Sir, said she to the sultan, Sindbad continued the story of the
adventure of his second voyage thus: I began to gather together the
largest diamonds that I could see, and put them into the leathern
bag in which I used to carry my provisions. I afterwards took the
largest piece of meat I could find, tied it close round me with the
cloth of my turban, and then laid myself upon the ground, with my
face downward, the bag of diamonds being tied fast to my girdle, so
that it could not possibly drop off.
I had scarce laid me down before the eagles came: each of them
seized a piece of meat, and one of the strongest having taken me up,
with a piece of meat on my back, carried me to his nest on the top
of the mountain. The merchants fell straightway to shouting, to
frighten the eagles; and when they had obliged them to quit their
prey, one of them came to the nest where I was. He was very much
afraid when he saw me; but recovering himself, instead of inquiring
how I came thither, he began to quarrel with me, and asked why I
stole his goods. You will treat me, replied I, with more civility,
when you know me better. Do not trouble yourself; I have diamonds
enough for you and myself too, more than all the other merchants
together. If they have any, it is by chance; but I chose myself in
the bottom of the valley all those which you see in this bag: and
having spoken these words, I showed them to him. I had scarce done
speaking, when the other merchants came trooping about us, much
astonished to see me; but they were much more surprised when I told
them my story. Yet they did not so much admire my stratagem to save
myself, as my courage to attempt it.
They carried me to the place where they staid all together, and
there having opened my bag, they were surprised at the largeness of
my diamonds, and confessed that in all the courts where they had
been they never saw any that came near them. I prayed the merchant
to whom the nest belonged whither I was carried (for every merchant
had his own) to take as many for his share as he pleased. He
contented himself with one, and that too the least of them; and when
I pressed him to take more, without fear of doing me any injury: No,
said he, I am very well satisfied with this, which is valuable
enough to save me the trouble of making any more voyages, to raise
as great a fortune as I desire.
I spent the night with those merchants, to whom I told my story a
second time, for the satisfaction of those who had not heard it. I
could not moderate my joy when I found myself delivered from the
danger I have mentioned: I thought myself to be in a dream, and
could scarce believe myself to be out of danger.
The merchants had thrown their pieces of meat into the valley for
several days: and each of them being satisfied with the diamonds
that had fallen to his lot, we left the place next morning all
together, and travelled near high mountains, where there were
serpents of a prodigious length, which we had the good fortune to
escape. We took the first port we came at, and came to the isle of
Roha, where the trees grow that yield camphire. This tree is so
large, and its branches so thick, that a hundred men may easily sit
under its shade. The juice, of which the camphire is made, runs out
from a hole bored in the upper part of the tree, is received in a
vessel, where it grows to a consistency, and becomes what we call
camphire; and the juice thus drawn out, the tree withers and dies.
There is in this island the rhinoceros, a creature less than the
elephant, but greater than the buffalo; they have a horn upon their
nose, about a cubit long; this horn is solid, and cleft in the
middle from one end to the other, and there is upon it white lines,
representing the figure of a man. The rhinoceros fights with the
elephant, runs his horn into his belly, and carries him off upon his
head; but the blood and the fat of the elephant running into his
eyes, and making him blind, he falls to the ground; and then,
strange to relate, the roc comes and carries them both away in her
claws, to be food for her young ones.
I pass over many other things peculiar to this island, lest I should
be troublesome to you. Here I exchanged some of my diamonds for good
merchandise. From thence we went to other isles; and at last, having
touched at several trading towns of the main land, we landed at
Balsora, from whence I went to Bagdad. There I immediately gave
great alms to the poor, and lived honourably upon the vast riches I
had brought, and gained with so much fatigue. Thus Sindbad ended the
story of the second voyage, gave Hindbad another hundred sequins,
and invited him to come next day to hear the story of the third. The
rest of the guests returned to their houses, and came again the next
day at the same hour; and one may be sure the porter did not fail,
having by this time almost forgot his former poverty. When dinner
was over, Sindbad demanded attention, and gave them an account of
his third voyage, as follows:
Sindbad, the Sailor’s third Voyage.
The pleasures of the life which I then led soon made me forget the
risks I had run in my two former voyages; but being then in the
flower of my age, I grew weary of living without business; and
hardening myself against the thought of any danger I might incur, I
went from Bagdad, with the richest commodities of the country, to
Balsora: there I embarked again with the merchants. We made a long
voyage, and touched at several ports, where we drove a considerable
trade. One day, being out in the main ocean, we were attacked by a
horrible tempest, which made us lose our course. The tempest
continued several days, and brought us before the port of an island,
where the captain was very unwilling to enter; but we were obliged
to cast anchor there. When we had furled our sails, the captain told
us that this and some other neighbouring islands [17] were inhabited
by hairy savages, who would speedily attack us; and though they were
but dwarfs, yet our misfortune was such that we must make no
resistance, for they were more in number than the locusts; and if we
happened to kill one of them, they would all fall upon us, and
destroy us. --Here day beginning to appear, Scheherazade broke off
her story, and continued it next night, as follows: