ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 125

that which they did. But in the meantime
one of the passengers said to me, “O my
master, arise and divert thyself with the sight
of this egg which we imagined to be a dome.”
I therefore arose to take a view of it, and
found the merchants striking the egg. I called
out to them, “Do not this deed; for the rukh’
will come and demolish our ship, and destroy
us.” But they would not hear my words.

And while they were doing as above related,
behold, the sun became concealed from us,
and the day grew dark, and there came over us
a cloud by which the sky was obscured. So we
raised our heads to see what had intervened be-
tween us and the sun, and saw that the wings
of the rukh’ were what veiled from us the sun’s
light, so that the sky was darkened. And when
the rukh’ came, and beheld its egg broken, it
cried out at us; whereupon its mate, the female
bird, came to it, and they flew in circles over
the ship, crying out at us with a voice more vehe-
ment than thunder. So I called out to the
master and the sailors, and said to them, “ Push
off the vessel, and seek safety before we perish.”
The master therefore hastened, and, the merchants
having embarked, he loosed the ship, and we de-

parted from that island. And when the rukh’s
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