “Talib hath spoken soothly
as is proven by the saying of the All-wise, the Primćval One,
And Solomon, when Allah to him said, * ‘Rise, be thou Caliph,
rule with righteous sway:
Honour obedience for obeying thee; * And who rebels imprison him
for aye’
Wherefore he used to put them in copper-bottles and cast them into the
sea.” The poet’s words seemed good to the Caliph, and he said, “By
Allah, I long to look upon some of these Solomonic vessels, which must
be a warning to whoso will be warned.” “O Commander of the Faithful,”
replied Talib, “it is in thy power to do so, without stirring abroad.
Send to thy brother Abd al-Aziz bin Marwán, so he may write to Músá bin
Nusayr,[FN#107] governor of the Maghrib or Morocco, bidding him take
horse thence to the mountains whereof I spoke and fetch thee therefrom
as many of such cucurbites as thou hast a mind to; for those mountains
adjoin the frontiers of his province.” The Caliph approved his counsel
and said “Thou hast spoken sooth, O Talib, and I desire that, touching
this matter, thou be my messenger to Musa bin Nusayr; wherefore thou
shalt have the White Flag[FN#108] and all thou hast a mind to of monies
and honour and so forth; and I will care for thy family during thine
absence.” “With love and gladness, O Commander of the Faithful!”
answered Talib. “Go, with the blessing of Allah and His aid,” quoth the
Caliph, and bade write a letter to his brother, Abd al-Aziz, his
viceroy in Egypt, and another to Musa bin Nusayr, his viceroy in North
Western Africa, bidding him go himself in quest of the Solomonic
bottles, leaving his son to govern in his stead. Moreover, he charged
him to engage guides and to spare neither men nor money, nor to be
remiss in the matter as he would take no excuse. Then he sealed the two
letters and committed them to Talib bin Sahl, bidding him advance the
royal ensigns before him and make his utmost speed and he gave him
treasure and horsemen and footmen, to further him on his way, and made
provision for the wants of his household during his absence. So Talib
set out and arrived in due course at Cairo.[FN#109]—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Talib bin Sahl
set out with his escort and crossed the desert country between Syria
and Egypt, where the Governor came out to meet him and entreated him
and his company with high honour whilst they tarried with him. Then he
gave them a guide to bring them to the Sa’íd or Upper Egypt, where the
Emir Musa had his abiding-place; and when the son of Nusayr heard of
Talib’s coming, he went forth to meet him and rejoiced in him. Talib
gave him the Caliph’s letter, and he took it reverently and, laying it
on his head, cried, “I hear and I obey the Prince of the Faithful.”
Then he deemed it best to assemble his chief officers and when all were
present he acquainted them with the contents of the Caliph’s letter and
sought counsel of them how he should act. “O Emir,” answered they, “if
thou seek one who shall guide thee to the place summon the Shaykh ’Abd
al-Samad, ibn ’Abd al-Kuddús, al-Samúdí;[FN#110] for he is a man of
varied knowledge, who hath travelled much and knoweth by experience all
the seas and wastes and words and countries of the world and the
inhabitants and wonders thereof; wherefore send thou for him and he
will surely guide thee to thy desire.” So Musa sent for him, and
behold, he was a very ancient man shot in years and broken down with
lapse of days. The Emir saluted him and said, “O Shaykh Abd al-Samad,
our lord the Commander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan’ hath
commanded me thus and thus. I have small knowledge of the land wherein
is that which the Caliph desireth; but it is told me that thou knowest
it well and the ways thither. Wilt thou, therefore, go with me and help
me to accomplish the Caliph’s need? So it please Allah the Most High,
thy trouble and travail shall not go waste.” Replied the Shaykh, “I
hear and obey the bidding of the Commander of the Faithful; but know, O
Emir, that the road thither is long and difficult and the ways few.”
“How far is it?” asked Musa, and the Shaykh answered, “It is a journey
of two years and some months going and the like returning; and the way
is full of hardships and terrors and things wondrous and marvellous.
