unheard of perils, I could again tempt fortune and risk fresh trouble. I am even
surprised myself when I look back, but evidently it was my fate to rove, and after
a year of repose I prepared to make a sixth voyage, regardless of the entreaties
of my friends and relations, who did all they could to keep me at home. Instead of
going by the Persian Gulf, I travelled a considerable way overland, and finally
embarked from a distant Indian port with a captain who meant to make a long
voyage. And truly he did so, for we fell in with stormy weather which drove us
completely out of our course, so that for many days neither captain nor pilot knew
where we were, nor where we were going. When they did at last discover our
position we had small ground for rejoicing, for the captain, casting his turban
upon the deck and tearing his beard, declared that we were in the most
dangerous spot upon the whole wide sea, and had been caught by a current
which was at that minute sweeping us to destruction. It was too true! In spite of
all the sailors could do we were driven with frightful rapidity towards the foot of a
mountain, which rose sheer out of the sea, and our vessel was dashed to pieces
upon the rocks at its base, not, however, until we had managed to scramble on
shore, carrying with us the most precious of our possessions. When we had done
this the captain said to us:
"Now we are here we may as well begin to dig our graves at once, since from this
fatal spot no shipwrecked mariner has ever returned."
This speech discouraged us much, and we began to lament over our sad fate.
The mountain formed the seaward boundary of a large island, and the narrow
strip of rocky shore upon which we stood was strewn with the wreckage of a
thousand gallant ships, while the bones of the luckless mariners shone white in
the sunshine, and we shuddered to think how soon our own would be added to
the heap. All around, too, lay vast quantities of the costliest merchandise, and
treasures were heaped in every cranny of the rocks, but all these things only
added to the desolation of the scene. It struck me as a very strange thing that a
river of clear fresh water, which gushed out from the mountain not far from where
we stood, instead of flowing into the sea as rivers generally do, turned off
sharply, and flowed out of sight under a natural archway of rock, and when I went
to examine it more closely I found that inside the cave the walls were thick with
diamonds, and rubies, and masses of crystal, and the floor was strewn with
ambergris. Here, then, upon this desolate shore we abandoned ourselves to our
fate, for there was no possibility of scaling the mountain, and if a ship had
appeared it could only have shared our doom. The first thing our captain did was
to divide equally amongst us all the food we possessed, and then the length of
each man's life depended on the time he could make his portion last. I myself
could live upon very little.
Nevertheless, by the time I had buried the last of my companions my stock of
provisions was so small that I hardly thought I should live long enough to dig my
own grave, which I set about doing, while I regretted bitterly the roving disposition
which was always bringing me into such straits, and thought longingly of all the
comfort and luxury that I had left. But luckily for me the fancy took me to stand
once more beside the river where it plunged out of sight in the depths of the
cavern, and as I did so an idea struck me. This river which hid itself underground
doubtless emerged again at some distant spot. Why should I not build a raft and
trust myself to its swiftly flowing waters? If I perished before I could reach the
light of day once more I should be no worse off than I was now, for death stared
me in the face, while there was always the possibility that, as I was born under a
lucky star, I might find myself safe and sound in some desirable land. I decided at
any rate to risk it, and speedily built myself a stout raft of drift-wood with strong
cords, of which enough and to spare lay strewn upon the beach. I then made up
many packages of rubies, emeralds, rock crystal, ambergris, and precious stuffs,
and bound them upon my raft, being careful to preserve the balance, and then I
seated myself upon it, having two small oars that I had fashioned laid ready to
my hand, and loosed the cord which held it to the bank. Once out in the current
my raft flew swiftly under the gloomy archway, and I found myself in total
darkness, carried smoothly forward by the rapid river. On I went as it seemed to
me for many nights and days. Once the channel became so small that I had a
narrow escape of being crushed against the rocky roof, and after that I took the
precaution of lying flat upon my precious bales. Though I only ate what was
absolutely necessary to keep myself alive, the inevitable moment came when,
after swallowing my last morsel of food, I began to wonder if I must after all die of
hunger. Then, worn out with anxiety and fatigue, I fell into a deep sleep, and
when I again opened my eyes I was once more in the light of day; a beautiful
country lay before me, and my raft, which was tied to the river bank, was
surrounded by friendly looking black men. I rose and saluted them, and they
spoke to me in return, but I could not understand a word of their language.
Feeling perfectly bewildered by my sudden return to life and light, I murmured to
myself in Arabic, "Close thine eyes, and while thou sleepest Heaven will change
thy fortune from evil to good."
One of the natives, who understood this tongue, then came forward saying:
"My brother, be not surprised to see us; this is our land, and as we came to get
water from the river we noticed your raft floating down it, and one of us swam out
and brought you to the shore. We have waited for your awakening; tell us now
whence you come and where you were going by that dangerous way?"
