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SINDBAD

THE SAILOR

AND ALI BABA

AND THE FORTY
THIEVES
 

12 CARNEGIE BOOK SHOP, 140 EAST

 

309 Venetian Painters by Frank J.
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HISTORY AND

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oa

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11

 

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Covers most of the illustrated work of
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300 [Strang Illustrations] Sinbad the
Sailor and Ali Baba and the Forty
Thieves. Illus. by William Strang and
J. B. Clark, Tall 8vo. London, 1896, $3.50
301 Strong, Eugenie, Art in Ancient

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nfl J Pan

BEE eos or aed
SC TRG Ia

 
5 iN .D BAD

THE SAILOR

ann ALI BABA

AND THE FORTY
THIEVES

ILLUSTRATED BY WILLIAM STRANG
AND J. B. CLARK

 

LONDON
LAWRENCE AND BULLEN
16 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN
1896
Printed by BALLANTYNE, Hanson & Co.
At the Ballantyne Press
NOTE

In the present Edition, Edward William Lane's
translation has been followed for SINDBAD THE |
Sattor, and the Rev. Jonathan Scott's for Aut

BABA AND THE Forty THIEVES.

P WSS

 
SINDBAD THE SAILOR
v i A >, OF ‘ A

 

 
THE STORY OF

ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA

AND

ES-SINDIBAD OF THE LAND

“ay HERE was, in the time of the
Khaleefeh; the Prince of the Faith-
ful, Hdroon Er-Rasheed, in the
gy) city of Baghdad, a man called Es-
Sindibéd the Porter. He was a
man in poor circumstances, who bore burdens
for hire upon his head. And it happened to
him that he bore one day a heavy burden,
and that day was excessively hot; so he was
wearied by the load, and perspired profasely, the
heat violently oppressing him. In this state he
passed by the door of a merchant, the ground

before which was swept and sprinkled, and there
A

 
> THE STORY OF ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA

the air was temperate; and by the side of the
door was a wide mastabah. The porter there-
fore put down his burden upon that mastabah,
to rest himself, and to scent the air; and when
he had done so, there came forth upon him,
from the door, a pleasant, gentle gale, and an
exquisite odour, wherewith the porter was de-
lighted. He seated himself upon the edge of
the mastabah, and heard in that place the melo-
dious sounds of stringed instruments, with the
lute among them, and mirth-exciting voices, and
varieties of distinct recitations. He heard also
the voices of birds, warbling, and praising God
(whose name be exalted!) with diverse tones and
with all dialects; consisting of turtle-doves and
hezdrs and blackbirds and nightingales and ring-
doves and keerawdns; whereupon he wondered
in his mind, and was moved with great delight.
He then advanced to that door, and found within
the house a great garden, wherein he beheld
pages and slaves and servants and other de-
pendants, and such things as existed not else-
where save in the abodes of Kings and Sultans;
and after that, there blew upon him the odour
of delicious, exquisite viands, of all different
kinds, and of delicious wine.

Upon this he raised his eyes towards heaven,
AND ES-SINDIBAD OF THE LAND 3

and said, ‘“‘Extolled be Thy perfection, O Lord!
O Creator! O Supplier of the conveniences of
life! Thou suppliest whom Thou wilt without
reckoning! O Allah, I implore Thy forgiveness
of all offences, and turn to Thee repenting of all
faults! O Lord, there is no animadverting upon
Thee with respect to Thy judgment and Thy power;
for Thou art not to be questioned regarding that
which Thou doest, and Thou art able to do what-
soever Thou wilt! Extolled be Thy perfection!
Thou enrichest whom Thou wilt, and whom Thou
wilt Thou impoverishest! Thou magnifiest whom
Thou wilt, and whom Thou wilt Thou abasest !
There is no deity but Thou! How great is Thy
_ dignity! and how mighty is Thy dominion! and
how excellent is Thy government! Thou hast
bestowed favours upon him whom Thou choosest
among Thy servants, and the owner of this place
is in the utmost affluence, delighting himself with
pleasant odours and delicious meats and exquisite
beverages of all descriptions. And Thou hast
appointed unto Thy creatures what Thou wilt, and
‘what Thou hast predestined for them; so that
among them one is weary, and another is at ease;
and one of them is prosperous, and another is
like me, in the extreme of fatigue and abjec-
tion!” And he recited thus :—
4 THE STORY OF ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA

“How many wretched persons are destitute of ease! and how

many are in luxury, reposing in the shade !

I find myself afflicted by trouble beyond measure ; and strange
is my condition, and heavy is my load!

Others are in prosperity, and from wretchedness are free, and
never for a single day have borne a load like mine ;

Incessantly and amply blest, throughout the course of life,
with happiness and grandeur, as well as drink and meat.

All men whom God hath made are in origin alike; and I
resemble this man, and he resembleth me ;

But otherwise, between us is a difference as great as mee differ-
ence that we find between wine and vinegar.

Yet in saying this, I utter no falsehood against Thee,[O my Lord]
for Thou art wise, and with justice Thou hast judged.”

And when Es-Sindibéd the Porter had finished
the recitation of his verses, he desired to take up
his burden and to depart. But, lo, there came
forth .to him from that door a young page,
handsome in countenance, comely in stature,
magnificent in apparel; and he laid hold upon
the porter’s hand, saying to him, ‘“‘ Enter: answer
the summons of my master; for he calleth for
thee.” And the porter would have refused to
enter with the page; but he could not. He
therefore deposited his burden with the door-
keeper in the entrance-passage, and, entering
the house with the page, he found it to be a
handsome mansion, presenting an appearance of
joy and majesty. And he looked towards a grand
chamber, in which he beheld noblemen and great
lords ; and in it were all kinds of flowers, and all
AND ES-SINDIBAD OF THE LAND 5

kinds of sweet scents, and varieties of dried and
fresh fruits, together with abundance of various
kinds of exquisite viands, and beverage prepared
from the fruit of the choicest grape-vines. In it
were also instruments of music and mirth, and
varieties of beautiful slave-girls, all ranged in
proper order. And at the upper end of that
chamber was a great and venerable man, in the
sides of whose beard grey hairs had begun to
appear. He was of handsome form, comely in
countenance, with an aspect of gravity and dignity
and majesty and stateliness. So, upon this, Es-
Sindibéd the Porter was confounded, and he said
within himself, ‘‘ By Allah, this place is a portion
of Paradise, or it is the palace of a King or Sultan!”
Then, putting himself in a respectful posture, he
saluted the assembly, prayed for them, and kissed
the ground before them; after which he stood,
hanging down his head in humility. But the
master of the house gave him permission to seat
himself. He therefore sat. And the master of
the house had caused him to draw near unto him,
‘and now began to cheer him with conversation,
and to welcome him; and he put before him some
of the various excellent, delicious, exquisite viands.
So Es-Sindibdd the Porter advanced, and, having
said, “In the name of God, the Compassionate,
6 THE STORY OF ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA

the Merciful,”—ate until he was satisfied and
satiated, when he said, ‘Praise be to God in
every case !”—and washed his hands, and thanked
them for this.

The master of the house then said, ‘Thou art
welcome, and thy day is blessed. What is thy
name, and what trade dost thou follow ?”—“ O my
master,” he answered, “ my name is Es-Sindibad the
Porter, and I bear upon my head men’s merchan-
dise for hire.’ And at this, the master of the
house smiled, and he said to him, ‘“‘ Know, O
porter, that thy name is like mine; for I am Es-
Sindibad of the Sea: but, O porter, I desire that
thou let me hear the verses that thou wast reciting
when thou wast at the door.” The porter there-
fore was ashamed, and said to him, “I conjure
thee by Allah that thou be not angry with me;
for fatigue and trouble, and paucity of what the
hand possesseth, teach a man ill manners, and
impertinence.” His host, however, replied, “Be
not ashamed; for thou hast become my brother :
recite then the verses, since they pleased me when
I heard them from thee as thou recitedst them at
the door.” So upon this the porter recited to him
those verses, and they pleased him, and he was
moved with delight on hearing them. He then
said to him: O porter, know that my story is
PM Ie lao a,

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To face page 6.
 
AND ES-SINDIBAD OF THE LAND. 9

wonderful, and I will inform thee of all that
happened to me and befell me before I attained
this prosperity and sat in this place wherein thou
seest me. For I attained not this prosperity
and this place save after severe fatigue and great
trouble and many terrors. How often have I
endured fatigue and toil in my early years! I
have performed seven voyages, and connected
with each voyage is a wonderful tale, that would
confound the mind. All that which I endured
happened by fate and destiny, and from that
which is written there is no escape nor flight.
THE FIRST VOYAGE: OF
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA.

#|NOW, O masters, O noble persons,
that I had a father, a merchant,
who was one of the first in rank
among the people and the mer-
chants, and who possessed abun-
dant wealth and ample fortune. He died when
I was a young child, leaving to me wealth and
buildings and fields; and when I grew up, I put
my hand upon the whole of the property, ate
well and drank well, associated with the young
men, wore handsome apparel, and passed my life
with my friends and companions, feeling confident
that this course would continue and profit me;
and I ceased not to live in this manner for a
length of time. I then returned to my reason,
and recovered from my heedlessness, and found
that my wealth had passed away, and my con-
dition had changed, and all [the money] that I
had possessed had gone. I recovered not to see

ro

  
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 11

my situation, but in a state of fear and confusion
of mind, and remembered a tale that I had heard
before, the tale of our lord Suleyman the son of
Déood (on both of whom be peace!) respecting
his saying, “Three things are better than three:
the day of death is better than the day of birth;
and a living dog is better than a dead lion; and
the grave is better than the palace.” Then I
arose, and collected what I had, of effects and
apparel, and sold them; after which I sold my
buildings and all that my hand possessed, and
amassed three thousand pieces of silver; and it
occurred to my mind to travel to the countries
of other people; and I remembered one of the
sayings of the poets, which was this :—

In proportion to one’s labour, eminences are gained ; and he
who seeketh eminence passeth sleepless nights.

He diveth in the sea who seeketh for pearls, and succeedeth in
acquiring lordship and good fortune.

Whoso seeketh eminence without labouring for it, loseth his
life in the search of vanity.

Upon this, I resolved, and arose, and bought
for myself goods and commodities and merchan-
' dise, with such other things as were required
for travel; and my mind had consented to my
performing a sea-voyage. So I embarked in a
ship, and it descended to the city of El-Basrah,

with a company of merchants; and’ we traversed
12 THE FIRST VOYAGE OF

the sea for many days and nights. We had
passed by island after island, and from sea to
sea, and from land to land; and in every place
by which we passed we sold and bought, and
exchanged merchandise. We continued our voy-
age until we arrived at an island like one of
the gardens of Paradise, and at that island the
master of the ship brought her to anchor with
us. He cast the anchor, and put forth the
landing-plank, and all who were in the ship
landed upon that island. They had prepared for
themselves fire-pots, and they lighted the fires in
them ; and their occupations were various: some
cooked; others washed; and others amused them-
selves. JI was among those who were amusing
themselves upon the shores of the island, and
the passengers were assembled to eat and drink
and play and sport. But while we were thus
engaged, lo, the master of the ship, standing
upon its side, called out with his loudest voice,
“O ye passengers, whom may God preserve!
come up quickly into the ship, hasten to embark,
and leave your merchandise, and flee for your
lives, and save yourselves from destruction; for
this apparent island, upon which ye are, is not
really an island, but it is a great fish that hath
become stationary in the midst of the sea, and
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA - 33

the sand hath accumulated upon it, so that it
hath become like an island, and trees have grown
upon it since times of old; and when ye lighted
upon it the fire, it felt the heat, and put itself in
motion, and now it will descend with you into the
sea, and ye will all be drowned: then seek for
yourselves escape before. destruction, and leave
the merchandise!” The passengers, therefore,
hearing the words of the master of the ship,
hastened to go up into the vessel, leaving the
merchandise, and their other goods, and their
copper cooking-pots, and their fire-pots; and
some reached the ship, and others reached it not.
The island had moved, and descended to the bot-
tom of the sea, with all that were upon it, and the
roaring sea, agitated with waves, closed over it.

I was among the number of those who remained
behind upon the island; so I sank in the sea
with the rest who sank. But God (whose name
be exalted!) delivered me and saved me from
drowning, and supplied me with a great wooden
bowl, of the bowls in which the passengers had
‘been washing, and I laid hold upon it and got
into it, induced by the sweetness of life, and
beat the water with my feet as with oars, while
the waves sported with me, tossing me to the
right and left. The master of the vessel had
14° _ THE FIRST VOYAGE OF

caused her sails to be spread, and pursued his
voyage with those who had embarked, not re-
garding such as had been submerged; and I
ceased not to look at that vessel until it was
concealed from my eye. J made sure of de-
struction, and night came upon me while I was
in this state; but I remained so a day and a
night, and the wind and the waves aided me
until the bowl came to a stoppage with me
under a high island, whereon were trees over-
hanging the sea. SoTI laid hold upon a branch
of a lofty tree, and clung to it, after I had been
at the point of destruction; and I kept hold
upon it until I landed on the island, when I
found my legs benumbed, and saw marks of
the nibbling of fish upon their hams, of which
I had been insensible by reason of the violence
of the anguish and fatigue I was suffering.

I threw myself upon the island like one
dead, and was unconscious of my existence, and
drowned in my stupefaction; and I ceased not
to remain in this condition until the next day.
The sun having then risen upon me, I awoke
upon the island, and found that my feet were
swollen, and that I had become reduced to the
state in which I then was. Awhile I dragged
myself along in a sitting posture, and then I
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 15

crawled upon my knees. And there were in
the island fruits in abundance, and springs of

sweet water: therefore I ate of those fruits;
and I ceased not to continue in this state for
many days and nights. My spirit had then

 

revived, my soul had returned to me, and my
power of motion was renewed; and I began to
meditate, and to walk along the shore of the
island, amusing myself among the trees with the
sight of the things that God (whose name be
16 THE FIRST VOYAGE OF

exalted!) had created; and I had made for my-
self a staff from those trees, to lean upon it.
Thus I remained until I walked, one day, upon
the shore of the island, and there appeared unto
me an indistinct object in the distance. I
imagined that it was a wild beast, or one of the
beasts of the sea; and I walked towards it,
ceasing not to gaze at it; and, lo, it was a
mare, of superb appearance, tethered in a part
of the island by the sea-shore. I approached
her; but she cried out against me with a great
cry, and I trembled with fear of her, and was
about to return, when, behold, a man came forth
from beneath the earth, and he called to me
and pursued me, saying to me, “Who art thou,
and whence hast thou come, and what is the
cause of thine arrival in this place?” So I
answered him, “O my master, know that I am.
a stranger, and I was in a ship, and was sub-
merged in the sea with certain others of the
passengers ; but God supplied me with a wooden
bowl, and I got into it, and it bore me along
until the waves cast me upon this island.” And
when he heard my words, he laid hold of my
hand and said to me, “Come with me.” I
therefore went with him, and he descended with
me into a grotto beneath the earth, and con-
 

To face page 16.
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 19”

ducted me into a large subterranean chamber,
and, having seated me at the upper end of that
chamber, brought me some food. I was hungry ;
so I ate until I was satiated and contented, and
my soul became at ease. Then he asked me
respecting my case, and what had happened to
me; wherefore I acquainted him with my whole
affair from beginning to end; and he wondered
at my story.

And when I had finished my tale, I said, “I
conjure thee by Allah, O my master, that thou
be not displeased with me: I have acquainted
thee with the truth of my case and of what hath
happened to me, and I desire of thee that thou
inform me who thou art, and what is the cause
of thy dwelling in this chamber that is beneath
the earth, and what is the reason of thy tethering
this mare by the seaside.” So he replied, “‘ Know
that we are a party dispersed in this island, upon
its shores, and we are the grooms of the King
El-Mihraj, having under our care all his horses ;
and every month, when moonlight commenceth,
we bring the swift mares, and tether them in
this island, every mare that has not foaled,
and conceal ourselves in this chamber beneath
‘the earth, that they may attract the sea-horses.
This is the time of the coming forth of the sea-
20 THE FIRST VOYAGE OF

horse; and afterwards, if it be the will of God
(whose name be exalted !), I will take thee with
me to the King El-Mihraj, and divert thee with
the sight of our country. Know, moreover, that
if thou hadst not met with us, thou hadst not
seen any one in this place, and wouldst have
died in misery, none knowing of thee. But I
will be the means of the preservation of thy
life, and of thy return to thy country.” I there-
fore prayed for him, and thanked him for his
kindness and beneficence; and while we were
thus talking, the horse came forth from the sea,
as he had said. And shortly after, his com-
panions came, each leading a mare; and, seeing
me with him, they inquired of me my story, and I
told them what I had related to him. They then |
drew near to me, and spread the table, and ate,
and invited me: so I ate with them; after which,
they arose, and mounted the horses, taking me
with them, having mounted me on a mare.

We commenced our journey, and proceeded
without ceasing until we arrived at the city of the
King El-Mihraj, and they went in to him and ac-
quainted him with my story. He therefore desired
my presence, and they took me in to him, and sta-
tioned me before him ; whereupon I saluted him,
and he returned my salutation, and welcomed me,
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA at

greeting me in an honourable manner, and in-
quired of me respecting my case. So I informed
him of all that had happened to me, and of all
that I had seen, from beginning to end; and he
wondered at that which had befallen me and
happened to me, and said to me, “‘O my son, by
Allah thou hast experienced an extraordinary
preservation, and had it not been for the pre-
destined length of thy life, thou hadst not escaped
from these difficulties; but praise be to God for
thy safety!” Then he treated me with beneficence
and honour, caused me to draw near to him, and |
began to cheer me with conversation and courtesy ;
and he made me his superintendent of the sea-port,
and registrar of every vessel that came to the
coast. I stood in his presence to transact his
affairs, and he favoured me and benefited me in
every respect; he invested me with a handsome
and costly dress, and J became a person high in
credit with him in intercessions, and in accom-
plishing the affairs of the people. I ceased not
to remain in his service for a long time; and
whenever I went to the shore of the sea, I used
to inquire of the merchants and travellers and
sailors respecting the direction of the city of
Baghdad, that perchance some one might inform

me of it, and I might go with him thither and
B
22 THE FIRST VOYAGE OF

return to my country; but none knew it, nor
knew any one who went to it. At this I was
perplexed, and I was weary of the length of my
absence from home; and in this state I con-
tinued for a length of time, until I went in one
day to the King El-Mihrdj, and found with him
a party of Indians. I saluted them, and they
returned my salutation, and welcomed me, and
asked me respecting my country; after which, I
questioned them as to their country, and they
told me that they consisted of various races.
Among them are the Shdékireeyeh, who are the
most noble of their races, who oppress no one,
nor offer violence to any. And among them are
a class called the Brahmans, a people who never
drink wine ; but they are persons of pleasure and
joy and sport and merriment, and possessed of
camels and horses and cattle. They informed me
also that the Indians are divided into seventy-
two classes; and I wondered at this extremely.
And I saw, in the dominions of the King El-
Mihraj, an island, among others, which is called
Kasil, in which is heard the beating of tambour-
ines and drums throughout the night, and the
islanders and travellers informed us that Ed-
Dejjal is in it. I saw too, in the sea in which is
that island, a fish two hundred cubits long, and
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ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 25

the fishermen fear it; wherefore they knock some
pieces of wood, and it fleeth from them: and I
saw a fish whose face was like that of the owl.
I likewise saw during that voyage many wonder-
ful and strange things, such that, if I related
them to you, the description would be too long.