Now thou art a champion of the Faith[FN#111] and our country is hard by
that of the enemy; and peradventure the Nazarenes may come out upon us
in thine absence; wherefore it behoveth thee to leave one to rule thy
government in thy stead.” “It is well,” answered the Emir and appointed
his son Hárún Governor during his absence, requiring the troops to take
the oath of fealty to him and bidding them obey him in all he should
command. And they heard his words and promised obedience. Now this
Harun was a man of great prowess and a renowned warrior and a doughty
knight, and the Shaykh Abd al-Samad feigned to him that the place they
sought was distant but four months’ journey along the shore of the sea,
with camping-places all the way, adjoining one another, and grass and
springs, adding, “Allah will assuredly make the matter easy to us
through thy blessing, O Lieutenant of the Commander of the Faithful!”
Quoth the Emir Musa, “Knowest thou if any of the Kings have trodden
this land before us?”; and quoth the Shaykh, “Yes, it belonged
aforetime to Darius the Greek, King of Alexandria.” But he said to Musa
privily, “O Emir, take with thee a thousand camels laden with victual
and store of gugglets.”[FN#112] The Emir asked, “And what shall we do
with these?”, and the Shaykh answered. “On our way is the desert of
Kayrwán or Cyrene, the which is a vast wold four days’ journey long,
and lacketh water; nor therein doth sound of voice ever sound nor is
soul at any time to be seen. Moreover, there bloweth the Simoon[FN#113]
and other hot winds called Al-Juwayb, which dry up the water-skins; but
if the water be in gugglets, no harm can come to it.” “Right,” said
Musa and sending to Alexandria, let bring thence great plenty of
gugglets. Then he took with him his Wazir and two thousand cavalry,
clad in mail cap-à-pie and set out, without other to guide them but Abd
al-Samad who forewent them, riding on his hackney. The party fared on
diligently, now passing through inhabited lands, then ruins and anon
traversing frightful wolds and thirsty wastes and then mountains which
spired high in air; nor did they leave journeying a whole year’s space
till, one morning, when the day broke, after they had travelled all
night, behold, the Shaykh found himself in a land he knew not and said,
“There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious,
the Great!” Quoth the Emir, “What is to do, O Shaykh?”; and he
answered, saying, “By the Lord of the Ka’abah, we have wandered from
our road!” “How cometh that?” asked Musa, and Abd al-Samad replied,
“The stars were overclouded and I could not guide myself by them.”
“Where on God’s earth are we now?” asked the Emir, and the Shaykh
answered, “I know not; for I never set eyes on this land till this
moment.” Said Musa, “Guide us back to the place where we went astray”,
but the other, “I know it no more.” Then Musa, “Let us push on; haply
Allah will guide us to it or direct us aright of His power.” So they
fared on till the hour of noon-prayer, when they came to a fair
champaign, and wide and level and smooth as it were the sea when calm,
and presently there appeared to them, on the horizon some great thing,
high and black, in whose midst was as it were smoke rising to the
confines of the sky. They made for this, and stayed not in their course
till they drew near thereto, when, lo! it was a high castle, firm of
foundations and great and gruesome, as it were a towering mountain,
builded all of black stone, with frowning crenelles and a door of
gleaming China steel, that dazzled the eyes and dazed the wits. Round
about it were a thousand steps and that which appeared afar off as it
were smoke was a central dome of lead an hundred cubits high. When the
Emir saw this, he marvelled thereat with exceeding marvel and how this
place was void of inhabitants; and the Shaykh, after he had certified
himself thereof, said, “There is no god but the God and Mohammed is the
Apostle of God!” Quoth Musa, “I hear thee praise the Lord and hallow
Him, and meseemeth thou rejoicest.” “O Emir,” answered Abd al-Samad,
“Rejoice, for Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) hath delivered us
from the frightful wolds and thirsty wastes.” “How knowest thou that?”
