Sinbad the Sailor =  fB 221

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out of the cave trembling. I can justly say that I walked a long
time upon diamonds without feeling an inclination to touch any of
them. At last I sat down, and notwithstanding my uneasiness, not
having shut my eyes during the night, I fell asleep, after having
eaten a little more of my provisions; but I had scarcely shut my
eyes, when something that fell by me with great noise awakened me.
This was a great piece of fresh meat, and at the same time I saw
several others fall down from the rocks in different places.

I had always looked upon it as a fable when I heard mariners
and others discourse of the valley of diamonds, and of the strata-
gems made use of by some merchants to get jewels from thence ;
but now I found it to be true. For, in. reality, those merchants
come to the neighbourhood of this valley when the eagles have
young ones, and throwing great joints of meat into the valley,
the diamonds, upon whose points they fall, stick to them; the
eagles, which are stronger in this country than anywhere else,
pounce with great force upon those pieces of meat, and carry them
to their nests upon the top of the rocks to feed their young with,
at which time the merchants, running to their nests, frighten the

eagles by their noise, and take away the diamonds that stick to
the meat. And this stratagem they make use of. to get the diamonds
out of the valley, which is surrounded with such Poe that
nobody can enter it.

I believed till then that it was not possible for me to get out
of this abyss, which I looked upon as my grave; but now I changed
my mind, for the falling in of those pieces of meat put me in hopes
of a way of saving my life.

I began to gather together the largest diamonds that I could
see, and put them into the leathern bag in which I used to carry
my provisions. I afterwards took the largest piece of meat I could
find, tied it close round me with the cloth of my turban, and then
laid myself upon the ground, with my face downward, the bag of