I continued to amuse myself with the sight of
those islands and the things that they contained,
until I stood one day upon the shore of the
sea, with a staff in my hand, as was my custom,
and, lo, a great vessel approached, wherein were
many merchants; and when it arrived at the
harbour of the city, and its place of anchoring,
the master furled its sails, brought it to an
anchor by the shore, and put forth the landing-
plank; and the sailors brought out every thing
that was in that vessel to the shore. They
were slow in taking forth the goods, while I
. stood writing their account, and I said to the
master of the ship, “Doth aught remain in thy
vessel?” He answered, ‘“‘ Yes, O my master; I
have some goods in the hold of the ship; but
their owner was drowned in the sea at one of
the islands during our voyage hither, and his _
goods are in our charge; so we desire to sell
them, and to. take a note of their price, in
order to convey it to his family in the city of
26 THE FIRST VOYAGE OF

Baghdad, the Abode of Peace.” I therefore said
to the master, “What was the name of that
man, the owner of the goods?” He answered,
“His name was Es-Sindibid of the Sea, and
he was drowned on his voyage with us in the
sea.” And when I heard his words, I looked at
him with a scrutinising eye, and recognised him ;
and I cried out at him with a great cry, and said,
“O master, know that I am the owner of the
goods which thou hast mentioned, and I am Ks-
Sindibéd of the Sea, who descended upon the
island from the ship, with the other merchants
who descended; and when the fish that we
were upon moved, and thou calledst out to us,
some got up into the vessel, and the rest sank,
and I was among those who sank. But God
(whose name be exalted!) preserved me and
saved me from drowning by means of a large
wooden bowl, of those in which the passengers
were washing, and I got into it, and began to
beat the water with my feet, and the wind and
the waves aided me until I arrived at this
island, when I landed on it, and God (whose
name be exalted!) assisted me, and I met the
grooms of the King El-Mihraj, who took me
with them and brought me to this city. They
then led me in to the King El-Mihrdj, and I
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 27

acquainted him with my story; whereupon he
bestowed benefits upon me, and appointed me
clerk of the harbour of this city, and I ob-
tained profit in his service, and favour with
him. Therefore these goods that thou hast are
my goods and my portion.”

But the master said, ‘There is no strength
nor power but in God, the High, the Great!
There is no longer faith nor conscience in any
one !”—‘‘ Wherefore, O master,” said I, ‘“ when
thou hast heard me tell thee my story?” He
answered, ‘‘ Because thou heardest me say that
I had goods whose owner was drowned: there-
fore thou desirest to take them without price ;
and this is unlawful to thee; for we saw him
when he sank, and there were with him many
of the passengers, not one of whom escaped.
How then dost thou pretend that thou art the
owner of the goods?” So I said to him, “O
master, hear my story, and understand my
words, and my veracity will become manifest
to thee; for falsehood is a characteristic of the
hypocrites.” Then I related to him all that I
had done from the time that I went forth
with him from the city of Baghdad until we
arrived at that island upon which we were sub-
merged in the sea, and I mentioned to him
28 THE FIRST VOYAGE OF

some circumstances that had occurred between
me and him. Upon this, therefore, the master
and the merchants were convinced of my vera-
city, and recognised me; and they congratu-
lated me on my safety, all of them saying,
“By Allah, we believed not, that. thou hadst
escaped drowning; but God hath granted thee
a new life.” They then gave me the goods,
and I found my name written upon them, and
nought of them was missing. So I opened
them, and took forth from them something
precious and costly; the sailors of the ship
carried it with me, and I went up with it
to the King to offer it as a present, and
informed him that this ship was the one in
which I was a passenger. I told him also
that my goods had arrived all entire, and that
this present was a part of them. And the
King wondered at this affair extremely; my
veracity in all that I had said became manifest
to him, and he loved me greatly, and treated
me with exceeding honour, giving me a large
present in return for mine.

Then I sold my bales, as well as the other
goods that I had, and gained upon them abun-
dantly; and I purchased other goods and mer-
chandise and commodities of that city. And
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ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 31

when the merchants of the ship desired to set
forth on their voyage, I stowed all that I had in
the vessel, and, going in to the King, thanked him
for his beneficence and kindness; after which I
begged him to grant me permission to depart on
my voyage to my country and my family. So
he bade me farewell, and gave me an abundance
of things at my departure, of the commodities of
that city; and when I had taken leave of him, I
embarked in the ship, and we set sail by the per-
mission of God, whose name be exalted! Fortune
served us, and destiny aided us, and we ceased not
to prosecute our voyage night and day until we
arrived in safety at the city of El-Bagrah. There
we landed, and remained a short time; and I
rejoiced at my safety, and my return to my
country; and after that, [ repaired to the city of
Baghdad, the Abode of Peace, with abundance of
bales and goods and merchandise of great value. _
Then I went to my quarter, and entered .my
house, and all my family and companions came to
me. I procured for myself servants and other de-
pendants, and memlooks and concubines and male
black slaves, so that I had a large establishment ;
and I purchased houses and other immovable
possessions, more than I had at first. I enjoyed
the society of my companions and friends, ex-
32 ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA

ceeding my former habits, and forgot all that I
had suffered from fatigue, and absence from my
native country, and difficulty, and the terrors of
travel. I occupied myself with delights ‘and
pleasures, and deélicious meats and exquisite
drinks, and continued in this state. Such were
the events of the first of my voyages; and to-
morrow, if it be the will of God (whose name
be exalted !), I will relate to you the tale of the
second of the seven voyages.

Fis-Sindibad of the Sea then made Es-Sindibad
of the Land to sup with him; after which ‘he
gave orders to present him with a hundred pieces
of gold, and said to him, “Thou hast cheered us
by thy company this day.” So the porter thanked
him, and took from him what he had given him,
and went his way, meditating upon the events
that befell and happened to mankind, and won-
dering extremely. He slept that night in his
abode ; and when the morning came, he repaired
_to the house of Es-Sindibad of the Sea, and went
in to him; and he welcomed him, and treated
him with honour, seating him by him. And after
the rest of his companions had come, the food
and drink were set before: them, and the time
was pleasant to them, and.they were merry. Then
Ks-Sindibad of the Sea began his narrative thus :—
SSS ee 7

 

 

 

 

 

To face page 32.
THE SECOND VOYAGE OF

ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA.

NOW, O my brothers, that I was
_enjoying a most comfortable life,
and the most pure happiness, as ye
were told yesterday, until it occurred
to my mind, one day, to travel again
to the lands of other people, and I felt a longing
for the occupation of traffic, and the pleasure of
seeing the countries and islands of the world, and
gaining my subsistence. I resolved upon that
affair, and, having taken forth from my money
a large sum, I purchased with it goods and
merchandise suitable for travel, and packed them
up. Then I went to the bank of the river, and
found a handsome new vessel, with sails of
comely canvas, and it had a numerous crew,
and was superfluously equipped. So I embarked
my bales in it, as did also a party of merchants
besides, and we set sail that day. The voyage

was pleasant to us, and we ceased not to pass
35

 
36 THE SECOND VOYAGE OF

from sea to sea, and from island to island; and
at every place where we cast anchor, we met the
merchants and the grandees, and the sellers and
buyers, and we sold and bought, and exchanged
goods. Thus we continued to do until destiny
conveyed us to a beautiful island, abounding with
trees bearing ripe fruits, where flowers diffused
their fragrance, with birds warbling, and pure
rivers: but there was not in it an inhabitant,
nor a blower of a fire. The master anchored our
vessel at that island, and the merchants with the
other passengers landed there, to amuse them-
selves with the sight of its trees, and to extol
the perfection of God, the One, the Omnipotent,
and to wonder at the power of the Almighty
King. I also landed upon the island with the
rest, and sat by a spring of pure water among
the trees. I had with me some food, and I sat
in that place eating what God (whose name be
exalted !) had allotted me. The zephyr was sweet
tous in that place, and the time was pleasant to
me ; so slumber overcame me, and I reposed there,
and became immersed in sleep, enjoying that
sweet zephyr, and the fragrant gales. I then
arose, and found not in the place a human being
nor a Jinnee. The vessel had gone with the
passengers, and not one of them remembered
wae sates

 

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To fa
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 39

me, neither any of the merchants nor any of the
sailors: so they left me in the island.

I looked about it to the right and left, and
found not in it any one save myself. I was
therefore affected with violent vexation, not to
be exceeded, and my gall-bladder almost burst
by reason of the severity of my grief and mourn-
ing and fatigue. I had not with me aught of
worldly goods, neither food nor drink, and I had
become desolate, weary in my soul, and despairing
of life; and I said, ‘“‘ Not every time doth the jar
escape unbroken; and if I escaped the first time,
and found him who took me with him from the
shore of the island to the inhabited part, far, far
from me this time is the prospect of my finding
him who will convey me to inhabited lands!”
Then I began to weep and wail for myself until
vexation overpowered me; and I blamed myself
for that which IT had done, and for my having
undertaken this voyage and fatigue after I had
been reposing at ease in my abode and my county,
in ample happiness, and enjoying good food and
good drink and good apparel, and had not been
in want of anything, either of money or goods
or merchandise. I repented of my having gone
forth from the city of Baghdad, and set out on
a voyage over the sea, after the fatigue that I
40 THE SECOND VOYAGE OF

had suffered during my first voyage, and I felt
at the point of destruction, and said, “ Verily to
God we belong, and verily unto Him we return!” |
And I was in the predicament of the mad. After
that, I rose and stood up, and walked about the
island to the right and left, unable to sit in one
place. Then I climbed up a lofty tree; and
began to look from it to the right and left; but
saw nought save sky and water, and trees and
birds, and islands and sands. Looking, however,
with a scrutinising eye, there appeared to me
on the island a white object, indistinctly seen
in the distance, of enormous size: so I descended
from the tree, and went towards it, and proceeded
in that direction without stopping until I arrived
at it; and, lo, it was a huge white dome, of great
height and large circumference. I drew near to
it, and walked round it; but perceived no door
to it; and I found that I had not strength nor
activity to climb it, on account of its exceeding
smoothness. I made a mark at the place where
I stood, and went round the dome measuring its
circumference; and, lo, it was fifty full paces;
and I meditated upon some means of gaining
an entrance into it.

The close of the day, and the setting of the
sun, had now drawn near; and, behold, the sun
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 41

was hidden, and the sky became dark, and the
sun was veiled from me. I therefore imagined

 

that a cloud had come over it; but this was in
the season of summer: so I wondered; and I
raised my head, and, contemplating that object
42 THE SECOND VOYAGE OF

attentively, I saw that it was a bird, of enormous
size, bulky body, and wide wings, flying in the
air; and this it was that concealed the body of
the sun, and veiled it from view upon the island.
At this my wonder increased, and I remembered
a story which travellers and voyagers had told
me long before, that there is, in certain of the
islands, a bird of enormous size, called the rukh’,
that feedeth its young ones with elephants. I
was convinced, therefore, that the dome which
I had seen was one of the eggs of the rukh’. I
wondered at the works of God (whose name be
exalted !); and while I was in this state, lo, that
bird alighted upon the dome, and brooded over
it with its wings, stretching out its legs behind
upon the ground; and it slept over it.—Extolled
be the perfection of Him who sleepeth not !—
Thereupon I arose, and unwound my turban from
my head, and folded it and twisted it so. that it
became like a rope; and I girded myself with it,
binding it tightly round my waist, and tied myself
by it to one of the feet of that bird, and made the
knot fast, saying within myself, “‘ Perhaps this bird
will convey me to a land of cities and inhabitants,
and that will be better than my remaining in this
island.” I passed the night sleepless, fearing that,
if I slept, the bird would fly away with me when I
 

  

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ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 45

was not aware; and when the dawn came, and
morn appeared, the bird rose from its egg, and
uttered a great cry, and drew me up into the sky.
It ascended and soared up so high that I ima-
gined it had reached the highest region of the
sky; and after that, it descended with me gradu-
ally until it alighted with me upon the earth,
and rested upon a lofty spot. So when I reached
the earth, I hastily untied the bond from its foot,
fearing it, though it knew not of me nor was
sensible of me; and after I had loosed my turban
from it, and disengaged it from its foot, shaking
as I did so, I walked away. Then it took some-
thing from the face of the earth in its talons,
and soared to the upper region of the sky; and
I looked attentively at that thing, and, lo, it was
a serpent, of enormous size, of great body, which
it had taken and carried off towards the sea; and
I wondered at that event.

After this, I walked about that place, and
found myself upon an eminence, beneath which
was a large, wide, deep valley; and by its side
a great mountain, very high; no one could see
its summit by reason of its excessive height,
and no one had power. to ascend it. I therefore
blamed myself for that which I had done, and
said, ‘‘ Would that I had remained in the island,
46 THE SECOND VOYAGE OF

since it is better than this desert place; for in
the island are found, among various fruits, what
I might have eaten, and I might have drunk
of its rivers; but in this place are neither trees
nor fruits nor rivers: and there is no strength
nor power but in God, the High, the Great!
Verily every time that I escape from a calamity,
I fall into another that is greater and more
severe!” Then I arose, and. emboldened my-
self, and walked in that valley; and I beheld
its ground to be composed of diamonds, with
which they perforate minerals and jewels, and
with which also they perforate porcelain and
the onyx; and it is a stone so hard that neither
iron nor rock have any effect upon it, nor can
any one cut off aught from it, or break it, un-
less by means of the lead-stone. All that valley
was likewise occupied by serpents and venomous
snakes, every one of them like a palm-tree ; and
by reason of its enormous size, if an elephant
came to it, it would swallow it. Those serpents
appeared in the night, and hid themselves in
the day, fearing lest the rukh’ and the vulture
should carry them off, and after that tear them
in pieces; and the cause of that I know not.
I remained in that valley, repenting of what
IT had done, and said within myself, ‘By Allah,
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 47

I have hastened my own destruction!” The
day departed from me, and I began to walk
- along that valley, looking for a place in which
to pass the night, fearing those serpents, and
forgetting my food and drink and subsistence,
occupied only by care for my life. And there
appeared to me a cave near by; so I walked
thither, and I found its entrance narrow. I
therefore entered it, and, seeing a large stone
by its mouth, I pushed it, and stopped with
it the mouth of the cave while I was within
it; and I said within myself, “I am safe now
that I have entered this place; and when day-
light shineth upon me, I will go forth, and
see what destiny will do.” Then I looked
within the cave, and beheld a huge serpent
sleeping at the upper end of it over its eggs.
At this my flesh quaked, and I raised my head,
and committed my case to fate and destiny;
and I passed all the night sleepless, until the
dawn rose and shone, when I removed the
stone with which I had closed the entrance
of the cave, and went forth from it like one
intoxicated, giddy from excessive sleeplessness
and hunger and fear.

I then walked along the valley; and while I

was thus occupied, lo, a great slaughtered animal
c
48 THE SECOND VOYAGE OF

fell before me, and I found no one. So I won-
dered thereat extremely; and I remembered a
story that I had heard long before from certain
of the merchants and travellers, and persons in
the habit of journeying about,—that in the moun-
tains of the diamonds are experienced great
terrors, and that no one can gain access to the
diamonds, but that the merchants who import
them know a stratagem by means of which to
obtain them; that they take a sheep, and
slaughter it, and skin it, and cut up its flesh,
which they throw down from the mountain to the
bottom of the valley; so, descending fresh and
moist, some of these stones stick to it. Then the
merchants leave it until midday, and birds of the
large kind of vulture and the aquiline vulture de-
scend to that meat, and, taking it in their talons,
fly up to the top of the mountain; whereupon the
merchants come to them, and cry out at them,
and they fly away from the meat. The merchants
then advance to that meat, and take from it the
stones sticking to it; after which they leave the
meat for the birds and the wild beasts, and carry
the stones to their countries. And no one can
procure the diamonds but by means of this strata-
gem. Therefore when I beheld that slaughtered
animal, and remembered this story, I arose and
_ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 49

went to the slaughtered beast. I then selected
a great number of these stones, and put them
into my pocket, and within my clothes; and I
proceeded to select, and to put into my pockets

and my girdle and my turban, and within my

 

clothes. And while I was doing thus, lo, another
great slaughtered animal. So I bound myself to it
with my turban, and, laying myself down on my
back, placed it upon my bosom, and grasped it
firmly. Thus it was raised high above the ground ;
and, behold, a vulture descended upon it, seized it
50 THE SECOND VOYAGE OF

with its talons, and flew up with it into the air,
with me attached to it; and it ceased not to soar
up until it had ascended with it to the summit of
the mountain, when it alighted with it, and was
about to tear off some of it. And thereupon a
great and loud cry arose from behind that vulture,
and something made a clattering with a piece of
wood upon the mountain; whereat the vulture
flew away in fear, and soared into the sky.

I therefore disengaged myself from the
slaughtered animal, with the blood’ of which
my clothes were polluted; and I stood by its
side. And, lo, the merchant who had cried out
at the vulture advanced to the slaughtered
animal, and saw me standing there. He spoke
not to me; for he was frightened at me, and
terrified; but he came to the slaughtered beast,
and turned it over; and, not finding anything
upon it, he uttered a loud cry, and said, “ Oh, my
disappointment! ‘There is no strength nor power
but in God! We seek refuge with God from
Satan the accursed!” He repented, and struck
hand upon hand, and said, “Oh, my grief!
What is this affair?” So I advanced to him,
and he said to me, “ Who art thou, and what is
the reason of thy coming to this place?” I
answered him, ‘‘Fear not, nor be alarmed; for
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 51

I am a human being, of the best of mankind;
and I was a merchant, and my tale is marvel-
lous, and my story extraordinary, and the cause
of my coming to this mountain and this valley
is wondrous to relate. Fear not; for thou shalt
receive of me what will rejoice thee: I have with
me abundance of diamonds, of which I will give
thee as much as will suffice thee, and every piece
that I have is better than all that would come to
thee by other means: therefore be not timorous
nor afraid.” And upon this the man thanked me,
and prayed for me, and conversed with me; and,
lo, the other merchants heard me talking with .
their companion; so they came to me. Each
merchant had thrown down a slaughtered animal ;
and when they came to us, they saluted me, and
congratulated me on my safety, and -took me
with them; and I acquainted them with my whole
story, relating to them what I had suffered on my
voyage, and telling them the cause of my arrival
in this valley. Then I gave to the owner of the
slaughtered animal to which I had attached my-
self an abundance of what I had brought with
me; and he was delighted with me, and prayed
for me, and thanked me for that; and the other
merchants said to me, “By Allah, a new life
hath been decreed thee; for no one ever arrived
52 THE SECOND VOYAGE OF

at this place before thee and escaped from it;
but praised be to God for thy safety!” They
passed the next night in a pleasant and safe
place, and I passed the night with them, full
of the utmost joy at my safety and my escape '

 

from the valley of serpents, and my arrival in an
inhabited country.

And when day came, we arose and journeyed
over that great mountain, beholding in that
valley numerous serpents; and we continued to
advance until we arrived at a garden in a great
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 53

and beautiful island, wherein were camphor-trees,
under each of which trees a hundred men might
shade themselves. When any one desireth to
obtain some camphor from one of these trees,
he maketh a perforation in the upper part of
it with something long, and catcheth what de-
scendeth from it. The liquid camphor floweth
from it, and concreteth like gum. It is the
juice of that tree; and after this operation, the
tree drieth, and becometh firewood. In that
island too is a kind of wild beast called the
rhinoceros, which pastureth there like oxen and
buffaloes in our country; but the bulk of that
wild beast is greater than the bulk of the camel,
and it eateth the tender leaves of trees. It is
a huge beast, with a single horn, thick, in the
middle of its head, a cubit in length, wherein
is the figure of a man. And in that island are
some animals of the ox-kind. Moreover, the
sailors and travellers, and persons in the habit
of journeying about in the mountains and the
lands, have told us, that this wild beast which
is named the rhinoceros lifteth the great elephant
upon its horn, and pastureth with it upon the
island and the shores, without being sensible of
it; and the elephant dieth upon its horn; and
its fat, melting by the heat of the sun, and
54 THE SECOND VOYAGE OF

flowing upon its head, entereth its eyes, so that
it becometh blind. Then it lieth down upon
the shore, and the rukh’ cometh to it, and carrieth
it off [with the elephant] in its talons to its
young ones, and feedeth them with it and with
that which is upon its horn, [namely the ele-
phant]. I saw also in that island abundance
of the buffalo-kind, the like of which existeth~
not among us.

The valley before mentioned containeth a great.
quantity of diamonds such as I carried off and
hid in my pockets. For these the people gave
me in exchange goods and commodities belonging
to them; and they conveyed them for me, giving
me likewise pieces of silver and pieces of gold;
and I ceased not to proceed with them, amusing
myself with the sight of different countries, and
of what God hath created from valley to valley
and from city to city, we, in our way, selling
and buying, until we arrived at the city of El-
Basrah. We remained there a few days, and
then I came to the city of Baghdad, the Abode
of Peace, and came to my quarter, and entered
my house, bringing with me a great quantity
of diamonds, and money and commodities and
goods in abundance. I met my family and re-
lations, bestowed alms and gifts, made presents
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 55

to all my family and companions, and. began to
eat well and drink well and wear handsome
apparel. I associated with friends and com-
panions, forgot all that I had suffered, and
ceased not to enjoy a pleasant life and. joyful
heart and dilated bosom, with sport and merri-
ment. Every one who heard of my arrival came
to me, and inquired of me respecting my voyage,
and the states of the different countries; so I
informed him, relating to him what I had ex-
perienced and suffered; and he wondered at the
severity of my sufferings, and congratulated me
on my safety.—This is the end of the account
of the events that befell me and happened to
me during the second voyage; and to-morrow, if
it be the will of God (whose name be exalted !),
I will relate to you the events of the third
voyage.