said Musa, and the other, “I know it for that my father told me of my
grandfather that he said, We were once journeying in this land and,
straying from the road, we came to this palace and thence to the City
of Brass; between which and the place thou seekest is two full months’
travel; but thou must take to the sea-shore and leave it not, for there
be watering-places and wells and camping-grounds established by King Zú
al-Karnayn Iskandar who, when he went to the conquest of Mauritania,
found by the way thirsty deserts and wastes and wilds and dug therein
water-pits and built cisterns.’” Quoth Musa, “Allah rejoice thee with
good news!” and quoth the Shaykh, “Come, let us go look upon yonder
palace and its marvels, for it is an admonition to whose will be
admonished.” So the Emir went up to the palace, with the Shaykh and his
officers, and coming to the gate, found it open. Now this gate was
builded with lofty columns and porticoes whose walls and ceilings were
inlaid with gold and silver and precious stones; and there led up to it
flights of steps, among which were two wide stairs of coloured marble,
never was seen their like; and over the doorway was a tablet whereon
were graven letters of gold in the old ancient Ionian character. “O
Emir,” asked the Shaykh, “Shall I read?”; and Musa answered, “Read and
God bless thee!; for all that betideth us in this journey dependeth
upon thy blessing.” So the Shaykh, who was a very learned man and
versed in all tongues and characters, went up to the tablet and read
whatso was thereon and it was verse like this,
“The signs that here their mighty works portray * Warn us that
all must tread the self-same way:
O thou who standest in this stead to hear * Tidings of folk,
whose power hath passed for aye,
Enter this palace-gate and ask the news * Of greatness fallen
into dust and clay:
Death has destroyed them and dispersed their might * And in the
dust they lost their rich display;
As had they only set their burdens down * To rest awhile, and
then had rode away.”
When the Emir Musa heard these couplets, he wept till he lost his
senses and said, “There is no god but the God, the Living, the Eternal,
who ceaseth not!” Then he entered the palace and was confounded at its
beauty and the goodliness of its construction. He diverted himself
awhile by viewing the pictures and images therein, till he came to
another door, over which also were written verses, and said to the
Shaykh, “Come read me these!” So he advanced and read as follows,
“Under these domes how many a company * Halted of old and fared
with-outen stay:
See thou what might displays on other wights * Time with his
shifts which could such lords waylay:
They shared together what they gathered * And left their joys and
fared to Death-decay:
What joys they joyed! what food they ate! and now * In dust
they’re eaten, for the worm a prey.”
At this the Emir Musa wept bitter tears; and the world waxed yellow
before his eyes and he said, “Verily, we were created for a mighty
matter!”[FN#114] Then they proceeded to explore the palace and found it
desert and void of living thing, its courts desolate and dwelling
places waste laid. In the midst stood a lofty pavilion with a dome
rising high in air, and about it were four hundred tombs, builded of
yellow marble. The Emir drew near unto these and behold, amongst them
was a great tomb, wide and long; and at its head stood a tablet of
white marble, whereon were graven these couplets,
“How oft have I fought! and how many have slain! * How much have
I witnessed of blessing and bane!
How much have I eaten! how much have I drunk! * How oft have I
hearkened to singing-girl’s strain!
How much have I bidden! how oft have forbid! * How many a castle
and castellain
I have sieged and have searched, and the cloistered maids * In
the depths of its walls for my captives were ta’en!
But of ignorance sinned I to win me the meeds * Which won proved
naught and brought nothing of gain:
Then reckon thy reck’ning, O man, and be wise * Ere the goblet of
death and of doom thou shalt drain;
For yet but a little the dust on thy head * They shall strew, and
thy life shall go down to the dead.”
The Emir and his companions wept; then, drawing near unto the pavilion,
they saw that it had eight doors of sandal-wood, studded with nails of
gold and stars of silver and inlaid with all manner precious stones. On
the first door were written these verses,
“What I left, I left it not for nobility of soul, * But through
sentence and decree that to every man are dight.
What while I lived happy, with a temper haught and high, * My
hoarding-place defending like a lion in the fight,
I took no rest, and greed of gain forbad me give a grain * Of
mustard seed to save from the fires of Hell my sprite,
Until stricken on a day, as with arrow, by decree * Of the Maker,
the Fashioner, the Lord of Might and Right.
When my death was appointed, my life I could not keep * By the
many of my stratagems, my cunning and my sleight:
My troops I had collected availed me not, and none * Of my
friends and of my neighbours had power to mend my plight:
Through my life I was weaned in journeying to death * In stress
or in solace, in joyance or despight:
So when money-bags are bloated, and dinar unto dinar * Thou
addest, all may leave thee with fleeting of the night:
And the driver of a camel and the digger of a grave[FN#115] * Are
what thine heirs shall bring ere the morning dawneth bright:
And on Judgment Day alone shalt thou stand before thy Lord, *
Overladen with thy sins and thy crimes and thine affright:
Let the world not seduce thee with lurings, but behold * What
measure to thy family and neighbours it hath doled.”