I replied that nothing would please me better than to tell them, but that I was
starving, and would fain eat something first. I was soon supplied with all I
needed, and having satisfied my hunger I told them faithfully all that had befallen
me. They were lost in wonder at my tale when it was interpreted to them, and
said that adventures so surprising must be related to their king only by the man
to whom they had happened. So, procuring a horse, they mounted me upon it,
and we set out, followed by several strong men carrying my raft just as it was
upon their shoulders. In this order we marched into the city of Serendib, where
the natives presented me to their king, whom I saluted in the Indian fashion,
prostrating myself at his feet and kissing the ground; but the monarch bade me
rise and sit beside him, asking first what was my name.
"I am Sindbad," I replied, "whom men call `the Sailor,' for I have voyaged much
upon many seas."
"And how come you here?" asked the king.
I told my story, concealing nothing, and his surprise and delight were so great
that he ordered my adventures to be written in letters of gold and laid up in the
archives of his kingdom.
Presently my raft was brought in and the bales opened in his presence, and the
king declared that in all his treasury there were no such rubies and emeralds as
those which lay in great heaps before him. Seeing that he looked at them with
interest, I ventured to say that I myself and all that I had were at his disposal, but
he answered me smiling:
"Nay, Sindbad. Heaven forbid that I should covet your riches; I will rather add to
them, for I desire that you shall not leave my kingdom without some tokens of my
good will." He then commanded his officers to provide me with a suitable lodging
at his expense, and sent slaves to wait upon me and carry my raft and my bales
to my new dwelling place. You may imagine that I praised his generosity and
gave him grateful thanks, nor did I fail to present myself daily in his audience
chamber, and for the rest of my time I amused myself in seeing all that was most
worthy of attention in the city. The island of Serendib being situated on the
equinoctial line, the days and nights there are of equal length. The chief city is
placed at the end of a beautiful valley, formed by the highest mountain in the
world, which is in the middle of the island. I had the curiosity to ascend to its very
summit, for this was the place to which Adam was banished out of Paradise.
Here are found rubies and many precious things, and rare plants grow
abundantly, with cedar trees and cocoa palms. On the seashore and at the
mouths of the rivers the divers seek for pearls, and in some valleys diamonds are
plentiful. After many days I petitioned the king that I might return to my own
country, to which he graciously consented. Moreover, he loaded me with rich
gifts, and when I went to take leave of him he entrusted me with a royal present
and a letter to the Commander of the Faithful, our sovereign lord, saying, "I pray
you give these to the Caliph Haroun al Raschid, and assure him of my
friendship."
I accepted the charge respectfully, and soon embarked upon the vessel which
the king himself had chosen for me. The king's letter was written in blue
characters upon a rare and precious skin of yellowish colour, and these were the
words of it: "The King of the Indies, before whom walk a thousand elephants,
who lives in a palace, of which the roof blazes with a hundred thousand rubies,
and whose treasure house contains twenty thousand diamond crowns, to the
Caliph Haroun al Raschid sends greeting. Though the offering we present to you
is unworthy of your notice, we pray you to accept it as a mark of the esteem and
friendship which we cherish for you, and of which we gladly send you this token,
and we ask of you a like regard if you deem us worthy of it. Adieu, brother."
The present consisted of a vase carved from a single ruby, six inches high and
as thick as my finger; this was filled with the choicest pearls, large, and of perfect
shape and lustre; secondly, a huge snake skin, with scales as large as a sequin,
which would preserve from sickness those who slept upon it. Then quantities of
aloes wood, camphor, and pistachio-nuts; and lastly, a beautiful slave girl, whose
robes glittered with precious stones.
After a long and prosperous voyage we landed at Balsora, and I made haste to
reach Bagdad, and taking the king's letter I presented myself at the palace gate,
followed by the beautiful slave, and various members of my own family, bearing
the treasure.
As soon as I had declared my errand I was conducted into the presence of the
Caliph, to whom, after I had made my obeisance, I gave the letter and the king's
gift, and when he had examined them he demanded of me whether the Prince of
Serendib was really as rich and powerful as he claimed to be.
"Commander of the Faithful," I replied, again bowing humbly before him, "I can
assure your Majesty that he has in no way exaggerated his wealth and grandeur.
Nothing can equal the magnificence of his palace. When he goes abroad his
throne is prepared upon the back of an elephant, and on either side of him ride
his ministers, his favourites, and courtiers. On his elephant's neck sits an officer,
his golden lance in his hand, and behind him stands another bearing a pillar of
gold, at the top of which is an emerald as long as my hand. A thousand men in
cloth of gold, mounted upon richly caparisoned elephants, go before him, and as
the procession moves onward the officer who guides his elephant cries aloud,
`Behold the mighty monarch, the powerful and valiant Sultan of the Indies, whose
palace is covered with a hundred thousand rubies, who possesses twenty
thousand diamond crowns. Behold a monarch greater than Solomon and
Mihrage in all their glory!'"