And when Es-Sindibaéd of the Sea had finished
his story to Es-Sindibad of the Land, the com-
pany wondered at it. They supped with him;
and he gave orders to present to Es-Sindibdd
of the Land a hundred pieces of gold; and the
latter took them, and went his way, wondering
at the things that Es-Sindibéd of the Sea had
suffered. He thanked him, and prayed for him
in his house; and when the morning came, and
56. ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA

diffused its light and shone, Es-Sindibéd the
Porter arose, performed the morning-prayers, and
repaired to the house of Es-Sindibid of the Sea,
as he had commanded him. He went in to him
and wished him good morning, and Es-Sindibad
of the Sea welcomed him; and he sat with him
until the rest of his companions and party had
come; and after they had eaten and drunk, and
enjoyed themselves, and were merry and happy,
Ks-Sindibad of the Sea began thus :—
THE THIRD VOYAGE OF
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA.
=7| NOW, O my brothers (and hear from

i; me the story of the third voyage,
4| for it is more wonderful than the

  

| preceding stories, hitherto related
+ and God is all-knowing with re-
spect to the things which He hideth, and omnis-
cient), that, in the times past, when I returned
from the second voyage, and was in a state of
the utmost joy and happiness, rejoicing in my
safety, having gained great wealth, as I related
to you yesterday, God having compensated me
for all that I had lost, I resided in the city of
Baghdad for a length of time in the most perfect
prosperity and delight, and joy and happiness.
Then my soul became desirous of travel and
diversion, and I longed for commerce and gain
and profits; the soul being prone to evil. So
I meditated, and bought an abundance of goods
suited for a sea-voyage, and packed them up,
57
58 THE THIRD VOYAGE OF

and departed with them from the city of Baghdad
to the city of El-Basrah. ‘There, coming to the
bank of the river, I beheld a great vessel, in which
were many merchants and other passengers, people
of worth, and comely and good persons, people
of religion and kindness and probity. I there-
fore embarked with them in that vessel, and we
departed in reliance on the blessing of God
(whose name be exalted !), and His aid and favour,
rejoicing in expectation of good fortune and
safety. We ceased not to proceed from sea to
sea, and from island to island, and from city to
city ; at every place by which we passed diverting
ourselves, and selling and buying, in the utmost *
joy and happiness. ‘Thus we did until we were,
one day, pursuing our course in the midst of the
roaring sea, agitated with waves, when, lo, the
master, standing at the side of the vessel, looked
at the different quarters of the sea, and then
slapped his face, furled the sails of the ship,
cast its anchors, plucked his beard, rent his
clothes, and uttered a great cry. So we said to
him, ‘“‘O master, what is the news?” And he
answered, ‘“‘ Know, O passengers, whom may God
preserve! that the wind hath prevailed against
us, and driven us out of our course in the midst
of the sea, and destiny hath cast us, through our
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 59

evil fortune, towards the Mountain of Apes. No
one hath ever arrived at this place and escaped,
and my heart is impressed with the conviction
of the destruction of us all.” And the words of
the master were not
ended before the
apes had come to us
and surrounded the
vessel on every side,
numerous as locusts,
dispersed about the
vessel and on the
shore. We feared
- that, if we killed one
of them, or struck
him, or drove him
away, they would
kill us, on ‘account
of their excessive |
number; for num-
bers prevail against
courage; and we
feared them lest
they should plunder
our goods and our commodities. They are
the most hideous of beasts, and covered with
hair like black felt, their aspect striking terror.

 
60 THE THIRD VOYAGE OF

No one understandeth their language or their
state, they shun the society of men, have yellow
eyes, and black faces, and are of small size, the
height of each one of them being four spans.
They climbed up the cables, and severed them
with their teeth, and they severed all the ropes
of the vessel in every part; so the vessel in-
clined with the wind, and stopped at their
mountain, and on their coast. ‘Then, having
seized all the merchants and the other passengers,
and landed upon the island, they took the vessel
with the whole of its contents, and went their
way with it.

They left us upon the island, the vessel became
concealed from us, and we knew not whither
they went with it. And while we were upon
that island, eating of its fruits and its herbs, and
drinking of the rivers that were there, lo, there
appeared to us an inhabited house in the midst
of the island. We therefore went towards it,
and walked to it; and, behold, it was a pavilion,
with lofty angles, with high walls, having an
entrance with folding doors, which were open;
and the doors were of ebony. We entered this
pavilion, and found in it a wide, open space, like
a wide, large court, around which were many
lofty doors, and at its upper end was a high and
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 61

great mastabah. There were also in it utensils
for cooking, hung over the fire-pots, and around
them were many bones. But we saw not there
any person ; and we wondered at that extremely.
We sat in the open space in that pavilion a
little while, after which we slept; and we ceased
not to sleep from near the mid-time between sun-
rise and noon until sunset. And, lo, the earth
trembled beneath us, and we heard a confused
noise from the upper air, and there descended
upon us, from the summit of the pavilion, a
person of enormous size, in human form, and
he was of black complexion, of lofty stature, like
a great palm-tree: he had two eyes like two
blazes of fire, and tusks like the tusks of swine,
and a mouth of prodigious size, like the mouth of
a well, and lips like the lips of the camel, hanging
down upon his bosom, and he had ears like two
mortars, hanging down upon his shoulders, and
the nails of his hands were like the claws of the
lion. So when we beheld him thus, we became
unconscious of our existence, our fear was vehe-
ment, and our terror was violent, and through
the violence of our fear and dread and terror we
became as dead men. And after he had de-
scended upon the ground, he sat a little while
upon the mastabah. Then he arose and came
62 THE THIRD VOYAGE OF

to us, and, seizing me by my hands from among
my companions the merchants, lifted me up
from the ground in his hand, and felt me and
turned me over; and I was in his hand like a
‘little mouthful. He continued to feel me as the
butcher feeleth the sheep that he is about to
slaughter; but he found me infirm from excessive
affliction, and lean from excessive fatigue and
from the voyage; having no flesh. He therefore
let me go from his hand, and took another, from
among my companions; and he turned him over
as he had turned me over, and felt him as he
had felt me, and let him go. He ceased not to
feel us and turn us over, one after another, until
he came to the master of our ship, who was a
fat, stout, broad-shouldered man; a person of
strength and vigour: so he pleased him, and he
seized him as the butcher seizeth the animal
that he is about to slaughter, and, having thrown
him on the ground, put his foot upon his neck,
which he thus broke. Then he brought a long
spit, and thrust it into his throat, and spitted
him; after which he lighted a fierce fire, and
placed over it that spit upon which the master
was spitted, and ceased not to turn him round
over the burning coals until his flesh was
thoroughly roasted; when he took him off from
 

 

 

To face page 62.
 
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 65

_ the fire, put him before him, and separated his
joints as a man separates the joints of a chicken,
and proceeded to tear in pieces his flesh with his
nails, and to eat of it. Thus he continued to do
until he had eaten his flesh and gnawed his
bones, and there remained of him nothing but
some bones, which he threw by the side of the
pavilion. He then sat a little, and threw him-
self down, and slept upon that mastabah, making
a noise with his throat like that which is made
by a lamb or other beast when slaughtered ; and
he slept uninterruptedly until the morning, when
he went his way.

As soon, therefore, as we were sure that he
was far from us, we conversed together, and
wept for ourselves, saying, ‘““ Would that we had
been drowned in the sea, or that the apes had
eaten us; for it were better than the roasting of
aman upon burning coals! By Allah, this death
is a vile one! But what God willeth cometh to
pass, and there is no strength nor power but in
_ God, the High, the Great! We die in sorrow,
and no one knoweth of us; and there is no escape
for us from this place!” We then arose and went
forth upon the island, to see for us a place in
which to hide ourselves, or to flee; and it had

become a light matter to us to die, rather than
D
66 THE THIRD VOYAGE OF

that our flesh should be roasted with fire. But
we found not for us a place in which to hide
ourselves; and the evening overtook us. So we
returned to the pavilion, by reason of the violence
of our fear, and sat there a little while; and, lo,
the earth trembled beneath us, and that black
approached us, and, coming among us, began to
turn us over, one after another, as on the former
occasion, and to feel us, until one pleased him ;
whereupon he seized him, and did with him as
he did with the master of the ship the day before.
He roasted him, and ate him upon that mastabah,
and ceased not to sleep that night, making a noise
with his throat like a slaughtered animal; and
when the day came, he arose and went his way,
leaving us as usual. Upon this we assembled
together and conversed, and said, one to another,
“By Allah, if we cast ourselves into the sea and
die drowned, it will be better than our dying
burnt ; for this mode of being put to death is
abominable!” And one of us said, “ Hear my
words. Verily, we will contrive a stratagem against
him and kill him, and be at ease from apprehen-
sion of his purpose, and relieve the Muslims from
his oppression and tyranny.” So I said to them,
“Hear, O my brothers. If we must kill him,
we will transport this wood, and remove some
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 67

of this firewood, and make for ourselves rafts,
each to bear three men; after which we will
contrive a stratagem to kill him, and embark on
the rafts, and proceed over the sea to whatsoever
place God shall desire. Or we will remain in
this place until a ship shall pass by, when we
will embark in it. And if we be not able to
kill him, we will embark [on our rafts], and put
out to sea; and if we be drowned, we shall be ©
preserved from being roasted over the fire, and
from being slaughtered. If we escape, we escape ;
and if we be drowned, we die martyrs.” ‘To this
they all replied, “ By Allah, this is a right opinion ©
and a wise proceeding. And we agreed upon
this matter, and commenced the work. We re-
moved the pieces of wood out of the pavilion,
and constructed rafts, attached them to the sea-
shore, and stowed upon them some provisions ;
after which we returned to the pavilion.

And when it was evening, lo, the earth trembled
with us, and the black came in to us, like the
biting dog. He turned us over and felt us, one
after another, and, having taken one of us, did
with him as he had done with the others before
him. He ate him, and slept upon the mastabah,
and the noise from his throat was like thunder.
So thereupon we arose, and took two iron spits,
68 THE THIRD VOYAGE OF

of those which were set up, and put them:
in the fierce fire until they were red-hot, and
became like burning coals; when we grasped
them firmly, and went with them to that black
while he lay asleep snoring, and we thrust them
into his eyes, all of us pressing upon them with

 

our united strength and force. Thus we pushed
them into his eyes as he slept, and his eyes were
destroyed, and he uttered a great cry, whereat

our hearts were terrified. Then he arose rego-
lutely from that mastabah, and began to search
for us, while we fled from him to the right and
left, and he saw us not; for his sight was blinded ;
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 69

but we feared him with a violent fear, and made
sure, in that time, of destruction, and despaired
of safety. And upon this he sought the door,
feeling for it, and went forth from it, crying out,

while we were in the utmost fear of him; and,

   

  

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lo, the earth shook beneath us, by reason of the
vehemence of his cry. So when he went forth
from the pavilion, we followed him, and he went
his way, searching for us. Then he returned,
accompanied by a female, greater than he, and
more hideous in form; and when we beheld him,
70 _THE THIRD VOYAGE OF

and her who was with him, more horrible than
he in appearance, we were in the utmost fear.
As soon as the female saw us, we hastily loosed
the rafts that we had constructed, and embarked
on them, and pushed them forth into the sea.
But each of the two blacks had a mass of rock,
and they cast at us until the greater number of
us died from the casting, there remaining of us
only three persons, I and two others; and the
raft conveyed us to another island.

We walked forward upon that island until
the close of the day, and the night overtook us
in this state; so we slept a little; and we awoke
from our sleep, and, lo, a serpent of enormous
size, of large body and wide belly, had surrounded
us. It approached one of us, and swallowed
him to his shoulders: then it swallowed the rest
of him, and we heard his ribs break in pieces
in its belly; after which it went its way. At
this we wondered extremely, and we mourned
for our companion, and were in the utmost fear
for ourselves, saying, “By Allah, this is a won-
derful thing! Every death that we witness is
more horrible than the preceding one! We were
rejoiced at our escape from the black ; but our
joy is not complete! There is no strength nor
power but in God! By Allah, we have escaped
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ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 73

from the black and from drowning; but how
shall we escape from this unlucky serpent?”
Then we arose and walked on over the island,

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eating of its fruits, and drinking of its rivers,
and we ceased not to proceed till morning, when
we found a great, lofty tree. So we climbed
q4 THE THIRD VOYAGE OF

up it, and slept upon it; I having ascended to
the highest of its branches. But when the night
arrived, and it was dark, the serpent came, look-
ing to the right and left, and, advancing to the
tree upon which we were, came up to my com-
panion, and swallowed him to his shoulders;
and it wound itself round the tree with him,
and I heard his bones break in pieces in its
belly: then it swallowed him entirely, while I
looked on; after which it descended from the
tree, and went its way. I remained upon that
tree the rest of the night; and when the day
came, and the light appeared, I descended from
the tree, like one dead, by reason of excessive
fear and terror, and desired to cast myself into
the sea, that I might be at rest from the world;
but it was not a light matter to me to do so; for
life is dear. So I tied a wide piece of wood
upon the soles of my feet, crosswise, and I tied
one like it upon my left side, and a similar one
upon my right side, and a similar one upon the
front of my body, and I tied one long and wide
upon the top of my head, ‘crosswise, like that
which was under the soles of my feet. Thus I
was in the midst of these pieces of wood, and
they enclosed me on every side. I bound them
tightly, and threw myself with the whole upon
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 75

the ground; so I lay in the midst of the pieces
of wood, which enclosed me like a closet. And
when the evening arrived, the serpent approached
as it was wont, and saw me, and drew towards
me; but it could not swallow me when I was
in that state, with the pieces of wood round me
on every side. It went round me; but could not
come at me: and I looked at it, being like a dead
man, by reason of the violence of my fear and
terror. The serpent retired from me, and re-
turned to me; and thus it ceased not to do:
every time that it desired to get at me to swallow
me, the pieces of wood tied upon me on every
side prevented it. It continued to do thus from
sunset until daybreak arrived and the light ap-
peared and the sun rose, when it went its. way,
in the utmost vexation and rage. Upon this,
therefore, I stretched forth my hands and loosed
myself from those pieces of wood, in a state like
that of the dead, through the severity of that
which I had suffered from that serpent.

I then arose, and walked along the island
until I came to the extremity of it; when I cast
a glance towards the sea, and beheld a ship at
a distance, in the midst of the deep. So I took
a great branch of a tree, and made a sign with it
to the passengers, calling out to them; and when
76 THE THIRD VOYAGE OF

they saw me, they said, “ We must see what this
is. Perhaps it isa man.” Then they approached
me, and heard my cries to them. They therefore
came to me, and took me with them in the ship,
and asked me respecting my state: so I informed
them of all that had happened to me from be-
ginning to end, and of the troubles that I had
suffered ; whereat they wondered extremely. They
clad me with some of their clothes, attiring me
decently; and after that they put before me
some provisions, and I ate until I was satisfied.
They also gave me to drink some cool and sweet
water, and my heart was revived, my soul became
at ease, and I experienced great comfort. God
(whose name be exalted!) had raised me to life
after my death: so I praised Him (exalted be His
name!) for His abundant favours, and thanked
Him. My courage was strengthened after I had
made sure of destruction, so that it seemed to me
that all which I then experienced was a dream.
We proceeded on our voyage, and the wind was
fair to us by the permission of God (whose name
be exalted!) until we came in sight of an island
called the Island of Es-Sel4hit, where sandal-
wood is abundant, and there the master anchored
the ship, and the merchants and other passengers
landed, and took forth their goods to sell and
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA a4

buy. The owner of the ship then looked towards
me, and said to me, “ Hear my words. Thou art
a stranger and poor, and hast informed us that
thou hast suffered many horrors; I therefore
desire to benefit thee with something that will
aid thee to reach thy country, and thou wilt pray
for me.” I replied, ‘‘ So be it, and thou shalt have
my prayers.” And he rejoined, ‘“‘ Know that there
was with us a man voyaging, whom we lost, and
we know not whether he be living or dead, having
heard no tidings of him. I desire to commit to
thee his bales, that thou mayest sell them in this
island. Thou shalt take charge of them, and we
will give thee something proportionate to thy
trouble and thy service; and what remaineth of
them we will take and keep until we return to
the city of Baghdad, when we will inquire for
the owner’s family, and give to them the re-
mainder, together with the price of that which
shall be sold of them. Wilt thou then take
charge of them, and land with them upon this
island, and sell them as do the merchants?” I
answered, ‘‘I hear and obey thee, O my master;
and thou are beneficent and kind.” And I
prayed for him and thanked him for that.

He thereupon ordered the porters and sailors
to land those goods upon the island, and to
78 THE THIRD VOYAGE OF

deliver them to me. And the clerk of the ship
said, “‘O master, what are these bales which the
sailors and porters have brought out, and with
the name of which of the merchants shall I mark
them?” He answered, ‘Write upon them the
name of Es-Sindibdd of the Sea, who was with
us, and was drowned [or left behind] at the
island [of the rukh’], and of whom no tidings
have come to us; wherefore we desire that this
stranger sell them, and take charge of the price
of them, and we will give him somewhat of it
in requital of his trouble and his sale of them.
What shall remain we will take with us until
we return to the city of Baghddd, when, if we
find him, we will give it to him; and if we find
him not, we will give it to his family in Baghdad.”
So the clerk replied, “Thy words are good,
and thy notion is excellent.” And when I heard
the words of the master, mentioning that the
bales were to be inscribed with my name, I said
within myself, “By Allah, I am Es-Sindibdd of
the Sea.” Then I fortified myself, and waited
till the merchants had landed and had as-
sembled conversing and consulting upon affairs
of selling and buying, when I advanced to the
owner of the ship, and said to him, “O my
master, dost thou know what manner of man was
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 79

the owner of the bales which thou hast com-
mitted to me that I may sell them?” He an-
swered me, “I know not his condition; but he
was a man of the city of Baghddd, called Es-
Sindibdd of the Sea; and we had cast anchor at
one of the islands, where he was lost, and we
have had no tidings of him to the present time.”
So upon this I uttered a great cry, and said to
him, “O master (whom may God preserve!),
know that I am Es-Sindibdd of the Sea. I was
not drowned; but when thou anchoredst at the
island, and the merchants and other passengers
landed, I also landed with the party, taking with
me something to eat on the shore of the island.
Then I enjoyed myself in sitting in that place,
and, slumber overtaking me, I slept, and became
immersed in sleep; after which I arose, and
found not the ship, nor found I any one with
me. ‘Therefore this wealth is my wealth, and
these goods are my goods. All the merchants
also who transport diamonds saw me when I
was upon the mountain of the diamonds, and
they will bear witness for me that I am Es-
Sindibad of the Sea, as I informed them of my
story and of the events that befell me with you in
the ship. I informed them that ye had forgotten
me upon the island, asleep, and that I arose
80 THE THIRD VOYAGE OF

and found not any one, and that what had be-
fallen me befell me.”