When Musa heard these verses, he wept with such weeping that he swooned
away; then, coming to himself, he entered the pavilion and saw therein
a long tomb, awesome to look upon, whereon was a tablet of China steel
and Shaykh Abd al-Samad drew near it and read this inscription: “In the
name of Ever-lasting Allah, the Never-beginning, the Never-ending; in
the name of Allah who begetteth not nor is He begot and unto whom the
like is not; in the name of Allah the Lord of Majesty and Might; in the
name of the Living One who to death is never dight!”—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shaykh Abd
al-Samad, having read the aforesaid, also found the following, “O thou
who comest to this place, take warning by that which thou seest of the
accidents of Time and the vicissitudes of Fortune and be not deluded by
the world and its pomps and vanities and fallacies and falsehoods and
vain allurements, for that it is flattering, deceitful and treacherous,
and the things thereof are but a loan to us which it will borrow back
from all borrowers. It is like unto the dreams of the dreamer and the
sleep-visions of the sleeper or as the mirage of the desert, which the
thirsty take for water;[FN#116] and Satan maketh it fair for men even
unto death. These are the ways of the world; wherefore put not thou thy
trust therein neither incline thereto, for it betrayeth him who leaneth
upon it and who committeth himself thereunto in his affairs. Fall not
thou into its snares neither take hold upon its skirts, but be warned
by my example. I possessed four thousand bay horses and a haughty
palace, and I had to wife a thousand daughters of kings, high-bosomed
maids, as they were moons: I was blessed with a thousand sons as they
were fierce lions, and I abode a thousand years, glad of heart and
mind, and I amassed treasures beyond the competence of all the Kings of
the regions of the earth, deeming that delight would still endure to
me. But there fell on me unawares the Destroyer of delights and the
Sunderer of societies, the Desolator of domiciles and the Spoiler of
inhabited spots, the Murtherer of great and small, babes and children
and mothers, he who hath no ruth on the poor for his poverty, or
feareth the King for all his bidding or forbidding. Verily, we abode
safe and secure in this palace, till there descended upon us the
judgment of the Lord of the Three Worlds, Lord of the Heavens, and Lord
of the Earths, the vengeance of the Manifest Truth[FN#117] overtook us,
when there died of us every day two, till a great company of us had
perished. When I saw that destruction had entered our dwellings and had
homed with us and in the sea of deaths had drowned us, I summoned a
writer and bade him indite these verses and instances and admonitions,
the which I let grave, with rule and compass, on these doors and
tablets and tombs. Now I had an army of a thousand thousand bridles,
men of warrior mien with forearms strong and keen, armed with spears
and mail-coats sheen and swords that gleam; so I bade them don their
long-hanging hauberks and gird on their biting blades and mount their
high-mettled steeds and level their dreadful lances; and whenas there
fell on us the doom of the Lord of heaven and earth, I said to them,
Ho, all ye soldiers and troopers, can ye avail to ward off that which
is fallen on me from the Omnipotent King?’ But troopers and soldiers
availed not unto this and said, How shall we battle with Him to whom no
chamberlain barreth access, the Lord of the door which hath no
doorkeeper?’ Then quoth I to them, Bring me my treasures’ Now I had in
my treasuries a thousand cisterns in each of which were a thousand
quintals[FN#118] of red gold and the like of white silver, besides
pearls and jewels of all kinds and other things of price, beyond the
attainment of the kings of the earth. So they did that and when they
had laid all the treasure in my presence, I said to them, Can ye ransom
me with all this treasure or buy me one day of life therewith?’ But
they could not! So they resigned themselves to fore-ordained Fate and
fortune and I submitted to the judgment of Allah, enduring patiently
that which he decreed unto me of affliction, till He took my soul and
made me to dwell in my grave. And if thou ask of my name, I am Kúsh,
the son of Shaddád son of Ád the Greater.” And upon the tablets were
engraved these lines,
“An thou wouldst know my name, whose day is done * With shifts of
time and chances ’neath the sun,
Know I am Shaddád’s son, who ruled mankind * And o’er all earth
upheld dominion!
All s
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