"Then the one who stands behind the throne answers: "This king, so great and
powerful, must die, must die, must die!"
"And the first takes up the chant again, Àll praise to Him who lives for
evermore.'"
"Further, my lord, in Serendib no judge is needed, for to the king himself his
people come for justice."
The Caliph was well satisfied with my report.
"From the king's letter," said he, "I judged that he was a wise man. It seems that
he is worthy of his people, and his people of him."
So saying he dismissed me with rich presents, and I returned in peace to my own
house.
When Sindbad had done speaking his guests withdrew, Hindbad having first
received a hundred sequins, but all returned next day to hear the story of the
seventh voyage, Sindbad thus began.
Seventh and Last Voyage
After my sixth voyage I was quite determined that I would go to sea no more. I
was now of an age to appreciate a quiet life, and I had run risks enough. I only
wished to end my days in peace. One day, however, when I was entertaining a
number of my friends, I was told that an officer of the Caliph wished to speak to
me, and when he was admitted he bade me follow him into the presence of
Haroun al Raschid, which I accordingly did. After I had saluted him, the Caliph
said:
"I have sent for you, Sindbad, because I need your services. I have chosen you
to bear a letter and a gift to the King of Serendib in return for his message of
friendship."
The Caliph's commandment fell upon me like a thunderbolt.
"Commander of the Faithful," I answered, "I am ready to do all that your Majesty
commands, but I humbly pray you to remember that I am utterly disheartened by
the unheard of sufferings I have undergone. Indeed, I have made a vow never
again to leave Bagdad."
With this I gave him a long account of some of my strangest adventures, to which
he listened patiently.
"I admit," said he, "that you have indeed had some extraordinary experiences,
but I do not see why they should hinder you from doing as I wish. You have only
to go straight to Serendib and give my message, then you are free to come back
and do as you will. But go you must; my honour and dignity demand it."
Seeing that there was no help for it, I declared myself willing to obey; and the
Caliph, delighted at having got his own way, gave me a thousand sequins for the
expenses of the voyage. I was soon ready to start, and taking the letter and the
present I embarked at Balsora, and sailed quickly and safely to Serendib. Here,
when I had disclosed my errand, I was well received, and brought into the
presence of the king, who greeted me with joy.
"Welcome, Sindbad," he cried. "I have thought of you often, and rejoice to see
you once more."
After thanking him for the honour that he did me, I displayed the Caliph's gifts.
First a bed with complete hangings all cloth of gold, which cost a thousand
sequins, and another like to it of crimson stuff. Fifty robes of rich embroidery, a
hundred of the finest white linen from Cairo, Suez, Cufa, and Alexandria. Then
more beds of different fashion, and an agate vase carved with the figure of a man
aiming an arrow at a lion, and finally a costly table, which had once belonged to
King Solomon. The King of Serendib received with satisfaction the assurance of
the Caliph's friendliness toward him, and now my task being accomplished I was
anxious to depart, but it was some time before the king would think of letting me
go. At last, however, he dismissed me with many presents, and I lost no time in
going on board a ship, which sailed at once, and for four days all went well. On
the fifth day we had the misfortune to fall in with pirates, who seized our vessel,
killing all who resisted, and making prisoners of those who were prudent enough
to submit at once, of whom I was one. When they had despoiled us of all we
possessed, they forced us to put on vile raiment, and sailing to a distant island
there sold us for slaves. I fell into the hands of a rich merchant, who took me
home with him, and clothed and fed me well, and after some days sent for me
and questioned me as to what I could do.
I answered that I was a rich merchant who had been captured by pirates, and
therefore I knew no trade.
"Tell me," said he, "can you shoot with a bow?"
I replied that this had been one of the pastimes of my youth, and that doubtless
with practice my skill would come back to me.
Upon this he provided me with a bow and arrows, and mounting me with him
upon his own elephant took the way to a vast forest which lay far from the town.
When we had reached the wildest part of it we stopped, and my master said to
me: "This forest swarms with elephants. Hide yourself in this great tree, and
shoot at all that pass you. When you have succeeded in killing one come and tell
me."
So saying he gave me a supply of food, and returned to the town, and I perched
myself high up in the tree and kept watch. That night I saw nothing, but just after
sunrise the next morning a large herd of elephants came crashing and trampling
by. I lost no time in letting fly several arrows, and at last one of the great animals
fell to the ground dead, and the others retreated, leaving me free to come down
from my hiding place and run back to tell my master of my success, for which I
was praised and regaled with good things. Then we went back to the forest
together and dug a mighty trench in which we buried the elephant I had killed, in
order that when it became a skeleton my master might return and secure its
tusks.