And when the merchants and other passengers
heard my words, they assembled around me;
and some of them believed me, and others dis-
believed me. But while we were thus talking, lo,
one of the merchants, on his hearing me mention
the valley of diamonds, arose and advanced to me,
and said to them, “ Hear, O company, my words. ©
When I related to you the most wonderful thing
that I had seen in my travels, I told you that,
when we cast down the slaughtered animals into
the valley of diamonds, I casting down mine with
the rest, as I was accustomed to do, there came up
with my slaughtered beast a man attached to it,
and ye believed me not, but accused me of false-
hood.” They replied, “Yes: thou didst relate to
us this thing, and we believed thee not.” And
the merchant said to them, “This is the man
who attached himself to my slaughtered animal,
and he gave me some diamonds of high price, the
like of which exist not, rewarding me with more
than would have come up with my slaughtered
animal; and I took him as my companion until
-we arrived at the city of El-Basrah, whence he
proceeded to his country, having bidden us fare-
well, and we returned to our own countries.
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 81

This is he, and he informed us that his name was
Hs-Sindibad of the Sea: he told us likewise of the
departure of the ship, and of his sitting in that
island. And know ye that this man came not to
us here but in order that ye might believe my
words respecting the matter which I told you;
and all these goods are his property; for he
informed us of them at the time of his meeting
with us, and the truth of his assertion hath be-
come manifest.” So when the master heard the
words of that merchant, he arose and came to me,
and, having looked at me awhile with a scrutinis-
ing eye, said, ‘‘ What is the mark of thy goods?”
I answered him, “ Know that the mark of my
goods is of such and such a kind.” And [ re-
lated to him a circumstance that had occurred
between me and him when I embarked with him
in the vessel from El-Basrah. He therefore was
convinced that I was Es-Sindibdd of the Sea, and
he embraced me and saluted me, and congratu-
lated me on my safety, saying to me, ‘‘ By Allah,
O my master, thy story is wonderful, and thy
case is extraordinary! But praise be to God,
who hath brought us together, and restored thy
goods and thy wealth to thee!”

Upon this, I disposed of my goods according
to the knowledge I possessed, and they procured
82 THE THIRD VOYAGE OF

me, during that voyage, great gain, whereat I
rejoiced exceedingly, congratulating myself on
my safety, and on the restoration of my wealth
to me. And we ceased not to sell and buy at
the islands until we arrived at the country of
Es-Sind, where likewise we sold and bought.
And I beheld in that sea [which we navigated,
namely, the Sea of India,] many wonders and
strange things that cannot be numbeted nor
calculated. Among the things that I saw there
were a fish in the form of a cow, and a creature
in the form of an ass; and I saw a bird that.
cometh forth from a sea-shell, and layeth its—
eges and hatcheth them upon the surface of
the water, and never cometh forth from the
sea upon the face of the earth. After this we
continued our voyage, by permission of God
(whose name be exalted!), and the wind and
voyage were pleasant to us, until we arrived
at El-Basrah, where I remained a few days.
Then I came to the city of Baghdad, and re-
paired to my quarter, entered my house, and
saluted my family and companions and friends.
I rejoiced at my safety and my return to my
country and my family and city and district,
and I gave alms and presents, and clad the
widows and the orphans, and collected my com-
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 83

panions and friends. And I ceased not to live
thus, eating and drinking, and sporting and
making merry, eating well and drinking well,
associating familiarly and mingling in society;
and I forgot all that had happened to me, and
the distresses and horrors that I had suffered.
And. I gained during that voyage what could
not be numbered nor calculated. Such were
the most wonderful of the things that I beheld
during that voyage; and to-morrow, if it be the
will of God (whose name be exalted!), thou
shalt come, [O Sindibdd of the Land,] and I will
relate to thee the story of the fourth voyage;
for it is more wonderful than the stories of the
preceding voyages.

Then Es-Sindibad of the Sea gave orders to
present to the porter a hundred pieces of gold,
as usual, and commanded to spread the table.,
So they spread it, and the company supped,
wondering at that story and at the events de-
scribed in it; and after the supper, they went
their ways. Hs-Sindibad the Porter took the
gold that Es-Sindibdd of the Sea had ordered
to be given to him, and went his way, wonder-
ing at that which he had heard, and passed the
night in his house; and when the morning

came, and diffused its light and shone, he arose,
E
84 ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA

and performed the morning prayers, and walked
to the house of Es-Sindibéd of the Sea. He
went in to him and saluted him; and he
received him with joy and gaiety, and made
him sit by him until the rest of his companions
had come; when the servants brought forward
the food, and the party ate and drank and en- —
joyed themselves. Then Es-Sindibdd of the Sea
began to address them, and related to them the
fourth story, saying,—
THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA.

NOW, O my brothers, that when I
returned to the city of Baghdad,
and met my companions and my
family and my friends, and was
enjoying the utmost pleasure and
happiness and ease, and had forgotten all that
I had experienced, by reason of the abundance
of my gains, and had become immersed in sport
and mirth, and the society of friends and com-
panions, leading the most delightful life, my
wicked soul suggested to me to travel again to
the countries of other people, and I felt a
longing for associating with the different races
of men, and for selling and gains. So I re-
solved upon this, and purchased precious goods,
suitable to a sea-voyage, and, having packed up
many bales, more than usual, I went from the
city of Baghdad to the city of El-Basrah, where
I embarked my bales ia a ship, and joined
2 5,

 
86 THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

myself to a party of the chief men of El-Basrah,
and we set forth on our voyage. ‘The vessel
proceeded with us, confiding in the blessing of
God (whose name be exalted !), over the roaring
sea agitated with waves, and the voyage was
pleasant to us; and we ceased not to proceed
in this manner for a period of nights and days,
from island to island and from sea to sea, until
a contrary wind rose against us one day. ‘The
master therefore cast the anchors, and stayed
the ship in the midst of the sea, fearing that
she would sink in the midst of the deep. And
while we were in this state, supplicating and
humbling ourselves to God (whose name be
exalted !), there rose against us a great tempest,
which rent the sails in strips, and the people
were submerged with all their bales and their
commodities and wealth. I was submerged
among the rest, and I swam in the sea for half
a day,. after which I abandoned myself; but.
God (whose name be exalted!) aided me to lay
hold upon a piece of one of the planks of the
ship, and I and a party of the merchants got
upon it. We continued sitting upon this plank,
striking the sea with our feet, and the waves
-and the wind helping us; and we remained in
this state a day and a night. And on the
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 84

following day, shortly before the mid-time be-
tween sunrise and noon, a wind rose against us,
the sea became boisterous, the waves and the
wind were violent, and the water cast us upon
an island; and we were like dead men, from ex-
cess of sleeplessness and fatigue, and cold and
hunger, and fear and thirst.

We walked along the shores of that island,
and found upon it abundant herbs; so we ate
some of them to stay our departing spirits, and
to sustain us; and passed the next night upon
the shore of the island. And when the morn-
ing came, and diffused its light and shone, we
arose and walked about the island to the right
and left, and there appeared to us a building in
the distance. We therefore proceeded over the
island in the direction of that building which
we had seen from a distance, and ceased not to
proceed until we stood at its door. And while
we were standing there, lo, there came forth to
us from that door a’ party of naked men, who,
without speaking to us, seized us, and took us
to their King, and he commanded us to sit. So
we sat; and they brought to us some food, such
as we knew not, nor in our lives had we seen
the like of it; wherefore my stomach consented
not to it, and I ate none of it in comparison
88 . THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

with my companions, and my eating so little of
it was owing to the grace of God (whose name
be exalted !), in consequence of which I have
lived to the present time. For when my com-
panions ate of that food, their minds became
stupefied, and they ate like madmen, and their
states became changed. Then the people brought
to them cocoa-nut oil, and gave them to drink
of it, and anointed them with it; and when
my companions drank of that oil, their eyes
became turned in their faces, and they proceeded
to eat of that food contrary to their usual manner.
Upon this, therefore, I was confounded respecting
their case, and grieved for them, and became
extremely anxious by reason of the violence of
my fear for myself with regard to these naked
men. I observed them attentively, and, lo, they
were a Magian people, and the King of their
city was a ghool; and every one who arrived
at their country, or whom they saw or met in
the valley or the roads, they brought to their
King, and they fed him with that food, and
anointed him with that oil, in consequence of
which his body became expanded, in order that
he might eat largely ; and his mind was stupefied,
his faculty of reflection was destroyed, and he
became like an idiot. ‘Then they gave him to
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 89

eat and drink in abundance of that food and
oil, until he became fat and stout, when they
slaughtered him and roasted him, and served
him as meat to their King. But as to the com-
panions of the King, they ate the flesh of men
without. roasting or otherwise cooking it. So
when I saw them do thus, I was in the utmost
anguish on my own account and on account
of my companions. ‘The latter, by reason of the
excessive stupefaction of their minds, knew not
what was done unto them, and the people com-
mitted them to a person who took them every
day and went forth to pasture them on that
island like cattle.

But as for myself, I became, through the
violence of fear and hunger, infirm and wasted
in body, and my flesh dried upon my bones.
So when they saw me in this state, they left
me and forgot me, and not one of them re-
membered me, nor did I occur to their minds,
until I contrived a stratagem one day, and,
going forth from that place, walked along the
island to a distance. And I saw a herdsman
sitting upon something elevated in the midst
of the sea; and I certified myself of him, and,
lo, he was the man to whom they had com-
mitted my companions that he might pasture
go THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

them; and he had with him many like them.
As soon, therefore, as that man beheld me, he
knew that I was in possession of my reason, and
that nought of that which had afflicted my com-
panions had afflicted me. So he made a sign
to me from a distance, and said to me, “Turn
back, and go along the road that is on thy
right hand: thou wilt so reach the King’s
highway.” Accordingly, I turned back, as this
man directed me, and, seeing a road on my
right hand, I proceeded along it, and ceased
not to go on, sometimes running by reason of.
fear, and sometimes walking at my leisure
until I had taken rest. Thus I continued to
do until I was hidden from the eyes of the
man who directed me to the way, and I saw
him not, nor did he see me. The sun had dis-
appeared from me, and darkness approached ;
wherefore I sat to rest, and desired to sleep;
but sleep came not to me that night on
account of the violence of my fear and hunger
and fatigue. And when it was midnight, I
arose and walked on over the island, and I
ceased not to proceed until day arrived, and
the morning came and diffused its light and
shone, and the sun rose over the tops of the
high hills and over the low gravelly plains. I
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA gt

was tired and hungry and thirsty: so I began
to eat of the herbs and vegetables that were
upon the island, and continued to eat of them

 

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till I was satiated, and my departing spirit
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92 THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

to do all the day and the next night; when-
ever I was hungry, eating of the vegetables.
In this manner I proceeded for the space
of seven days with their nights; and on the
morning of the eighth day, I cast a glance, and
beheld a faint object in the distance. So I
went towards it, and ceased not to proceed
until I came up to it, after sunset; and I
looked at it with a scrutinising eye, while I
was yet distant from it, and with a fearful
heart in consequence of what I had suffered
first and after, and, lo, it was a party of men
gathering pepper. And when I approached
them, and they saw me, they hastened to me,
and came to me and surrounded me on every
side, saying to me, ‘“‘ Who art thou, and whence
hast thou come?” JI answered them, ‘ Know
ye, O people, that I am a poor foreigner.”
And I informed them of my whole case, and
of the horrors and distresses that had _be-
fallen me, and what I had suffered; where-
upon they said, “By Allah, this is a wonderful
thing! But how didst thou escape from the
blacks, and how didst thou pass by them in
this island, when they are a numerous people,
and eat men, and no one is safe from them,
nor can any pass by them?” So I acquainted
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 93

them with that which had befallen me among
them, and with the manner in which they had
taken my companions, and fed them with food
of which I did not eat. And they congratu-
lated me on my safety, and wondered at that
which had befallen me. Then they made me
sit among them until they had finished their
work, and they brought me some nice food.
I therefore ate of it, being hungry, and rested
with them a while; after which they took me
and embarked with me in a vessel, and went
to their island and their abodes. They then
took me to their King, and I saluted him, and
he welcomed me and treated me with honour,
and inquired of me my story. So I related to
him what I had experienced, and what had be-
fallen me and happened to me from the day of
' my going forth from the city of Baghddd until
I had come unto him. And the King wondered
extremely at my story, and at the events that had
happened to me; he, and all who were present
in his assembly. After that, he ordered me to sit
with him. ‘Therefore I sat; and he gave orders
to bring the food, which accordingly they brought,
and I ate of it as much as sufficed me, and washed
my hands, and offered up thanks for the favour of
God (whose name be exalted !), praising Him and
94 THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

glorifying Him. I then rose-from the presence of
the King, and diverted myself with a sight of his
city ; and, lo, it was a flourishing city, abounding
with inhabitants and wealth, and with food and
markets and goods, and sellers and buyers.

So I rejoiced at my arrival at that city, and
my heart was at ease; I became familiar with its
inhabitants, and was magnified and honoured by
them and by their King above the people of his
dominions and the great men of his city. And
I saw that all its great men and its small rode
excellent. and fine horses without saddles; whereat
I wondered ; and I said to the King, “ Wherefore,
O my lord, dost thou not ride on a saddle; for
therein is ease to the rider, and additional power ?”
He said, ‘“What kind of thing is a saddle?
This is a thing that in our lives we have never
seen, nor have we ever ridden upon it.” And I
said to him, ‘“ Wilt thou permit me to make for
thee a saddle to ride upon and to experience
the pleasure of it?” He answered me, “ Do so.”
I therefore said to him, ‘“‘ Furnish me with some
wood.” And he gave orders to bring me all that
I required. Then I asked for a clever carpenter,
and sat with him, and taught him the construction
of the saddle, and how he should make it. After-
wards I took some wool, and teased it, and made
 
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ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 97

felt of it; and I caused some leather to be brought,
and covered the saddle with it, and polished it.
I then attached its straps and its girth: after
which I brought the blacksmith, and described to
him the form of the stirrups, and he forged an
excellent pair of stirrups; and I filed them, and
tinned them. Then I attached fringes of silk.
Having done this, I arose and brought one of the
best of the King’s horses, girded upon him that
saddle, attached to it the stirrups, bridled him,
and brought him forward to the King; and
it pleased him, and was agreeable to him. He
thanked me, and seated himself upon it, and was
greatly delighted with that saddle; and he gave
me a large present as a reward for that which I
had done for him. And when his Wezeer saw
that I had made that saddle, he desired of me
one like it. So I made for him a saddle like it.
The grandees and digttitaries likewise desired of
me saddles, and I made for them. I taught the
carpenter the construction of the saddle; and the
blacksmith, the mode of making stirrups; and
we employed ourselves in making these things,
and sold them to the great men and masters.
Thus I collected abundant wealth, and became in
high estimation with them, and they loved me
exceedingly.
98 THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

I continued to enjoy a high rank with the
King and his attendants, and the great men of
the country and the lords of the state, until I sat
one day with the King, in the utmost happiness
and honour; and while I was sitting, the King
said to me, ‘“‘ Know, O thou, that thou hast become
magnified and honoured among us, and hast be-
come one of us, and we cannot part with thee,
nor can we suffer thee to depart from our city;
and I desire of thee that thou obey me in an affair,
and reject not that which I shall say.” So I
said to him, ‘“ And what dost thou desire of me,
O King? For I will not reject that which thou
shalt say, since thou hast shown favour and kind-
ness and beneficence to me, and (praise be to
God!) I have become one of thy servants.”
_ And he answered, “I desire to marry thee among
us to a beautiful, lovely, elegant wife, possessed
of wealth and loveliness, and thou shalt become
a dweller with us, and I will lodge thee by me in
my palace: therefore oppose me not, nor reject
what I say.” And when I heard the words of the
King, I was abashed at him, and was silent, return-
ing him no answer, by reason of the exceeding
bashfulness with which I regarded him. So he said,
‘Wherefore dost thou not reply to me, O my son ?”
And I answered him, ‘‘O my master, it is thine to
 
 

To face page 10l.
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA tor

command, O King of the age!” And upon this he
sent immediately and caused the Kadee and the
witnesses to come, and married me forthwith to a
woman of noble rank, of high lineage, possessing
abundant wealth and fortune, of great origin, of
surprising loveliness and beauty, owner of dwellings
and possessions and buildings. Then he gave mea
great, handsome house, standing alone, and he gave
me servants and other dependants, and assigned me
supplies and salaries. Thus I became in a state
of the utmost ease and joy and happiness, forget-
ting all the fatigue and affliction and adversity that
had happened to me; and I said within myself,
“When I set forth on my voyage to my country, —
I will take her with me.” But every event that is
predestined to happen to man must inevitably take
place, and no one knoweth what will befall him.
I loved her and she loved me with a great affection,
concord existed between me and her, and we lived
in a most delightful manner and most comfortable
abode, and ceased not to enjoy this state for a
length of time.

Then God (whose name be exalted!) caused
to die the wife of my neighbour, and he was
a companion of mine. So I went in to him
to console him for the loss of his wife, and
-beheld him in a most evil state, anxious, weary
To2 THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

in soul and heart; and upon this I consoled
him and comforted him, saying to him, “Mourn
not for thy wife. God will happily compensate
thee by giving thee one better than she, and
thy life will be long if it be the will of God,
whose name be exalted!” But he wept vio-
lently, and said to me, “O my companion,
how can I marry another after her, or how
can God compensate me by giving me a
better than she, when but one day remaineth
of my life?” So I replied, ““O my brother,
return to thy reason, and do not announce
thine own death; for thou art well, in pros-
perity and health.” But he said to me, “O
my companion, by thy life, to-morrow thou
wilt lose me, and never in thy life wilt thou
see me again.” ‘And how so?” said I. He
answered me, “This day they will, bury my
wife, and they will bury me with her in the
sepulchre; for it is our custom in our country,
when the wife dieth, to bury with her her hus-
band alive; and when the husband dieth, they
bury with him his wife alive; that neither.
of them may enjoy life after the other.” I
therefore said to him, “By Allah, this custom
is exceedingly vile, and none can endure

it!” And while we were thus conversing, lo, —
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 103

most of the people of the city came, and pro-
ceeded to console my companion for the loss
of his wife and for himself. They began to
prepare her body for burial according to their
custom, brought a bier, and carried the woman
in it, with all her apparel and ornaments and
wealth, taking the husband with them; and
they went forth with them to the outside of
the city, and came to a place in the side of
a mountain by the sea. They advanced to a
spot there, and lifted up from it a great stone,
and there appeared, beneath the place of this,
a margin of stone, like the margin of a well.
Into this they threw down that woman; and,
lo, it was a great pit beneath the mountain.
Then they brought the man, tied him beneath
his bosom by a rope of fibres of the palm-
tree, and let him down into the pit. They
also let down to him a great jug of sweet
water, and seven cakes of bread; and when
they had let him down, he loosed himself
from the rope, and they drew it up, and cov-
ered the mouth of the pit with that great
stone as it was before, and went their ways,
leaving my companion with his wife in the
pit. So I said within myself, “By Allah,

this death is more grievous than the first
t
104 THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

death!” I then went to their King, and
said to him, “O my lord, how is it that ye
bury the living with the dead in your
country?” And he answered me, “Know
that this is our custom in our country: when
the husband dieth, we bury with him his
wife; and when the wife dieth, we bury with
her her husband alive; that we may not sepa-
rate them in life nor in death; and this custom
we have received from our forefathers.” And
I said, “O King of the age, and in like
manner the foreigner like me, when his wife
dieth among you, do ye with him as ye have
done with this man?” He answered me,
“Yes: we bury him with her, and do with
him as thou hast seen.” And when I heard
these words from him my gall-bladder almost
burst by reason of the violence of my grief
and mourning for myself; my mind was
stupefied, and I became fearful lest my wife
should die before me and they should bury me
alive with her. Afterwards, however, I com-
forted myself, and said, “Perhaps I shall die
before her: and no one knoweth which will
precede and which will follow.” And I pro-
ceeded to beguile myself with occupations.

