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]