For two months I hunted thus, and no day passed without my securing, an
elephant. Of course I did not always station myself in the same tree, but
sometimes in one place, sometimes in another. One morning as I watched the
coming of the elephants I was surprised to see that, instead of passing the tree I
was in, as they usually did, they paused, and completely surrounded it,
trumpeting horribly, and shaking the very ground with their heavy tread, and
when I saw that their eyes were fixed upon me I was terrified, and my arrows
dropped from my trembling hand. I had indeed good reason for my terror when,
an instant later, the largest of the animals wound his trunk round the stem of my
tree, and with one mighty effort tore it up by the roots, bringing me to the ground
entangled in its branches. I thought now that my last hour was surely come; but
the huge creature, picking me up gently enough, set me upon its back, where I
clung more dead than alive, and followed by the whole herd turned and crashed
off into the dense forest. It seemed to me a long time before I was once more set
upon my feet by the elephant, and I stood as if in a dream watching the herd,
which turned and trampled off in another direction, and were soon hidden in the
dense underwood. Then, recovering myself, I looked about me, and found that I
was standing upon the side of a great hill, strewn as far as I could see on either
hand with bones and tusks of elephants. "This then must be the elephants'
burying place," I said to myself, "and they must have brought me here that I
might cease to persecute them, seeing that I want nothing but their tusks, and
here lie more than I could carry away in a lifetime."
Whereupon I turned and made for the city as fast as I could go, not seeing a
single elephant by the way, which convinced me that they had retired deeper into
the forest to leave the way open to the Ivory Hill, and I did not know how
sufficiently to admire their sagacity. After a day and a night I reached my master's
house, and was received by him with joyful surprise.
"Ah! poor Sindbad," he cried, "I was wondering what could have become of you.
When I went to the forest I found the tree newly uprooted, and the arrows lying
beside it, and I feared I should never see you again. Pray tell me how you
escaped death."
I soon satisfied his curiosity, and the next day we went together to the Ivory Hill,
and he was overjoyed to find that I had told him nothing but the truth. When we
had loaded our elephant with as many tusks as it could carry and were on our
way back to the city, he said:
"My brother--since I can no longer treat as a slave one who has enriched me
thus--take your liberty and may Heaven prosper you. I will no longer conceal from
you that these wild elephants have killed numbers of our slaves every year. No
matter what good advice we gave them, they were caught sooner or later. You
alone have escaped the wiles of these animals, therefore you must be under the
special protection of Heaven. Now through you the whole town will be enriched
without further loss of life, therefore you shall not only receive your liberty, but I
will also bestow a fortune upon you."
To which I replied, "Master, I thank you, and wish you all prosperity. For myself I
only ask liberty to return to my own country."
"It is well," he answered, "the monsoon will soon bring the ivory ships hither, then
I will send you on your way with somewhat to pay your passage."
So I stayed with him till the time of the monsoon, and every day we added to our
store of ivory till all his ware-houses were overflowing with it. By this time the
other merchants knew the secret, but there was enough and to spare for all.
When the ships at last arrived my master himself chose the one in which I was to
sail, and put on board for me a great store of choice provisions, also ivory in
abundance, and all the costliest curiosities of the country, for which I could not
thank him enough, and so we parted. I left the ship at the first port we came to,
not feeling at ease upon the sea after all that had happened to me by reason of
it, and having disposed of my ivory for much gold, and bought many rare and
costly presents, I loaded my pack animals, and joined a caravan of merchants.
Our journey was long and tedious, but I bore it patiently, reflecting that at least I
had not to fear tempests, nor pirates, nor serpents, nor any of the other perils
from which I had suffered before, and at length we reached Bagdad. My first care
was to present myself before the Caliph, and give him an account of my
embassy. He assured me that my long absence had disquieted him much, but he
had nevertheless hoped for the best. As to my adventure among the elephants
he heard it with amazement, declaring that he could not have believed it had not
my truthfulness been well known to him.
By his orders this story and the others I had told him were written by his scribes
in letters of gold, and laid up among his treasures. I took my leave of him, well
satisfied with the honours and rewards he bestowed upon me; and since that
time I have rested from my labours, and given myself up wholly to my family and
my friends.
Thus Sindbad ended the story of his seventh and last voyage, and turning to
Hindbad he added:
"Well, my friend, and what do you think now? Have you ever heard of anyone
who has suffered more, or had more narrow escapes than I have? Is it not just
that I should now enjoy a life of ease and tranquillity?"
Hindbad drew near, and kissing his hand respectfully, replied, "Sir, you have
indeed known fearful perils; my troubles have been nothing compared to yours.
Moreover, the generous use you make of your wealth proves that you deserve it.
May you live long and happily in the enjoyment in it." Sindbad then gave him a
hundred sequins, and hence-forward counted him among his friends; also he
caused him to give up his profession as a porter, and to eat daily at his table that
he might all his life remember Sindbad the Sailor.