And but a short time had elapsed after that
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 105

when my wife fell sick, and she remained so
a few days, and died. So the greater number
of the people assembled to console me, and
to console her family for her death; and the
King also came to console me for the loss of
her, as was their custom. They then brought
for her a woman to wash her, and they washed
her, and decked her with the richest of her
apparel, and ornaments of gold, and necklaces
and jewels. And when they had attired my
wife, and put her in the bier, and carried her
and gone with her to that mountain, and lifted
up the stone from the mouth of the pit, and
cast her into it, all my companions, and the
family of my wife, advanced to bid me farewell
and to console me for the loss of my life. I
was crying out among them, “I am a foreigner,
and am unable to endure your custom!” But
they would not hear what I said, nor pay any
regard to my words. ‘They laid hold upon me
and bound me by force, tying with me seven
cakes of bread and a jug of sweet water, accord-
ing to their custom, and let me down into that
pit. And, lo, it was a great cavern beneath that
mountain. They said to me, “Loose thyself
from the ropes.” But I would not loose myself.
So they threw the ropes down upon me, and
106 THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

covered the mouth of the pit with the great
stone that was upon it, and went their ways.
I beheld in that cavern many dead bodies, and
their smell was putrid and abominable; and I.
blamed myself for that which I had done,
saying, ‘‘By Allah, I deserve all that happeneth
to me and befalleth me!” I knew not night
from day; and I sustained myself with little
food, not eating until hunger almost killed me,
nor drinking until my thirst became violent,
fearing the exhaustion of the food and water
that I had with me. I said, “‘There is no
strength nor power but in God, the High, the
Great! What tempted me to marry in this
city? And every time that I say, I have
escaped from a calamity, I fall into a calamity
that is more mighty than the preceding one!
By Allah, my dying this death is unfor-
tunate! Would that I had been drowned
in the sea, or had died upon the mountains!
It had been better for me than this evil
death!” And I continued in this manner,
blaming myself. I laid myself-down upon the
bones of the dead, begging aid of God (whose
name be exalted!), and wished for death, but
I found it not, by reason of the severity of
my sufferings. Thus I remained until hunger
 

To face page 106,
 
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 109

burned my stomach, and thirst inflamed me;
when I sat, and felt for the bread, and ate a
little of it, and I swallowed after it a little
water. Then I rose and stood up, and walked
about the sides of the cavern; and I found that
it was spacious sideways, and with vacant
cavities; but upon its bottom were numerous
dead bodies and rotten bones, that had lain
there from old times. And upon this I made
for myself a place in the side of the cavern,
remote from the fresh corpses, and there I
slept.

At length my provision became greatly dimi-
nished, little remaining with me. During each
day, or in more than a day, I had eaten but
once, and drunk one draught, fearing the ex-
haustion of the water and food that was with
me before my death; and I ceased not to do
thus until I was sitting one day, and while I
sat, meditating upon my case, thinking what I
should do when my food and water were ex-
hausted, lo, the mass of rock was removed from
_its place, and the light beamed down upon me.
So I said, “‘What can be the matter?” And,
behold, the people were standing at the top of
the pit, and they let down a dead man with
his wife with him alive, and she was weeping
TIO THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

and crying out for herself; and they let down
with her a large quantity of food and water. I
saw the woman; but she saw not me; and
they covered the mouth of the pit with the
stone, and went their ways. Then I rose, and,
taking in my hand a long bone of a dead man,
I went to the woman, and struck her upon the
middle of the head; whereupon she fell down
senseless; and I struck her a second and a
third time, and she died. So I took her bread
and what else she had, and I found upon her
abundance of ornaments and apparel, necklaces
and jewels and minerals. And having taken |
the water and food that was with her, I sat in
a place that I had prepared in a side of the
cavern, wherein to sleep, and proceeded to eat a
little of that food, as much only as would sus-
tain me, lest it should be exhausted quickly,
and I should die of hunger and thirst.

I remained in that cavern a length of time ;
and whenever they buried a corpse, I killed
the person who was buried with it alive, and
took that person’s food and drink, to subsist _
upon it, until I was sleeping one day, and I
awoke from my sleep, and heard something
make a noise in a side of the cavern. So I
said, “What can this be?” I then arose and
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA III

walked towards it, taking with me a long bone
of a dead man; and when it was sensible of
my presence, it ran away, and fled from me;
and, lo, it was a wild beast. But I followed it to

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the upper part of the cavern, and thereupon a
light appeared to me from a small spot, like a
star. Sometimes it appeared to me, and some-
times it was concealed from me. Therefore,
112 THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

when I saw it, I advanced towards it; and the
nearer I approached to it, the larger did the
light from it appear to me. So upon this I
was convinced that it was a hole in that
cavern, communicating with the open country ;
and JI said within myself, “There must be
some cause for this: either it is a second
mouth, like that from which they let me
down, or it is a fissure in this place.” I
meditated in my. mind a while, and advanced
towards the light; and, lo, it was a perforation
in the back of that mountain, which the wild
beasts had made, and through which they
entered this place; and they ate of the dead
bodies until they were satiated, and went forth
through this perforation. When I saw it,
therefore, my mind was quieted, my soul was
tranquillised, and my heart was at ease; I
made sure of life after death, and ‘became as
in a dream. Then I managed to force my
way through that perforation, and found my-
self on the shore of the sea, upon a great
mountain, which formed a barrier between the
sea on the one side, and the island and city
on the other, and to which no one could
gain access. So I praised God (whose name
be exalted!), and thanked Him, and rejoiced
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 113

exceedingly, and my heart was strengthened. I
then returned through that perforation into the
cavern, and removed all the food and water
that was in it, that I had spared. I also’ took
the clothes of the dead, and clad myself in
some of them, in addition to those I had on
me; and I took abundance of the things that
were on the dead, consisting of varieties of
necklaces and jewels, long necklaces of pearls,
ornaments of silver and gold set with various
minerals, and rarities; and, having tied up some
clothes of the dead in apparel of my own, I
went forth from the perforation to the back of
the mountain, and stood upon the shore of the
sea. Every day I entered the cavern, and ex-
plored it; and whenever they buried a person
alive, I took the food and water, and killed
that person, whether male or female; after
which I went forth from the perforation, and
sat upon the shore of the sea, to wait for relief
from God (whose name be exalted!), by means
of a ship passing by me. And I removed from
that cavern all the ornaments that I found, and
tied them up in the clothes of the dead.

I ceased not to remain in this state for a
length of time; and afterwards, as' I was sit-
ting, one day, upon the shore of the sea, medi-
1t4 THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

tating upon my case, lo, a vessel passed along
in the midst of the roaring sea agitated with
waves. So I took in my hand a white gar-
ment of the clothes of the dead, and tied it to
a staff, and ran with it along the sea-shore,
making a sign to the people with that gar-
ment, until they happened to look, and saw
me upon. the summit of the mountain. They
therefore approached me, and heard my voice,
and sent me a boat in which was a party of
men from the ship; and when they drew near
to me they said to me, “Who art thou, and
what is the reason of thy sitting in this place,
and how didst thou arrive at this mountain; for
in our lives we have never seen any one who
hath come unto it?” So I answered them, “I
am a merchant. The vessel that I was in was
wrecked, and I got upon a plank, together with
my things, and God facilitated my landing at
this place, with my things, by means of my
exertion and my skill, after severe toil.” They
therefore took me with them in the boat, and
embarked all that I had taken from the cavern,
tied up in the garments and grave-clothes, and
they proceeded with me until they took me up
into the ship, to the master, and all my things
with me. And the master said to me, ‘O
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ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 117

man, how didst thou arrive at this place, which
is a great mountain, with a great city behind
it? All my life I have been accustomed to
navigate this sea, and to pass by this mountain;
but have never seen anything there except the
wild beasts and the birds.’ I answered him,
“T am a merchant. I was in a great ship, and
it was wrecked, and all my merchandise, con-
sisting of these stuffs and clothes which thou
seest, was submerged; but I placed it upon a
great plank, one of the planks of the ship, and
destiny and fortune aided me, so that I landed
upon this mountain, where I waited for some
one to pass by and take me with him.” And
I acquainted them not with the events that had
befallen me in the city, or in the cavern; fear-
ing that there might be with them in the ship
some one from that city. Then I took forth
and presented to the owner of the ship a con-
siderable portion of my property, saying to him,
‘‘O my master, thou hast been the means of my
escape from this mountain: therefore receive
from me this as a recompense for the favour
which thou hast done to me.” But he would
not accept it from me; and he said to me, “ We
take nothing from any one; and when we be-
hold a shipwrecked person on the shore of the
118 THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

sea or on an island, we take him with us, and
feed him and give him to drink; and if he be
naked, we clothe him; and when we arrive at
the port of safety, we give him something of
our property as a present, and act towards him
with kindness and favour for the sake of God,
whose name be exalted!” So upon this I offered
up prayers for the prolongation of his life.

We ceased not to proceed on our voyage
from island to island and from sea to sea.
I hoped to escape, and was rejoiced at my
safety; but every time that I reflected upon my
abode in the cavern with my wife, my reason
left me. We pursued our course until we ar-
rived at the Island of the Bell, whence we
proceeded to the Island of Kel& in six days.
‘Then we came to the kingdom of Kela, which.
is adjacent to India, and in it are a mine of
lead, and places where the Indian cane groweth,
and excellent camphor; and its King is a King
of great dignity, whose dominion extendeth over
the Island of the Bell. In it is a city called
the City of the Bell, which is two days’ journey
in extent. At length, by the providence of
God, we arrived in safety at the city of El-
Basrah, where I landed, and remained a few
days; after which I came to the city of Baghdad,
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 119

and to my quarter, and entered my house, met
my family and my companions, and made in-
quiries respecting them; and they rejoiced at
my safety, and congratulated me. I stored all
the commodities that I had brought with me
in my magazines, gave alms and presents, and
clad the orphans and the widows; and I be-
came in a state of the utmost joy and happi-
ness, and returned to my former habit of asso-
ciating with familiars and companions and —
brothers, and indulging in sport and merri-
ment. Such were the most wonderful of the
events that happened to me in the course of
the fourth voyage. But, O my brother, [O
Sindibad of the Land,] sup thou with me, and
observe thy custom by coming to me to-
morrow when I will inform thee what hap-
pened to me and what befell me during the
fifth voyage; for it was more wonderful and
extraordinary than the preceding voyages.

He then gave orders to present the porter
with a hundred pieces of gold, and the table
was spread, and the party supped; after which
they went their ways, wondering extremely ;
each story being more extraordinary than the
preceding one. Es-Sindib&éd the Porter went to
his house, and passed the night in the utmost
120 ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA

joy and happiness, and in wonder; and when
the morning came, and diffused its light and
shone, he arose, and performed the morning-
prayers, and walked on until he entered the
house of Es-Sindib4dd of the Sea, and wished
him good morning. And Es-Sindibdéd of the
Sea welcomed him, and ordered him to sit
with him until the rest of his companions
came. And they ate and drank, and enjoyed
themselves and were merry, and conversation
flowed round among them. Then Ks-Sindibdd
of the Sea began his narrative, saying thus :—
THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF

ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA.-

RM NOW, O my brothers, that when I
4] returned from the fourth voyage,
4] and became immersed in sport and
merriment and joy, and had for-
~ gotten all that I had experienced,
and what had befallen me, and what I had
suffered, by reason of my excessive joy at the gain
and profit and benefits that I had obtained, my
mind again suggested to me to travel, and to
divert myself with the sight of the countries of
other people, and the islands. So I arose and

  

meditated upon that subject, and bought pre-
cious goods, suited for a sea-voyage. I packed
up the bales, and departed from the city of
Baghddd to the city of El-Basrah ; and, walk-
ing along the bank of the river, I saw a great,
handsome, lofty vessel, and it pleased me;
wherefore I purchased it. Its apparatus was
new, and I hired for it a master and sailors,

ret
as THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF

over whom I set my black slaves and my pages
as superintendents, and I embarked in it my
bales. And there came to me a company of
merchants, ‘who also embarked their bales in
it, and paid me hire. We set sail in the
utmost joy and happiness, and rejoicing in the
prospect of. safety and gain, and ceased not to
pursue our voyage from island to island and
from sea to sea, diverting ourselves with view-
ing the islands and towns, and landing at them
and selling and buying. Thus we continued to
do, until we arrived one day at a large island,
destitute of inhabitants. There was no person
upon it: it was deserted and desolate; but on
it was an enormous white dome, of great bulk ;
and we landed to amuse ourselves with a sight
of it, and, lo, it was a great egg of a rukh’.
Now when the merchants had landed, and were
diverting themselves with viewing it, not know-
ing that it was the egg of a rukh’, they struck
it with stones; whereupon it broke, and there
poured down from it a great quantity of liquid,
and the young rukh’ appeared within it. So’
they pulled it and drew it forth from the shell,
and killed it, and took from it abundance of
meat. I was then in the ship, and knew
not of it, and they acquainted me not with
 

 

 

To face page 122.
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
G
126 THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF

saw that we had put forth to sea, they absented
themselves from us for a while. We proceeded
and made speed, desiring to escape from them,
and to quit their country; but, lo, they had followed
us, and they now approached us, each of them
having in its claws a huge mass of rock from a
mountain ; and the male bird threw the rock that
he had brought upon us. The master, however,
-Steered away the ship, and the mass of rock
missed her by a little space. It descended into
the sea by the ship, and the ship went up with us,
and down, by reason of the mighty plunging of the
rock, and we beheld the bottom of the sea in conse-
quence of its vehement force. Then the mate of
the male rukh’ threw upon us the rock that she
had brought, which was smaller than the former
one, and, as destiny had ordained, it fell upon the
stern of the ship, and crushed it, making the rudder
fly into twenty pieces, and all that was in the ship
became submerged in the sea.

I strove to save myself, impelled by the sweet-
ness of life, and God (whose name be exalted !)
placed within my reach one of the planks of the-
ship ; so I caught hold of it, and having got upon
it, began to row upon it with my feet, and the wind
and the waves helped me forward. The vessel
had sunk near an island in the midst of the sea,
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ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 129

and destiny cast me, by permission of God (whose
name be exalted!), to that island. I therefore
landed upon it; but I was at my last breath, and
in the state of the dead, from the violence of the
fatigue and distress and hunger and thirst that
I had suffered. I then threw myself down upon
the shore of the sea, and remained lying there
a while, until: my soul felt at ease, and my heart
was tranquillised, when I walked along the island,
and saw that it resembled one of the gardens of
Paradise. Its trees bore ripe fruits, its rivers
were flowing, and its birds were warbling the
praises of Him to whom belongeth might and
permanence. Upon that island was an abundance
of trees and fruits, with varieties of flowers. So
I ate of the fruits until I was satiated, and I drank
of those rivers until I was satisfied with drink ;
and I praised God (whose name be exalted !)
for this, and glorified Him. T then remained -
sitting upon the island till evening came, and
night approached ; whereupon I rose; but I was
like a slain man, by reason of the fatigue and fear
that I had experienced ; and I heard not in that
island a voice, nor did I see in it any person.

I slept there without interruption until the
morning, and then rose and stood up, and walked
among the trees; and I saw a streamlet, by which
130 THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF

sat an old man, a comely person, who was clad
from the waist downwards with a covering made
of the leaves of trees. So I said within myself,
‘“Perhaps this old man hath landed upon this
island and is one of the shipwrecked persons with
whom the vessel fell to pieces. I then approached
him and saluted him, and he returned the saluta-
tion by a sign, without speaking; and I said to.
him, “ O sheykh, what is the reason of thy sitting
in this place?” Whereupon he shook his head,
and sighed, and made a sign to me with his hand,
as though he would say, ‘‘ Carry me upon thy neck,
and transport me from this place to the other side
of the streamlet. I therefore said within myself,
“JT will act kindly with this person, and transport
him to this place to which he desireth to go:
perhaps I shall obtain for it a reward [in heaven ].”
Accordingly I advanced to him, and took him
upon my shoulders, and conveyed him to the place
that he had indicated to me; when I said to him,
‘“‘Descend at thine ease.” But he descended not
from my shoulders. He had twisted his legs round
my neck, and I looked at them, and I saw that
they were like the hide of the buffalo in blackness
and roughness. So I was frightened at him, and
desired to throw him down from my shoulders ;
but he pressed upon my neck with his feet, and
Daag
—Z x

: ee

 

To face page 130.
 
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 133

squeezed my throat, so that the world became
black before my face, and I was unconscious of my
existence, falling upon the ground in a fit, like
one dead. He then raised his legs, and beat me
upon my back and my shoulders; and I suffered
violent pain; whereupon I rose with him. He
still kept his seat upon my shoulders, and I had
become fatigued with bearing him ; and he made
a sign to me that I should go in among the trees,
to the best of the fruits. When I disobeyed him,
he inflicted upon me, with his feet, blows more
violent than those of whips; and he ceased not to
direct me with his hand to every place to which
he desired to go, and to that place I went with
him. If I loitered, or went leisurely, he beat me ;
and I was as a captive to him. We went into
the midst of the island, among the trees, and he
descended not from my shoulders by night nor by
day: when he desired to sleep, he would wind his
legs round my neck, and sleep a little, and then
he would arise and beat me, whereupon I would
arise with him quickly, unable to disobey him
by reason of the severity of that which I suffered
from him ; and I blamed myself for having taken
him up, and having had pity on him. I continued
with him in this condition, enduring the most
violent fatigue, and said within myself, “I did a
134 THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF

good act unto this person, and it hath become
an evil to myself! By Allah, I will never more
do good unto any one as long as I live!” I
begged of God (whose name be exalted !), at
every period and in every hour, that I: might die,
in consequence of the excessive fatigue and dis-
tress that I suffered.

‘Thus I remained for a length of time, until I
carried him one day to a place in the island
where I found an abundance of pumpkins, many
of which were dry. Upon this I took a large
one that was dry, and, having opened its upper
extremity, and cleansed it, I went with it to a
grape-vine, and filled it with the juice of the
grapes. I then stopped up the aperture, and
put it in the sun, and left it for some days,
until it had become pure wine; and every day
I used to drink of it, to help myself to endure
the fatigue that I underwent with that obstinate
devil; for whenever I was intoxicated by it, my
energy was strengthened. So, seeing me one
day drinking, he made a sign to me with his
hand, as though he would say, “ What is this?”
And I answered him, “This is something agree-
able, that invigorateth the heart, and dilateth
the mind.” Then I ran with him, and danced
among the trees; I was exhilarated by intoxi-
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 135

cation, and clapped my hands, and sang, and
was joyful. Therefore when he beheld me in
this state, he made a sign to me to hand him

 

the pumpkin, that he might drink from it; and
I feared him, and gave it to him; whereupon
he drank what remained in it, and threw it
136 THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF

upon the ground, and, being moved with merri-
ment, began to shake upon my shoulders. He
then became intoxicated, and drowned in in-
toxication; all his limbs, and the muscles of
his sides, became relaxed, and he began to
lean from side to side upon my shoulders. So
when I knew that he was drunk, and that he
was unconscious of existence, I put my hand to
his feet, and loosed them from my neck. Then
I stooped with him, and sat down, and threw
him upon the ground. I scarcely believed that
I had liberated myself and escaped from the
state in which I had been; but I feared him,
lest he should arise from his intoxication, and
torment me. I therefore took a great mass of
stone from among the trees, and, coming to
him, struck him upon his head as he lay asleep,
so that his flesh became mingled with his blood,
and he was killed. May no mercy of God be on
him !

After that, I walked about the island, with a
happy mind, and came to the place where I
‘was before, on the shore of the sea. And I
remained upon that island, eating of its fruits,
and drinking of the water of its rivers, for a
length of time, and watching to see some vessel
passing by me, until I was sitting one day, re-
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 137

flecting upon the events that had befallen me
and happened to me, and I said within myself,
‘“‘T wonder if God will preserve me in safety, and
if I shall return to my country, and meet my
family and my companions.” And, lo, a vessel
approached from the midst of the roaring sea
agitated with waves, and it ceased not in its
course until it anchored at that island; where-
upon the passengers landed there. So I walked
towards them; and when they beheld me, they
all quickly approached me and assembled around
me, inquiring respecting my state, and the cause
of my coming to that island. I therefore ac-
quainted them with my case, and with the
events that had befallen me; whereat they
wondered extremely. And they said to me,
“This man who rode upon thy shoulders is
called the Old Man of the Sea, and no one
ever was beneath his limbs and escaped from
him except thee; and praise be to God for
thy safety!” Then they brought me some food,
and I ate until I was satisfied; and they gave
me some clothing, which I put on, covering
myself decently. After this, they took me with
them in the ship; and when we had proceeded
days and nights, destiny drove us to a city of
lofty buildings, all the houses of which over-
138 THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF

looked the sea. That city is called the City
of the Apes; and when the night cometh, the
people who reside in it go forth from the doors
that open upon the sea, and, embarking in boats
and ships, pass the night upon the sea, in their
fear of the apes, lest they should come down
upon them in the night from the mountains.

I landed to divert myself in this city, and
the ship set sail without my knowledge. So I
repented of my having landed there, remember-
ing my companions, and what had befallen them
from the apes, first and afterwards; and I sat
weeping and mourning. And thereupon a man
of the inhabitants of the city advanced to me
and said to me, ‘“‘O my master, it seemeth that
thou art a stranger in this country.” I therefore
replied, “‘ Yes: I am a stranger, and a poor man.
I. was in a ship which anchored at this city,
and I landed from it to divert myself in the
city, and returned, but saw not the ship.”
And he said, ‘“‘ Arise and come with us, and
embark in the boat; for if thou remain in the
city during the night, the apes will destroy
thee.” So I replied, “I hear and obey.” I
arose immediately, and embarked with the people
in the boat, and they pushed it off from the land
until they had propelled it from the shore of the
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 139

sea to the distance of a mile. They passed the
night, and I with them; and when the morning
came, they returned in the boat to the city, and
landed, and each of them went to his occupa-
tion. Such hath been always their custom; every
night ; and to every one of them who remaineth
behind in the city. during the night, the apes
come, and they destroy him. In the day, the
apes go forth from the city, and eat of the fruits
in the gardens, and sleep in the mountains until
the evening, when they return to the city. And
this city is in the furthest parts of the country
of the blacks...Among the most wonderful of
the events that: happened to me in the treat-
ment that I met with from. its inhabitants, was
this. A person of the party with whom I passed
the night said to me, ““O my master, thou art
a stranger in this country. Art thou skilled in
any art with which thou mayest occupy thyself?”
And I answered him, ‘No, by Allah, O my
brother: I am acquainted with no art, nor do
I know how to make anything. I was a mer-
chant, a person of wealth and fortune, and I
had a ship, my own property, laden with abun-
dant wealth and goods; but it was wrecked in
the sea, and all that was in it sank, and I
escaped not drowning but by the permission
140 THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF

of God; for He provided me with a piece of
a plank, upon which I placed myself; and it
was the means of my escape from drowning.”
And upon this the man arose and brought me
a cotton bag, and said to me, “Take this bag,
and fill it with pebbles from this city, and go
forth with a party of the inhabitants. I will
associate thee with them, and give them a charge
respecting thee, and do thou as they shall do.
Perhaps thou wilt. accomplish that by means of
which thou wilt be assisted to make thy voyage,
and to return to thy country.”

Then that man took me and led me forth
from the city, and I picked up small pebbles,
with which I filled that bag. And, lo, a party of
men came out from the city, and he associated
me with them, giving them a charge respecting
me, and saying to them, “This is a stranger;
so take him with you, and teach him the mode
of gathering. Perhaps he may gain the means
of subsistence, and ye will obtain [from God] a
reward and recompense.” And they replied,
“We hear and obey.” They welcomed me,
and took me with them, and proceeded, each
of them having a bag like mine, filled with
pebbles; and we ceased not to pursue our
way until we arrived at a wide valley, wherein
 

 

 

To face page 143,
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 143

were many lofty trees, which no one could
climb. In that valley were also many apes,
which, when they saw us, fled from us, and
ascended those trees. Then the men began to
pelt the apes with the stones that they had
with them in the bags; upon which the apes
began to pluck off the fruits of those trees,
and to throw them at the men; and I looked
at the fruits which the apes threw down, and,
lo, they were cocoa-nuts. Therefore when I
beheld the party do thus, I chose a great tree,
upon which were many apes, and, advancing
to it, proceeded to pelt those apes with stones;
and they broke off nuts from the tree and
threw them at me. So I collected them as the
rest of the party did, and the stones were not
exhausted from my bag until I had collected a
ereat quantity. And when the party had ended
this work, they gathered together all that was
with them, and each of them carried off as many
of the nuts as he could. We then returned to
the city during the remainder of the day, and
I went to the man, my companion, who had
associated me with the party, and gave him
all that I had collected, thanking him for his
kindness. But he said to me, “Take these
and sell them, and make use of the price.”
144 THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF

And afterwards he gave me the key of a place
in his house, and said to me, “Put here these
nuts that thou hast remaining with thee, and
go forth every day with the party as thou hast
done this day; and of what thou _bringest,
separate the bad, and sell them, and make use
of their price; and the rest keep in thy pos-
session in this place. Perhaps thou wilt ac-
cumulate of them what will aid thee to make
thy voyage.” So I replied, ‘‘ Thy reward is due
from God, whose name be exalted!” I did as
he told me, and continued every day to fill the
bag with stones, and to go forth with the people,
and do as they did. They used to commend
me one to another, and to guide me to the
tree upon which was abundance of fruit; and
I ceased not to lead this life for a length of
time, so that I collected a great quantity of good
cocoa-nuts, and I sold a great quantity, the price
of which became a large sum in my possession.
I bought everything that I saw and that pleased
me, my time was pleasant, and my good fortune
increased throughout the whole city.

I remained in this state for some time; after
which, as I was standing by the seaside, lo, a
vessel arrived at that city, and cast anchor by
the shore. In it were merchants, with their
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA r45

goods, and they proceeded to sell and buy,
and to exchange their goods for cocoa-nuts and
other things. So I went to my companion, in-
formed him of the ship that had arrived, and
told him that I desired to make the voyage to
my country. And he replied, “It is thine to
determine.” I therefore bade him farewell, and
thanked him for his kindness to me. Then I
went to the ship, and, accosting the master,
engaged with him for my passage, and em-
barked in that ship the cocoa-nuts and other
things that I had with me, after which they
set sail that same day. We continued our
course from island to island and from sea to
sea, and at every island at which we cast
anchor I sold some of those cocoa-nuts, and
exchanged; and God compensated me with
more than I’ had before possessed and _ lost.
We passed by an island in which are cin-
namon and pepper, and some persons told us
that they had seen, upon every bunch of
pepper, a large leaf that shadeth it and wardeth
from it the rain whenever it raineth; and when
the rain ceaseth to fall upon it, the leaf turneth
over from the bunch, and hangeth down by its
side. From that island I took with me a large
quantity of pepper and cinnamon, in exchange
146 THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF

for cocoa-nuts. We passed also by the Island
of El-Asirdt, which is that wherein is the
Kaméaree aloes-wood. And after that, we passed
by. another island, the extent of which is five
days’ journey, and in it is the Sanfee aloes-
wood, which is superior to the Kamdree; but
the inhabitants of this island are worse in con-
dition and religion than the inhabitants of the
island of the Kamédree aloes-wood; for they
love depravity and the drinking of wines, and
know not the call to prayer, nor the act of
prayer. And we came after that to the pearl-
fisheries; whereupon I gave to the divers some
cocoa-nuts, and said to them, ‘Dive for my luck
and lot.” Accordingly they dived in the bay
there, and brought up a great number of large
and valuable pearls; and they said to me, “O
my master, by Allah, thy fortune is good!”
So I took up into the ship what they had
brought up for me, and we proceeded, relying
on the blessing of God (whose name be
exalted !), and continued our voyage until we
arrived at El-Basrah, where I landed, and re-
mained a short time. I then went thence to
the city of Baghdad, entered my quarter, came
to my house, and saluted my family and com-
panions, who congratulated me on my safety.
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 147

I stored all the goods and commodities that I
had brought with me, clothed the orphans and
the widows, bestowed alms and gifts, and made
presents to my family and my companions and
my friends. God had compensated me with
four times as much as I had lost, and I forgot
what had happened to me, and the fatigue that
I had suffered, by reason of the abundance of
my gain and profits, and resumed my first
habits of familiar intercourse and fellowship.
Such were the most wonderful things that
happened to me in the course of the fifth
voyage: but sup ye, and to-morrow come again,
and I will relate to you the events of the sixth
voyage; for it was more wonderful than this.
Then they spread the table, and the party
supped ; and when they had finished their
supper, Es-Sindibéd of the Sea gave orders to
present Hs-Sindibad the Porter with a hundred
pieces of gold: so he took them and departed,
wondering at this affair. He passed the night
in his abode, and when the morning came, he
arose and performed the morning-prayers ; after
which he walked to the house of Es-Sindibad
of the Sea, went in to him, and wished him
good morning; and Es-Sindibdédd of the Sea

ordered him to sit. He therefore sat with
H
148 ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA

him, and he ceased not to converse with him
until the rest of his companions came. And
they conversed together, and the servants spread
the table; and the party ate and drank, and
enjoyed themselves and were merry. Then Ks-
Sindibid of the Sea began to relate to them the
story of the sixth voyage, saying to them—
THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF

ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA.

e| NOW, O my brothers and my friends
and my companions, that when I
returned from that fifth voyage,
and forgot what I had suffered,
by reason of sport and merriment
and enjoyment and gaiety, and was in a state
of the utmost joy and happiness, I continued
thus until I was sitting one day in exceed-
ing delight and happiness and gaiety; and
while I sat, lo, a party of merchants came to
me, bearing the marks of travel. And upon
this I remembered the days of my return
from travel, and my joy at meeting my family
and companions and friends, and at entering
my country; and my soul longed again for
travel and commerce. So I determined to
set forth. I bought for myself precious, sump-
tuous goods, suitable for the sea, packed up
my bales, and went from the city of Baghddd

149

 
150 THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF

to the city of El-Basrah, where I beheld a
large vessel, in which were merchants and
great men, and with them were precious goods.
I therefore embarked my bales with them in
this ship, and we departed in safety from the
city of El-Basrah. We continued our voyage
from place to place and from city to city,
selling and buying, and diverting ourselves
with viewing different countries. Fortune and
the voyage were pleasant to us, and we
gained our subsistence, until we were  pro-
ceeding one day, and, lo, the master of the
ship vociferated and called out, threw down
his turban, slapped his face, plucked his beard,
and fell down in the hold of the ship by
reason of the violence of his grief and rage.
So all the merchants and other passengers
came together to him, and said to him, “O
master, what is the matter?” And he answered
them, “Know, O company, that we have wan-
dered from our course, having passed forth
from the sea in which we were, and entered
a sea of which we know not the routes; and
if God appoint not for us some means of
effecting our escape from this sea, we all
perish: therefore pray to God (whose name
be exalted!) that He may save us from this
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA | Ig1

case.” Then the master arose and ascended
the mast, and desired to loose the sails; but
the wind became violent upon the ship,
and drove her back, and her rudder broke
near a lofty mountain; whereupon the master
descended from the mast and said, “ There
is no strength nor power but in God, the
High, the Great ! No one is able to prevent
what is predestined! By Allah, we have
fallen into a great peril, and there remaineth
to us no way of safety or escape from it.”
So all the passengers wept for themselves :
they bade one another farewell, because of
the expiration of their lives, and their hope
was cut off. The vessel drove upon that
mountain, and went to pieces; its planks
were scattered, and all that was in it was
submerged; the merchants fell into the sea,
and some of them were drowned, and some
caught hold upon that mountain, and landed
upon it.

I was of the number of those who, landed
upon the mountain; and, lo, within it was
a large island. By it were many vessels
broken in pieces, and upon it were numerous
goods, on the shore of the sea, of the things
thrown up by the sea from the ships that had
152 THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF

been wrecked, and the passengers of which
had been drowned. Upon it was an abun-
dance, that confounded the reason and the
mind, of commodities and wealth that the sea
cast upon its shores. I ascended to the upper
part of the island, and walked about it, and
I beheld in the midst of it a stream of sweet
water, flowing forth from beneath. the nearest
part of the mountain, and entering at the
furthest part of it, on the opposite side [of
the valley]. Then all the other passengers
went over that mountain to [the interior of]
the island, and dispersed themselves about it,
and their reason was confounded at that which
they beheld. They became like madmen in
consequence of what they saw upon the island,
of commodities and wealth lying on the shore
of the sea. I beheld also in the midst of
the above-mentioned stream an abundance of
various kinds of jewels and minerals, with
jacinths and large pearls, suitable to kings.
They were like gravel in the channels of the
water which flowed through the fields ; and all
the bed of that stream glittered by reason of
the great number of minerals and other things
that it contained. We likewise saw on that
island an abundance of the best kind of Sanfee
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 153

aloes-wood, and Kaméree aloes-wood. And in
that island is a gushing spring of crude am-
bergris, which floweth like wax over the side of
that spring through the violence of the heat of
‘ the sun, and spreadeth upon the sea-shore; and
the monsters of the deep come up from the
sea and swallow it, and descend with it into
-the sea; but it becometh hot in their stomachs,
therefore they eject it from their mouths
into the sea, and it congealeth on the sur-
face of the water. Upon this, its colour and
its qualities become changed, and the waves
cast it up on the shore of the sea: so the
travellers and merchants who know it take it
and sell it. But as to the crude ambergris
that is not swallowed, it floweth over the
side of that fountain, and congealeth upon
the ground; and when the sun shineth upon
it, it melteth, and from it the odour of the
whole of that valley becometh like the odour
of musk. Then, when the sun withdraweth
from it, it congealeth again. The place where-
in is this crude ambergris no one can enter:
no one can gain access to it: for the mountain
surroundeth that island.

We continued to wander about the island, divert-
ing ourselves with a view of the good things which
154 THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF

God (whose name be exalted !) had created upon it,
and perplexed at our case, and at the things that
we beheld, and affected with violent fear. We
had collected upon the shore of the sea a small
quantity of provisions, and we used it sparingly, °
eating of it every day, or two days, only one meal,
dreading the exhaustion of our stock, and our
dying in sorrow, from the violence of hunger
and fear. Each one of us that died we washed, and
shrouded in some of the clothes and linen which
the sea cast upon the shore of the island ; and .
thus we did until a great number of us had died,
and there remained of us but a small party, who
were weakened by a colic occasioned by the sea.
After this, we remained a short period, and all
my associates and companions died, one after
another, and each of them who died we buried.
Then I was alone on that island, and there re- —
mained with me but little of the provisions, after
there had been much. So I wept for myself, and
said, “ Would that I had died before my com-
panions, and that they had washed me and buried
me! ‘There is no strength nor power but in God,
the High, the Great!” And I remained a short
time longer; and I arose and dug for myself a
deep grave on the shore of the island, and said
within myself, “When I fall sick, and know that
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 185

death hath come to me, I will lie down in my
grave, and die in it, and the wind will blow the
sand upon me, and cover me; so I shall become
buried in it.” I blamed myself for my little sense,
and my going forth from my country and my city,
and my voyaging to foreign countries, after what
T had suffered in the first instance, and the second,
and the third, and the fourth, and the fifth; and
when I had not performed one of my voyages with-
out suffering in it horrors and distresses more
troublesome and more difficult than the horrors
preceding. I believed not that I could escape
and save myself, and repented of undertaking
sea-voyages, and of returning to this life when
I was not in want of wealth, but had abundance,
so that I could not consume what I had nor
spend half of it during the rest of my life;
having enough for me, and more than enough.
Then I meditated in my mind, and said, ‘‘ This
river must have a beginning and an end, and it
must have a place of egress into an inhabited
country. The right plan in my opinion will be for
me to construct for myself a small raft, of sufficient
size for me to sit upon it, and I will go down and
cast it upon this river, and depart on it. IfI find
safety, I am safe, and escape, by permission of
God (whose name be exalted !); and if I find no
156 THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF

way of saving myself, it -will be better for me to
die in this river than in this place.” And I sighed
for myself. Then I arose and went and collected
pieces of wood that were upon that island, of
Sanfee and Kaméree aloes-wood, and bound
them upon the shore of the sea with some of the
ropes of the ships that had been wrecked; and
I brought some straight planks, of the planks of
the ships, and placed them upon these pieces of
wood. I made the raft to suit the width of the
river, less wide than the latter, and bound it well
and firmly; and, having taken with me some of
those minerals and jewels and goods, and of the
large pearls that were like gravel, as well as
other things that were upon the island, and some
of the crude, pure, excellent ambergris, I put them
upon that raft, with all that I had collected upon
the island, and took with me what remained of
the provisions. JI then launched the raft upon
the river, made for it two pieces of wood like
oars, and acted in accordance with the following
saying of one of the poets :—

Depart from a place wherein is oppression, and leave the house
to tell its builder’s fate ;
For thou wilt find, for the land that thou quittest, another ;
_ but no soul wilt thou find to replace thine own.
Grieve not on account of nocturnal calamities; since évery
affliction will have its end ;
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ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 159

And he whose death. is decreed to take place in one land will
not die in any land but that.

Send not thy messenger on an errand of importance ; for the
soul hath no faithful minister save itself.

I departed upon the raft along the river, medi-
tating upon what might be the result of my case,
and proceeded to the place where the river
entered beneath the mountain. I propelled the
raft into that place, and became in intense dark-
ness within it, and the raft continued to carry
me in with the current to a narrow place
beneath the mountain, where the sides of the
raft rubbed against the sides of the channel of
the river, and my head rubbed against the roof
of the channel. I was unable to return thence,
and I blamed myself for that which I had done,
and said, “If this place become narrower to the
raft, it will scarcely pass through it, and it
cannot return: so I shall perish in this place
in sorrow, inevitably!” I threw myself upon
my face on the raft, on account of the narrow-
ness of the channel of the river, and ceased
not to proceed, without knowing night from
day, by reason of the darkness in which I was
involved beneath that mountain, together with my
terror and fear for myself lest I should perish. In
this state I continued my course along the river,
160 THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF

which sometimes widened and at other times
contracted; but the intensity of the darkness
wearied me excessively, and slumber overcame
me in consequence of the violence of my distress.
So I lay upon my face on the raft, which ceased
not to bear me along while I slept, and knew
not whether the time was long or short.

At length I awoke, and found myself in the
light; and, opening my eyes, I beheld an ex-
tensive tract, and the raft tied to the shore of
an island, and around me a company of Indians
and [people like] Abyssinians. When they saw
. that I had risen, they rose and came to me, and
spoke to me in their language; but I knew not
what they said, and imagined that it was a dream,
and that this occurred in sleep, by reason of the
-violence of my distress and yexation. And when
they spoke to me, and I understood not their
speech, and returned them not an answer, a man
among them advanced to me, and said to me, in
the Arabic language, ‘‘ Peace be on thee, O our
brother! What art thou, and whence hast thou
come, and what is the cause of thy coming to this
place? We are people of the sown lands and the
fields, and we came to irrigate our fields and our
sown lands, and found thee asleep on the raft:
so we laid hold upon it, and tied it here by us,
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 161

waiting for thee to rise at thy leisure. Tell us
then what is the cause of thy coming to this
place.” I replied, “I conjure thee by Allah,
O my master, that thou bring me some food;
for I am hungry; and after that, ask of me
concerning what thou wilt.” And thereupon he
hastened, and brought me food, and I ate until
I was satiated and was at ease, and my fear
subsided, my satiety was abundant, and my soul
returned to me. I therefore praised God (whose
name be exalted!) for all that had occurred,
rejoicing at my having passed forth from that
river, and having come to these people; and I
told them of all.that had happened to me from
beginning to end, and of what I had experienced
upon that river, and of its narrowness. They
then talked together, and: said, ‘‘We must take
him with us and present him to our King, that
he may acquaint him with what hath happened
to him.” Accordingly they took me with them,
and conveyed with me the raft, together with
all that was upon it, of riches and goods, and
jewels and minerals, and ornaments of gold, and
they took me in to their King, who was the King
of Sarandeeb, and acquainted him with what had
happened; whereupon he saluted me and wel-
comed me, and asked me respecting my state,
162 THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF

and respecting the events that had happened
to me. I therefore acquainted him with all my
story, and what I had experienced, from first
to last; and the King wondered at this narrative
extremely, and congratulated me on my safety.
Then I arose and took forth from the raft a
quantity of the minerals and jewels, and aloes-
wood and crude ambergris, and gave it to the
King; and he accepted it from me, and treated
me with exceeding honour, lodging me in a place
in his abode. I associated with the best and
the greatest of the people, who paid me great
respect, and I quitted not the abode of the
King.

The island of Sarandeeb is under the equinoctial
line; its night being always twelve hours, and its
day also twelve hours. Its length is eighty leagues ;
and its breadth, thirty; and it extendeth largely
between a lofty mountain and a deep valley. This
mountain is seen from a distance of three days,
and it containeth varieties of jacinths, and different
kinds of minerals, and trees of all sorts of spices,
and its surface is covered with emery, wherewith
jewels are cut into shape: in its rivers also are
diamonds, and pearls are in its valleys. I ascended
to the summit of the mountain, and diverted my-
self with a view of its wonders, which are not to
o

ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 163

be described ; and afterwards I went back to the
King, and begged him to give me permission to
return to my country. He gave me permission
after great pressing, and bestowed upon me an
abundant present from his treasuries; and he
gave me a present and a sealed letter, saying to
me, “Convey these to the Khaleefeh Haroon Er-
Rasheed, and give him many salutations from us.”
So I replied, “TI hear and obey.” Then he wrote
for me a letter on skin of the khdwee, which is
finer than parchment, of a yellowish colour; and
the writing was in ultramarine. And the form
of what he wrote to the Khaleefeh was this :—
“Peace be on thee, from the King of India, before
whom are a thousand elephants, and on the battle-
ments of whose palace are a thousand jewels.
To proceed: We have sent to thee a trifling pre-
sent: accept it then from us. Thou art to us
a brother and sincere friend, and the affection
for you that is in our hearts is great’: therefore
favour us by a reply. The present is not suited
to thy dignity ; but we beg of thee, O brother, to
accept it graciously. And peace be on thee!”
And the present was a cup of ruby, a span high,
the inside of which was embellished with precious
pearls; and a bed covered with the skin of the
serpent that swalloweth the elephant, which skin
164 THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF

hath spots, each like a piece of gold, and who-
soever sitteth upon it never becometh diseased ;
and a hundred thousand mithkals of Indian aloes-
wood ; and a slave-girl like the shining full-moon.
Then he bade me farewell, and gave a charge
respecting me to the merchants and the master
of the ship.

So I departed thence, and we continued our
voyage from island to island and from country
to country until we arived at Baghd4d, whereupon
I entered my house, and met my family and my
brethren ; after which I took the present, with a
token of service from myself for the Khaleefeh.
On entering his presence, I kissed his hand, and
placed before him the whole, giving him the letter ;
and he read it and took the present, with which
he was greatly rejoiced, and he treated me with
the utmost honour. He then said to me, “O
Sindibad, is that true which this King hath stated
in his letter?” And I kissed the ground, and
answered, “‘O my lord, I witnessed in his kingdom
much more than he hath mentioned in his letter.
On the day of his public appearance, a throne is
set for him upon a huge elephant, eleven cubits
high, and he sitteth upon it, having with him his
chief officers and pages and guests, standing in
two ranks, on his right and on his left. At his
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 165

head standeth a man having in his hand a golden
javelin, and behind him a man in whose hand is
a great mace of gold, at the top of which is an
emerald a span in length and of the thickness
of a thumb. And when he mounteth, there mount
at the same time with him a thousand horsemen
clad in gold and silk ; and as the King proceedeth,
a man before him proclaimeth, saying, ‘This is
the King of great dignity, of high authority!’
And he proceedeth to repeat his praises in terms
that I remember not, at the end of his panegyric
saying, ‘This is the King, the owner of the
crown the like of which neither Suleyman nor
the Mihr4j possessed!’. Then he is silent; and
one behind him proclaimeth, saying, ‘He will
die! Again I say, He will die! Again I say,
He will die!’ And the other saith, ‘Extolled
be the perfection of the Living who dieth not!’
Moreover, by reason of his justice and good
government and intelligence, there is no Kadee
in his city; and all the people of his country
distinguish the truth from falsity.” And the
Khaleefeh wondered at my words, and _ said,
“How great is this King! His letter hath
shown me this; and as to the greatness of his
dominion, thou hast told us what thou hast

witnessed. By Allah, he hath been endowed
I
166 ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA

with wisdom and dominion!” Then the Kha-
leefeh conferred favours upon me, and com-
manded me to depart to my abode. So I
came to my house, and gave the legal and
other alms, and continued to live in the same
pleasant. circumstances as at present. I forgot
the arduous troubles that I had experienced,
discarded from my heart the anxieties of travel,
rejected from my mind distress, and betook myself
to eating and drinking, and pleasures and joy.

And when Es-Sindibad of the Sea had finished
his story, every one who was present wondered
at the events that had happened to him. He
then ordered his treasurer to give to Es-Sindi-
bad of the Land a hundred pieces of gold, and
commanded him to depart, and to return the
next day with the boon-companions, to hear
his seventh story. So the porter went away
happy to his abode, and on the morrow he
was present with all the boon-companions; and
they sat according to their usual custom, and
employed themselves, in eating and drinking
and enjoyment until the end of the day, when
Es-Sindibid of the Sea made a sign to them
that they should hear his seventh story, and
said—
THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF

ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA.

HEN I relinquished voyaging, and
the affairs of commerce, I said
within myself, “What hath hap-
4} pened to me sufficeth me.” And
~ my time was spent in joy and
pleasures. But while I was sitting one day, the .
door was knocked: so the door-keeper opened,
and a page of the Khaleefeh entered and said,
“The Khaleefeh summoneth thee.” I therefore
went with him to his majesty, and kissed the
ground before him and saluted him, whereupon
he welcomed me and treated me with honour;
and he said to me, “O Sindibad, I have an
affair for thee to perform. Wilt thou do it?”
So I kissed his hand, and said to him, “O my
lord, what affair hath the master for the slave
to perform?” And he answered me, “I desire
that thou go to the King of Sarandeeb, and

convey to him our letter and our present; for
167

  
168 THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF

he sent to us a present and a letter.” And I
trembled thereat, and replied, ‘‘By Allah the
Great, O my lord, I have taken a hatred to
voyaging ; and when a voyage on the sea, or
any other travel, is mentioned to me, my joints
tremble, in consequence of what hath befallen
me, and what I have experienced of troubles
and horrors, and I have no desire for that
whatever. Moreover, I have bound myself by
an oath not to go forth from Baghddd.” Then
I informed the Khaleefeh of all that had be-
fallen me from first to last; and he wondered
exceedingly, and said, “By Allah the Great, O
Sindibad, it hath not been heard from times of
old that such events have befallen any one as
have befallen thee, and it is incumbent on thee
that thou never mention the subject of travel.
But for my sake thou wilt go this time, and
convey our present and our letter to the King
of Sarandeeb; and thou shalt return quickly, if
it be the will of God (whose name be exalted !),
that we may no longer have a debt of favour
and courtesy to the King.” So I replied ‘that
I heard and obeyed, being unable to oppose his
command. He then gave me the present and
the letter, with money for my expenses, and I
kissed his hand and departed from him.
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 169

I went from Baghdéd to the sea, and embarked
in a ship, and we proceeded days and nights,
by the aid of God (whose name be exalted !),
until we arrived at the island of Sarandeeb, and
with us were many merchants. As soon as we
arrived, we landed at the city, and I took the
present and the letter, and went in with them
to the King, and kissed the ground before him.
And. when he saw me, he said, “A friendly
welcome to thee, O Sindibéd! By Allah the
Great, we have longed to see thee, and praise
be to God who hath shown us thy face a
second time!” Then he took me by my hand,
and seated me by his side, welcoming me, and
treating me with familiar kindness, and he re-
joiced greatly. He began to converse with me,
and addressed me with courtesy, and _ said,
“What was the cause of thy coming to us, O
Sindibéd?” So I kissed his hand, and thanked
him, and answered him, “O my lord, I have
brought thee a present and a letter from my
master the Khaleefeh Haroon Er-Rasheed.” I
then offered to him the present and the letter,
and he read the letter, and rejoiced at it greatly.
The present was a horse worth ten thousand
pieces of gold, with its saddle adorned with
gold set with jewels; and a book, and a sump-
170 THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF

tuous dress, and a hundred different kinds of
white cloths of Egypt, and silks of Es-Suweys
and El-Koofeh and Alexandria, and Greek car-
pets, and a hundred menns of silk and _ flax,
and a wonderful, extraordinary cup of crystal,
in the midst of which was represented the figure
of a lion with a man kneeling before him and
having drawn an arrow in his bow with his ut-
most force, and also the table of Suleyman the
son of Déood, on whom be peace! And the
contents of the letter were as follows :—‘“ Peace
from the King Er-Rasheed, strengthened by God
(who hath given to him and to his ancestors
the rank of the noble, and wide-spread: glory),
on the fortunate Sultan. To proceed: thy letter
hath reached us, and we rejoiced at it; and we
have sent the book [entitled] the ‘Delight of the
Intelligent, and the Rare Present for Friends ;’
together with varieties of royal rarities; there-
fore do us the favour to accept them: and peace
be on thee!” ‘Then the King conferred upon
me abundant presents, and treated me with the
utmost honour; so I prayed for him, and thanked
him for his beneficence; and some days after
that, I begged his permission to depart; but
he permitted me not save after great pressing.
Thereupon I took leave of him, and went forth
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 171

from his city, with merchants and other com-
panions, to return to my country, without any
desire for travel or commerce.

We continued our voyage until we had passed
many islands; but in the midst of our course
over the sea, there appeared to us a number of
boats, which surrounded us, and in them were
men like devils, having in their hands swords
and daggers, and equipped with coats of mail, and
arms and bows. They smote us, and wounded
and slew those of us who opposed them, and,
having taken the ship with its contents, con-
veyed us to an island, where they sold us as
slaves, for the smallest price. But a rich man
purchased me, and took me into his house, fed
me and gave me to drink, and clad me and
treated me in a friendly manner. So my soul
was tranquillised, and I rested a little. Then,
one day, he said to me, ‘Dost thou not know
any art or trade?” I answered him, “O my
lord, I am a merchant: I know nothing but
traffic.” And he said, ‘‘ Dost thou know the art
of shooting with the bow and arrow?” “Yes,”
I answered, “I know that.’ And thereupon he
brought me a bow and arrows, and mounted me
behind him upon an elephant: then he departed
at the close of night, and, conveying me among
172 THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF

some great trees, came to a lofty and firm tree,
upon which he made me climb; and he. gave
me the bow and arrows, saying to me, ‘Sit
here now, and when the elephants come in the
daytime to this place, shoot at them with the
arrows : perhaps thou wilt strike one of them;
and if one of them fall, come to me and inform
me.” He then left me and departed; and I
was terrified and frightened. I remained con-
cealed in the tree until the sun rose; when the
elephants came forth wandering about among
the trees, and I ceased not to discharge my
arrows till I shot one of them. I therefore.
went in the evening to my master, and informed
him; and he was delighted with me, and treated
me with honour; and he went and removed the
slain elephant.

_ In this manner I canine: every day shoot!
ing one, and my master coming and removing
it, until, one day, I was sitting in the tree,
concealed, and suddenly elephants innumerable
came forth, and I heard the sounds of their
roaring and growling, which were such that I
imagined the earth trembled beneath them.
They all surrounded ,the tree in which I
was sitting, their circuit being fifty cubits, and
a huge elephant, enormously great, advanced
 

 

 

To face page 172.
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 175

and came to the tree, and, having wound his
trunk around it, pulled it up by the roots, and
cast it upon the ground. I fell down senseless
among the elephants, and the great elephant,
approaching me, wound his trunk around me,
raised me on his back, and went away with
me, the other elephants accompanying. And
he ceased not to proceed with me, while I was
absent from the world, until he had taken me
into a place, and thrown me from his back,
when he departed, and the other elephants
followed him. So I rested a little, and my
terror subsided; and I found myself among
the bones of elephants. I knew therefore that
this was the burial-place of the elephants, and
that that elephant had conducted me to it on
account of the teeth.

J. then arose, and journeyed a day and a
night until I arrived at the house of my
master, who saw me changed in complexion |
by fright and hunger. And he was rejoiced
at my return, and said, ‘‘By Allah, thou hast
pained our heart; for I went and found the
tree torn up, and I imagined that the elephants
had destroyed thee. Tell me, then, how it
happened with thee.” So I informed him of
that which had befallen me; whereat he
176 THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF

wondered greatly, and rejoiced; and he said
to me, “Dost thou know that place?” I
answered, “Yes, O my master.” And he took
me, and we went out, mounted on an elephant,
and proceeded until we came to that place;
and when my master beheld those numerous
teeth, he rejoiced greatly at the sight of them;
and he carried away as much as he desired, and
we returned to the house. He then treated
me with increased favour,.and said to me, ‘‘O
my son, thou hast directed us to a means of
very great gain. May God then recompense
thee well! Thou art freed for the sake of
God, whose name be exalted! These elephants
used to destroy many of us on account of
[our seeking] these teeth; but God hath pre-
served thee from them, and thou hast profited
us by these teeth to which thou hast directed
us.” I replied, ““O my master, may God free
thy neck from the fire [of Hell]! And I re-
quest of thee, O my master, that thou give me
permission to depart to my country,” “ Yes,”
said he: “thou shalt have that permission :
but we have a fair, on the occasion of which
the merchants come to us and purchase the
teeth of these elephants of us. The time of
the fair is now near; and when they have come
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 177

to us, I will send thee with them and will
give thee what will convey thee to thy
country.” So I prayed for him and thanked
him; and I remained with him, treated with
respect and honour.

Then, some days after this, the merchants
came as he had said, and bought and sold
and exchanged ; and when they were about to
depart, my master came to me, and said, “The
merchants are going: therefore arise, that thou
mayest depart with them to thy country.” Ac-
cordingly, I arose, determined to go with them.
They had bought a great quantity of those
teeth, and packed up their loads, and embarked
them in the ship; and my master sent me with
them. He paid for me the money for my
passage in the ship, together with all that was.
required of me, and gave me a large quantity
of goods. And we pursued our voyage from
island to island until we had crossed the sea
and landed on the shore, when the merchants
took forth what was with them, and sold. I
also sold what I had at an excellent rate; and
I purchased some of the most elegant of things
suited for presents, and beautiful rarities, with
everything that I desired. I likewise bought
for myself a beast to ride, and we went forth,

2
178 THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF

and crossed the deserts from country to country,
until I arrived at Baghddd; when I went in
to the Khaleefeh, and, having given the salu-
tation, and kissed his hand, I informed him
of what had happened and what had befallen
me; whereupon he rejoiced at my safety, and
thanked God (whose name be exalted!); and
he caused my story to be written in letters of
gold. I then entered my house, and met my
family and my brethren. This is the end of
the history of the events that happened to me
during my voyages; and praise be to God, the
One, the Creator, the Maker !

THE CONCLUSION OF THE STORY OF ES-SINDIBAD OF
THE SEA AND ES-SINDIBAD OF THE LAND.

And when Hs-Sindibdd of the Sea had finished
his story, he ordered his servant to give to Es-
Sindibid of the Land a hundred pieces of gold,
and said to him, ‘‘ How now, O my brother? Hast
thou heard of the like of these afflictions and
calamities and distresses, or have such troubles as
have befallen me befallen any one else, or hath
any one else suffered such hardships as I have
suffered? Know then that these pleasures are a
compensation for the toil and humiliations that I
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA 179

have experienced.” And upon this, Es-Sindibid
of the Land advanced and kissed his hands,
and said to him, “O my lord, by Allah, thou
hast undergone great horrors, and hast deserved
these abundant favours: continue then, O my
lord, in joy and security; for God hath re-
moved from thee the evils of fortune; and I
beg of God that He may continue to thee thy
pleasures, and bless thy days.” And upon this,
Es-Sindibéd of the Sea bestowed favours upon
him, and made him his boon-companion; and
he quitted him not by night nor by day as
long as they both lived.

Praise be to God, the Mighty, the Omnipo-
tent, the Strong, the Eminent in power, the
Creator of the heaven and the earth, and of
the land and the seas!
ALI BABA

THE FORTY THIEVES
 
THE STORY OF
ALI BABA anp THE FORTY ROBBERS

DESTROYED BY A SLAVE

4) N a town in Persia there lived two
‘1 brothers, one named Cassim, the
other Ali Baba. ‘Their father left
@| them scarcely anything; but as
" he had divided his little property
equally between them, it should seem their
fortune ought to have been equal; but chance
determined, otherwise.

Cassim married a wife who soon after became
heiress to a large sum, and a warehouse full of
rich goods; so that he all at once became one
of the richest and most considerable merchants,
~ and lived at his ease.

Ali Baba, on the other hand, who had married
a woman as poor as himself, lived in a very

wretched habitation, and had no other means
183 K

  
 
184 ALI BABA AND

to maintain his wife and children but his daily
labour of cutting wood, and bringing it upon
three asses, which were his whole substance, to
town to sell.

One day, when Ali Baba was in the forest, and
had just cut wood enough to load his asses; he
saw at a distance a great cloud of dust, which
seemed to be driven towards: him; he observed.
it very attentively, and distinguished soon after
a body of horse. Though there had been no
rumour of robbers in that country, Ali Baba began
to think that they might prove such, and without
considering what might become of his asses, was
resolved to save himself. He climbed up a large,
thick tree, whose branches, at a little distance
from the ground, were so close to one another
that’ there was but little space between them.
He placed himself in the middle, from whence
he could see all that passed without being dis-
covered; and the tree stood at the base of a
single rock, so steep and craggy that nobody
could climb up it.

The troop, who were all well mounted and
armed, came to the foot of this rock, and there
dismounted. Ali Baba counted forty of them,
and, from their looks and equipage, was assured
that they were robbers. Nor was he mistaken in
LORE ea

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To face page 184.
THE FORTY THIEVES 187

his opinion; for they were a troop of banditti,
who, without doing any harm to the neighbour-
hood, robbed at a distance, and made that place
their rendezvous. But what confirmed him in his
opinion was, that every man unbridled his horse,
tied him to some shrub, and hung about his neck
a bag of corn which they brought behind them;
then each of them took his saddle wallet, which
seemed to Ali Baba to be full of gold and silver
from its weight. One, who was the most person-
able amongst them, and whom he took to be
their captain, came, with his wallet on his back,
under the tree in which Ali Baba was concealed,
and making his way through some shrubs, pro-
nounced these words so distinctly, “ Open, Sesame,”
that Ali Baba heard him. As soon as the captain
of the robbers had uttered these words, a door
opened in the rock; and after he had made all
his troop enter before him, he followed them,
when the door shut again of itself.

The robbers stayed some time within the rock,
and Ali Baba, who feared that some one, or all
of them together, might come out and catch
him if he should endeavour to make his escape,
was obliged to sit patiently in the tree. He
was nevertheless tempted to get down, mount
one of their horses and lead another, driving’
188 ALI BABA AND

his asses before him with all the haste he could.
to town; but the uncertainty of the event made
him choose the safest course.

At last the door opened again, and the fort~
robbers came out. As the captain went in
he came out first, and: stood to see them all i
by him; when Ali Baba heard him make
door close by pronouncing these words, “,
Sesame.” Every man went and bridled his k
fastened his wallet, and mounted again ;
when the captain saw them all ready, h
himself at their head, and they returned th:
they had come.

Ali Baba did not immediately quit his
for, said he to himself, they may have for:
something and may come back again, and °
shall be taken. He followed them with hi
as far as he could see them, and after
stayed a considerable time before he desc:
Remembering the words the captain
robbers used to cause the door to ope
shut, he had the curiosity to try if ~
nouncing them would have the same c..
Accordingly, he went among the shrubs, ana
perceiving the door concealed behind them, stood
before it, and said, ‘‘ Open, Sesame.” ‘The door
instantly flew wide open,

    
 

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THE FORTY THIEVES 1gt’

Ali Baba, who expected a dark, dismal cavern,
was surprised to see it well lighted and spacious,
in form of a vault, which received the light from
an opening at the top of the rock. He saw all
sorts of provisions, rich bales of silk, stuff, brocade,
and valuable carpeting, piled upon one another ;
gold and silver ingots in great heaps, and money
in bags. The sight of all these riches made him
suppose that this cave must have been occupied
for ages by robbers, who had succeeded one
another.

Ali Baba did not stand long to consider what
he should do, but went immediately into the
cave, and, as soon as he had entered, the door
shut of itself. But this did not disturb him,
because he knew- the secret to open it again.
He never regarded the silver, but made the
best use of his time in carrying out as much
of the gold coin, which was in bags, at several
times, as he thought his three asses could carry.
He collected his asses, which were dispersed,
and when he had loaded them with the bags,
laid wood over in such a manner that they
could not be seen. When he had done he
stood before the door, and pronouncing the
words, ‘Shut, Sesame,” the door closed after
him; for it had shut of itself while he saw
192 ALI BABA AND

within, but remained ‘open while he was out.
He then made the best of his way to town.

When Ali Baba got home, he drove his asses
into a little yard, shut the gates very carefully,
threw off the wood that covered the bags, carried
them into his house, and ranged them in order
before his wife, who sat on a sofa.

