ON a day when I was living happily in Baghdad, having forgotten the
perils and dangers of my former voyages, I was sitting at ease in
my garden when a party of merchants came to me, and their tales of
travel aroused within my bosom a great longing to engage again in the
hazardous delights of those things. I pondered long upon the matter,
and, though I had said within myself, "never will I set forth again,"
I found that my mind was made up in spite of me. Therefore I set about
collecting merchandise, and, having packed a goodly number of bales, I
departed for El-Basrah, where I took ship with a company of merchants
and others of high repute.
The outward voyage was pleasant and fortunate, and we did as others do,
buying and selling and amusing ourselves in different cities. But there
came a day of disaster, when the master of the ship suddenly discovered
that we had wandered from our course, and had lost our reckoning. He
plucked his beard and smote his breast, and cried out in despair that
we had sailed into an unknown sea, where dire perils awaited us. And
so it proved, for not long afterwards, while we were sailing in a calm
sea, a sudden wind burst upon us and, before the sails could be
loosed, the rudder was broken and the ship drifted and was driven at
last upon the sides of a high mountain rising up to heaven. She was
dashed to pieces by the violence of the waves, and, from that terrible
wreck, few survived. There were some others besides myself who clung to
the sides of the mountain, and, by tooth and nail, climbed to a place
of safety.
Little by little, when the tide receded, we made our way down among
the crags until we came to a strip of seashore, and from this point
we could see that the island was of large size, its interior being
sheltered from storms by the front of the mountain. But what took our
wonder was this: on the seashore was amassed the wealth of a thousand
wrecks. Scattered here, there, and everywhere, in foam and high dry,
were flotsam and jetsam of richest merchandise, much of it spoiled
by the sea, but much more cast high up and still of great value. All
along the shore were planks and fragments of many vessels that had been
wrecked on this inhospitable coast. And this was not all, for, when
we proceeded through the island, we found a spring of pure ambergris
overflowing into the sea; and by this the whales are attracted, but
when they have swallowed it and dived to the depths of the sea it turns
in their stomachs and they eject it, so that it rises to the surface
in solid lumps such as are found by sailors. But the ambergris that is
cast about the opening of the spring melts in the heat of the sun, and
its perfume is blown about the island, wafted sweet upon the breeze
like fragrant musk.
When we had explored the island and wondered at the many strange
things it contained, we searched among the wreckage on the shore and
found some few barrels of preserved meats, and on these we stayed
our hunger. With the provisions on the shore and the fruit we secured
on the island we were in no danger of starvation, but a kind of fever
seized upon our company and one after another sickened and died. This
was a time of stress and despair. Day after day the living buried the
dead until there was only one left, and that one was I. And I wept and
waited, and, as if death would not come uninvited, I arose and dug
myself a grave in readiness, for there was none left to bury me when
I died. It was on the seashore that I made my grave, so that, when I
should come to lie in it in my last moments, the wind should blow the
sand upon me and bury me. And in this state of mind I blamed myself for
setting out on this voyage in disregard of the lessons learned from
former perils.
But God in His mercy led my footsteps forth and I roamed in the island,
restless for the end. In my wanderings I came to a river gushing forth
out of the side of a mountain, and, after flowing for a space between
banks of verdure in a valley, entering again another mountain. Having
followed it to this point, I sat down upon a bank against the mountain
wall and pondered. And I said within myself, "This river flowing
through caverns within the mountain must have an opening somewhere,
perchance in a fertile country where people dwell." For a long time I
turned the chances of this within my mind and at last decided to build
a raft and commit myself upon it to the current; for at most it were
better to die that way than in my present desolation.
By means of ropes and wreckage from the seashore my raft was soon
constructed, and in its construction I omitted not to measure it
according to the width of the river. Then, full of a wild hope that I
might at length reach an inhabited region, I stowed upon it rich goods
from the shore, ambergris from the spring, and the rarest jewels I
could find in the beds of the watercourses. As I set myself upon the
raft and launched it, I said, "If I perish, I perish; but if I come to
the haunts of men, I come to them rich in precious things."
No sooner had I entered into the aperture of the mountain than I was
suddenly encased in darkness, and, having no choice which way I went,
flung myself flat on the raft lest my head should be shattered against
the roof of the tunnel. Like this I floated on, sometimes feeling
there was a wide space around me, and sometimes clinging to the raft
lest some narrowing of the passage should sweep me to destruction. And
all this time my terror was so acute that at last I swooned and lay
face downward on the raft, the plaything of fate and the sport of the
rushing current.
When I awoke I found myself in the open air. The sun was shining above
and the birds were singing in the trees around me. I was still lying
on the raft, which was tied to a stake on the shore of a beautiful
lake. As soon as I had raised myself and looked about me a number of
dark-skinned people gathered round and questioned me in an unknown
tongue; but I shook my head, understanding nothing of what they said.
At last one advanced from among them, and, addressing me in Arabic,
said, "Peace be with thee, brother!" Then I seized him joyfully by
the hand and greeted him, but I was weary and hungry and could give
no account of myself because of my utter exhaustion. Seeing my state
he called for food and wine, and they hastened to set them before me.
When I had eaten and drunk and my strength had returned to me I told
what I had come through, and the one who had addressed me in Arabic
interpreted it to the others. They were filled with wonder at my story
and insisted that I should accompany them to their King and acquaint
him with the history of my strange adventure.
So they took me, with the raft and all the riches I had laid upon it,
and led me before their King; and, from his state and magnificence,
I knew that I beheld the King of Sarandib, whose name and power and
learning are known through all the earth. He saluted me in the custom
of my own people, addressing me in Arabic which fell easily from his
tongue. This set me at my ease and I told him my story, to which he
listened with great attention. When I had finished, he raised his
hand and said, "By Allah! thou hast endured much, and thy case is
extraordinary. Thou art greatly favoured by fate: wherefore I join my
happiness with thine at thy deliverance and safety."
I was greatly moved at his words, and, begging his acceptance of a gift
at my hands, I took the rarest jewels from the raft, together with a
quantity of ambergris and aloes-wood, and laid them at his feet. He
graciously accepted my present and immediately established me in a
position of honour, bidding me dwell with him in his palace. I accepted
his hospitality and remained in his land in great happiness and honour,
associating with the grandees and the people of rank. And I said to
myself, "I care not if the rest of my days are passed in this kingdom
of splendour and magnificence."
It was indeed a land of wealth and abundance. And there the day is
equally divided with the night the whole year round; and, when the
sun rises, light bursts suddenly upon the earth, and, when it sets,
the darkness descends like a curtain that is loosed. There is a lofty
mountain whose glittering streams contain the richest jewels, with rare
minerals; and everywhere, on hill and valley, are wafted the fragrant
odours of spices. The delights of this realm held me enthralled for a
long time, so that I forgot my own country, wherein is the Abode of
Peace.
But, on a day when I ascended the high mountain and looked far out
across the sea, I seemed to hear the voice of my own land calling
to me. Then, with that far call still in my ears, I went in to the
King and asked him to let me go. At first he demurred, and tried to
induce me to remain with him and his people; but, when I pressed for
his permission, he relented and gave me a large sum of money for my
journey, and also many gifts.
When I was about to depart the King called me to him and handed me a
letter written on fine parchment. This he asked me to give into the
hands of the Khalifeh, Harun Er-Rashid. The substance of the letter
was this:--"The King of Sarandib sends greeting. Peace be on thee, O
Brother, from the King of Sarandib, who commands a thousand elephants,
and in whose palace are ten thousand jewels. By the bearer of this we
send thee a gift, for we have a deep affection for thee. The gift is
all too trifling, but we beseech thee to accept it graciously and reply
to us. Peace be upon thee!" The present with which I was entrusted was
a goblet of ruby, the inside of which was set with sparkling diamonds
and priceless pearls--truly a kingly gift.
Having bade farewell to the King and such of his people that I had
associated with I embarked in a large ship which was bound for
El-Basrah. In good time we reached that port and I journeyed up the
river to Baghdad.
My first thought was to deliver the letter and the gift into the hands
of the Khalifeh. So I lost no time in approaching him and fulfilling my
pledge to the King of Sarandib. He was greatly pleased with the letter,
and, when he saw the sparkling goblet of ruby and precious stones, he
was filled with delight.
"O Sindbad," he said, "this King must be exceedingly wealthy and
powerful; what sayest thou?" And I told him of the wonder and
magnificence of the land of Sarandib: how the King's seat of state is
on a splendid throne placed upon a gigantic elephant with his courtiers
and officials standing about him on a richly decorated platform; how
there are around His Majesty a thousand other elephants on which sit
the princes of the land; and, surrounding all, on every hand, ten
thousand horsemen clad in silk and gold; and how a crier goes before
the King exalting him to heaven, and another behind him proclaiming,
"Great is he, but he will die! Again, again and again I say it: he will
die!"
And as I continued to tell of these things the Khalifeh marvelled
greatly at the wisdom and power of this King. "Report hath spoken
truly," he said. "As thou hast witnessed to me, O Sindbad, the tales of
his might and dominion have exaggerated nothing."
He then thanked me for my faithful service and bestowed rich gifts upon
me, and bade me seek my own house in peace and content. There in the
bosom of my family, I lived at ease, having put behind me the perils of
travel and set fixedly before me the determination never to seek them
again. Yet, O Sindbad the Landsman, my determination was overruled
by the direct command of the Khalifeh; and, if thou wilt honour me by
thy presence again to-morrow, I will relate to thee the events of my
seventh and last voyage.