His wife handled the bags, and finding them
full of money, suspected that her husband had
been robbing, insomuch that she could not help
saying, “Ali Baba, have you been so unhappy
as to ” “Be quiet, wife,’ interrupted Ali
Baba, ‘do not frighten yourself; I am no robber,
unless he may be one who steals from robbers.
You will no longer entertain an ill opinion of
me when I shall tell you my good fortune.” He
then emptied the bags, which raised such a
great heap of gold as dazzled his wife’s eyes;
and when he had done, told her the whole ad-
venture from beginning to end, and, above all,
recommended her to keep it secret.

 

The wife, cured of her fears, rejoiced with
her husband at their good fortune, and would
count all the gold, piece by piece. ‘“ Wife,”
replied Ali Baba, “you do not know what you
undertake when you pretend to count the
money; you will never have done. I will dig
THE FORTY THIEVES 193

a hole, and bury it; there is no time to be
lost.” ‘You are in the right, husband,” replied
she; ‘“‘but let us know, as nigh as possible, how
much we have. I will borrow a small measure
in the neighbourhood, and measure it, while
you dig the hole.” “What you are going to
do is to no purpose, wife,” said Ali Baba. “If
you would take my advice, you had better let
it alone; but keep the secret, and do what you
please.”

Away the wife ran to her _ brother-in-law
Cassim, who lived just by, but was not then at
home; and addressing herself to his wife, desired
her to lend her a measure for a little while.
Her sister-in-law asked her, whether she would
have a great or a small one? The other asked
for a small one. She bade her are a little, and
she would readily fetch one.

The sister-in-law did so, but, as she knew
Ali Baba’s poverty, she was curious to know
what sort of grain his wife wanted to measure,
and artfully putting some suet at the bottom of
the measure, brought it to her with an excuse,
that she was sorry that she had made her stay |
so long, but that she could not find it sooner.

Ali Baba’s wife went home, set the measure
upon the heap of gold, filled it and emptied it
194 . ALI BABA AND

often upon the sofa, till she had done; when
she was very well satisfied to find the number
of measures amounted to so many as they did,
and went to tell her husband, who had almost
finished digging the hole. While Ali Baba was

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burying the gold, his wife, to show her exactness
and diligence to her sister-in-law, carried the
measure back again, but without taking notice
that a piece of gold had stuck to the bottom.
“Sister,” said she, giving it to her again, “you
see that I have not kept your measure long; I
THE FORTY THIEVES . 195

am obliged to you for it, and return it with
thanks.”

As soon as Ali Baba’s wife was gone, Cassim’s
looked at. the bottom of the measure, and was
in inexpressible surprise to find a piece of
gold stuck to it. Envy immediately possessed
her breast. “What!” said she, “has Ali Baba
gold so plentiful as to measure it? Where has
that poor wretch got all this wealth?” Cassim,
her husband, was not at home, but at his count-
ing-house, which he left always in the evening.
His wife waited for him, and thought the time
an age; so great was her impatience to tell
him the circumstance, at which she guessed he
would be as much surprised as herself.

When Cassim came home, his wife said to
him, “Cassim, I know you think yourself rich,
but you are much mistaken. Ali Baba is in-
finitely richer than you; he does not count
his money, but measures it.” Cassim desired
her to explain the riddle, which she did, by
telling him the stratagem she had’ used to
make the discovery, and showed him the piece
of money, which was so old that they could not
tell in what prince’s reign it was coined.

Cassim, instead of being pleased, conceived a
base envy at his brother’s prosperity; he could
196 ALI BABA AND

not sleep all that night, and went to him in
the morning before sunrise. Cassim, after he
had married the rich widow, had never treated
Ali Baba as a brother, but neglected him. ‘“ Ali
Baba,” said he, accosting him, “you are very
reserved in your affairs; you pretend to be
miserably poor, and yet you measure gold.”
“How, brother?” replied Ali Baba; “I do not
know what you mean: explain yourself.” ‘Do
not pretend ignorance,” replied Cassim, show-
ing him the piece of gold his wife had given
him. ‘How many of these pieces,’ added he,
‘have you? My wife found this at the bottom
of the measure you borrowed yesterday.”

By this discourse Ali Baba perceived that
Cassim and his wife, through his own wife’s
folly, knew what they had so much reason to
conceal. But what was done could not be re-
called; therefore, without showing the least
surprise or trouble, he confessed all, told his
brother by what chance he had discovered this
retreat of the thieves, in what place it was, and
offered him part of his treasure to keep the
secret. ‘I expect as much,” replied Cassim
haughtily; ‘but I must know exactly where
this treasure is, and how I may visit. it myself
when I choose; otherwise I will go and inform
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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THE FORTY THIEVES 199

against you, and then you will not only get no
more, but will lose all you have, and I shall
have a share for my information.”

Ali Baba, more out of his natural good-temper,
than frightened by the insulting menaces of his
unnatural brother, told him all he desired, and
even the very words he was to use to gain ad-
mission into the cave.

Cassim, who wanted no more of Ali Baba,
left him, resolving to be beforehand with him,
and hoping to get all the treasure to himself.
He rose the next morning, long before the sun,
and set out for the forest with ten mules bear-
ing great chests, which he designed to fill; and
followed the road which Ali Baba had pointed
out to him. He was not long before he reached
the rock, and found out the place by the tree,
and other marks which his brother had given
him. When he reached the entrance of the
cavern he pronounced the words, “Open, Se-
same;” the door immediately opened, and, when
he was in, closed upon him. In examining the
cave, he was in great admiration to find much
more riches than he had apprehended from Ali
Baba’s relation. He was so covetous, and greedy
of wealth, that he could have spent the whole
day in feasting his eyes with so much treasure,
200 ALI BABA AND

if the thought that he came to carry some
away had not hindered him. He laid as many
bags of gold as he could carry at the door of
the cavern; but his thoughts were so full of the
great riches he should possess, that he could
not think of the necessary word to make it open,
but, instead of Sesame, said “ Open, Barley,”
and was much amazed to find that the door
remained fast shut. He named several sorts of
grain, but still the door would not open.

Cassim had never expected such an incident,
and was so alarmed at the danger he was in,
that the more he endeavoured to remember the
word Sesame, the more his memory was con-
founded, and he had as much forgotten it as if
he had never heard it mentioned. He threw
down the bags he had loaded himself with, and
walked distractedly up and down the cave,
without having the least regard to the riches
that were round him.

About noon the robbers chanced to visit their
cave, and at some distance from it saw Cassim’s
mules straggling about the rock, with great
chests on their backs. Alarmed at this novelty,
they galloped full speed to the cave; they
drove away the mules, which Cassim had
neglected to fasten, and they strayed through
THE FORTY THIEVES 201

the forest so far, that they were soon out of
sight. The robbers never gave themselves the
trouble to pursue them, being more concerned
to know who they belonged to. And while
some of them searched about the rock, the

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captain and the rest went directly to the door,
with their naked sabres in their hands ; and pro-
nouncing the proper words, it opened.

Cassim, who heard the noise of the horses’
feet from the middle of the cave, never doubted
of the arrival of the robbers, and his approaching
death; but was resolved to make one effort to
202 ; ALI BABA AND

escape from them. To this end he rushed to
the door, and no sooner heard the word Sesame,
which he had forgotten, and saw the door open,
than he ran out and threw the leader down,
but could not escape the other robbers, who
with their sabres soon deprived him of life.
The first care of the robbers after this was
to examine the cave. They found all the bags
which Cassim had brought to the door to be
ready to load his mules, and carried them again
to their places, without missing what Ali Baba
had taken away before. Then holding a coun-
cil, and deliberating upon this occurrence, they
guessed that Cassim, when he was in, could
not get out again; but could not imagine how
he had entered. It came into their heads that
he might have got down by the top of the
cave; but the aperture by which it received
light was so high, and the rock so inaccessible
without, besides that nothing showed that he
had done so, that they gave up this conjecture.
That he came in at the door they could not
believe, however, unless he had the secret of
making it open. In short, none of them could
imagine which way he had entered; for they
were all persuaded nobody knew their secret,
little imagining that Ali Baba had watched them.
THE FORTY THIEVES 203

It was a matter of the greatest importance to
them to secure their riches. They agreed, there-
fore, to cut Cassim’s body into four quarters,
to hang two on one side and two on the other,
within the door of the cave, to terrify any person
who should attempt the same thing, determining
not to return to the cave till the stench of the
body was completely exhaled. They had no
sooner taken this resolution than they put it
in execution, and when they had nothing more
to detain them, left the place of their hoards
well closed. They mounted their horses, went
to beat the roads again, and to attack the
caravans they might meet.

In the meantime Cassim’s wife was very
uneasy when night came and her husband was
not returned. She ran to Ali Baba in alarm,
and said, “I believe, brother-in-law, that you
know Cassim, your brother, is gone to the forest,
and upon what account. It is now night, and
he is not returned; I am afraid some misfortune
‘thas happened to him.” Ali Baba, who had ex-
pected that his brother, after what he had said,
would go to the forest, had declined going him-
self that day for fear of giving him any umbrage ;
therefore told her, without any reflection upon
her husband’s unhandsome behaviour, that she
204 ALI BABA AND

need not frighten herself, for that certainly Cassim
would not think it proper to come into the town
till the night should be pretty far advanced. .

Cassim’s wife, considering how much it con-
cerned her husband to keep, the business secret,
was the more easily persuaded to believe her
brother-in-law. She went home again, and waited
patiently till midnight. Then her fear redoubled,
and her grief was the more sensible because she
was forced to keep it to herself. She repented
of her foolish curiosity, and cursed her desire of
penetrating into the affairs of her brother and
sister-in-law. She spent all the night in weeping ;
and, as soon as it was day, went to them, telling
them, by her tears, the cause of her coming.

Ali Baba did not wait for his sister-in-law to
desire him to go to see what was become of
Cassim, but departed immediately with his three
asses, begging of her first to moderate her afflic-
tion. He went to the forest, and when he came
near the rock, having seen neither his brother nor
the mules in his way, was seriously alarmed at
finding some blood spilt near the door, which he
took for an ill omen; but when he had pro-
nounced the word, and the door had opened, he
was struck with horror at the dismal sight. of his
brother’s quarters. He was not long in deter-
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To face page 204.
THE FORTY THIEVES 207

mining how he should pay the last dues to his
brother ; but without adverting to the little fra-
ternal affection he had shown for him, went into
the cave, to find something to enshroud his re-
mains, and having loaded one of his asses with
them, covered them over with wood. The other
two asses he loaded with bags of gold, covering
them with wood also as before ; and then bidding
the door shut, came away; but was so cautious
as to stop some time at the end of the forest, that
he might not go into the town before night.
When he came home, he drove the two asses.
loaded with gold into his little yard, and left the
care of unloading them to his wife, while he led
the other to his sister-in-law’s house.

Ali Baba knocked at the door, which was
opened by Morgiana, an intelligent slave, fruit-
ful in inventions to ensure success in the most
difficult undertakings; and Ali Baba knew her
to be such. When he came into the court, he
unloaded the ass, and taking Morgiana aside,
said to her, “The first thing I ask of you is
an inviolable secrecy, which you will find is
necessary both for your mistress’s sake and mine.
Your master’s body is contained in these two
bundles, and our business is, to bury him as if

he had died a natural death. Go, tell your
L
208 ALI BABA AND

mistress I want to speak with her; and mind
what I have said to you.”

Morgiana went to her mistress, and Ali Baba
followed her. “Well, brother,” said she, with
great impatience, ‘‘what news do you bring me
of my husband? I perceive no comfort in your
countenance.” ‘‘Sister,” answered Ali Baba, “I
cannot satisfy your inquiries unless you hear my
story from the beginning to the end, without
speaking a word; for it is of as great import-
ance to you as to me to keep what has happened
secret.” “Alas!” said she, “this preamble lets
me know that my husband is not to be found; .
but at the same time I know the necessity of
the secrecy you require, and I must constrain
myself: say on, I will hear you.”

Ali Baba then detailed the incidents of his
journey, till he came to the finding of Cassim’s
body. “Now,” said he, “sister, I have some-
thing to relate which will afflict you the more,
because it is perhaps what you so little expect;
but it cannot now be remedied. If my endeavours
can comfort you, I offer to put that which God
hath sent me to what you have, and marry you;
assuring you that my wife will not be jealous,
and that we shall live happily together. If this
proposal is agreeable to you, we must think of
THE FORTY THIEVES 209

acting so as that my brother should appear
to have died a natural death. I think you
may leave the management of the business to
Morgiana, and I will contribute all that lies in
my power to your consolation.” .
What could Cassim’s widow do better than
accept of this proposal? For though her first
husband had left behind him a plentiful sub-
stance, his brother was now much richer, and by .
the discovery of this treasure might be still more
so. Instead, therefore, of rejecting the offer,
she regarded it as the sure means of comfort;
and drying up her tears, which had begun to
flow abundantly, and suppressing. the outcries
usual with women who have lost their husbands,
showed Ali Baba that she approved of his pro-
posal. Ali Baba left the widow, recommended
to Morgiana to act her part well, and then
returned home with his ass. |
Morgiana went out at the same time to an
apothecary, and asked for a sort of lozenges
which he prepared, and were very efficacious in
the most dangerous disorders. The apothecary
inquired who was ill at her master’s? She re-
plied with a sigh, her good master Cassim
himself: that they knew not what his disorder
was, but that he could neither eat nor speak.
210 ALI BABA AND

After these words, Morgiana carried the lozenges
home with her, and the next morning went to
the same apothecary’s again, and, with tears in
her eyes, asked for an essence which they used
to give to sick people only when at the last ex-
tremity. ‘‘Alas!” said she, taking it from the
apothecary, “I am afraid that this remedy will
have no better effect than the lozenges, and that
_I shall lose my good master.”

On the other hand, as Ali Baba and his wife
were often seen to go between Cassim’s and
their own house all that day, and to seem
melancholy, nobody was surprised in the even-
ing to hear the lamentable shrieks and cries
of Cassim’s wife and Morgiana, who gave out
everywhere that her master was dead.

The next morning, soon after day appeared,
Morgiana, who knew a certain old cobbler that
opened his stall early, before other people, went
to him, and bidding him good-morrow, put a
piece of gold into his hand. ‘“ Well,” said Baba
Mustapha, which was his name, and who was a
merry old fellow, looking at the gold, though it
was hardly daylight, and seeing what it was,
“this is good handsel; what must I do for it? I
am ready.” ,

‘Baba Mustapha,” said Morgiana, “you must
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To face page 213.
THE FORTY THIEVES — 213

take with you your sewing tackle, and go with
me; but I must tell you, I shall blindfold you
when you come to such a place.”

Baba Mustapha seemed to hesitate a little
at these words. “Oh! oh!” replied he, “you
would have me do something against my con-
science, or against my honour?” ‘God forbid!”
said Morgiana, putting another piece of gold into
his hand, “that I should ask anything that is
contrary to your honour; only come along with
me, and fear nothing.”

Baba Mustapha went. with Morgiana, who, after
she had bound his eyes with a handkerchief at
the place she had mentioned, conveyed him to
her deceased master’s house, and never unloosed
his eyes till he had entered the room where she
had put the corpse together. ‘‘ Baba Mustapha,”
said she, “‘you must make haste and sew these
quarters together; and when you have done, I
will give you another piece of gold.”

After Baba Mustapha had finished his task, she
blindfolded him again, gave him the third piece
of gold as she had promised, and recommending
secrecy *to him, carried him back to the place
where she first bound his eyes, pulled off the
bandage, and let him go home, but watched him
that he returned towards his stall, till he was
214 ALI BABA AND

quite out of sight, for fear he should have the
curiosity to return and dodge her; she then went
home.

By the time Morgiana had warmed some water
to wash the body, Ali Baba came with incense to
embalm it, after which it was sewn up in a wind-
ing-sheet. Not long after, the joiner, according |
to Ali Baba’s orders, brought the bier, which
Morgiana received at the door, and helped Ali
Baba to put the body into it; when she went to
the mosque to inform the imaum that they were
ready. The people of the mosque, whose busi-
ness it was to wash the dead, offered to perform
their duty; but she told them that it was done
already.

Morgiana had scarcely got home before the
imaum and the other ministers of the mosque
arrived. Four neighbours carried the corpse on
their shoulders to the burying-ground, following
the imaum, who recited some prayers. Morgiana,
as a slave to the deceased, followed the corpse,
weeping, beating her breast, and tearing her hair ;
and Ali Baba came after with some neighbours,
who often relieved the others in carrying the
corpse to the burying-ground.

Cassim’s wife stayed at home mourning, utter-
ing lamentable cries with the women of the
THE FORTY THIEVES 215

neighbourhood, who came, according to custom,
during the funeral, and joining their lamentations
with hers, filled the quarter far and near with
sorrow.

 

In this manner Cassim’s melancholy death was
concealed, and hushed up between Ali Baba, his
wife, Cassim’s widow, and Morgiana, with so much
contrivance that nobody in the city had the least
knowledge or suspicion of the cause of it.
216 ALI BABA AND

Three or four days after the funeral, Ali Baba
removed his few goods openly to the widow’s
house; but the money he had taken from the
robbers he conveyed thither by night. Soon after
the marriage with his sister-in-law was published,
and, as these marriages are common, nobody was
surprised.

As for Cassim’s warehouse, Ali Baba gave it to
his own eldest son, promising that if he man-
aged it well he would soon give him a fortune
to marry very advantageously according to his
situation. :

Let us now leave Ali Baba to enjoy the begin-
ning of his good fortune, and return to the
forty robbers.

They came again at the appointed time to
visit their retreat in the forest; but great -was
their surprise to find Cassim’s body taken away,
with some of their bags of gold. ‘We are cer-
tainly discovered,” said the captain, “and if we
do not speedily apply some remedy, shall gradu-
ally lose all the riches which our ancestors and
ourselves have, with so much pains and danger,
been so many years amassing together. All
that we can think of the loss which we have
sustained is, that the thief whom we surprised
had the secret of opening the door, and we came
THE FORTY THIEVES 207

luckily as he was coming out: but his body
being removed, and with it some of our money,
plainly shows that he had an accomplice; and
as it is likely that there were but two who had
discovered our secret, and one has been caught,
we must look narrowly after the other. What
say you, my lads?”

All the robbers thought the captain’s proposal
so advisable that they unanimously approved of
it, and agreed that they must lay all other enter-
prises aside, to follow this closely, and not give
it up till they had succeeded.

“T expected no less,” said the captain, “from
your fidelity to our cause; but, first of all, one
of you who is bold, artful, and enterprising,
must go into the town, disguised as a traveller
and a stranger, to try if he can hear any talk
of the strange death of the man whom we have
killed, as he deserved, and endeavour to find
out who he was, and where he lived. This is
a matter of the first importance for us to ascer-
tain, that we may do nothing which we may have
reason to repent of, by discovering ourselves in
a country where we have lived so long unknown,
and where we have so much reason to continue;
but to warn him who shall take upon himself this
‘ commission, and to prevent our being deceived
218 ALI BABA AND

by his giving us a false report, which may be
the cause of our ruin, I ask you all, if you do
not think that in case of treachery, or even error
of judgment, he should suffer death ?”

Without waiting for the suffrages of his com- -
panions, one of the robbers started up, and said,
“T submit to this condition, and think it an
honour to expose my life, by taking the com-
mission upon me; but remember, at least, if I
do not succeed, that I neither wanted courage
nor goodwill to serve the troop.”

After this robber had received great commenda-
tions from the captain and his comrades, he dis-
guised himself so that nobody would take him for
what he was; and taking his leave of the troop
that night, went into the town just at daybreak,
and walked up and down, till accidentally he
came to Baba Mustapha’s stall, which was always
open before any of the shops.

Baba Mustapha was seated with an awl in his
hand, just going to work. The robber saluted
him, bidding him good-morrow ; and perceiving
that he was old, said, ‘Honest man, you begin
to work very early: is it possible that one of
your age can see so well? I question, even if
it were somewhat lighter, whether you could see
to stitch.”
THE FORTY THIEVES 219

“Certainly,” replied Baba Mustapha, “you
must be a stranger, and do not know me; for,
old as I am, I have extraordinary good eyes ;
and you will not doubt it when I tell you that
I sewed a dead body together in a place where
I had not so much light as I have now.”

The robber was overjoyed to think that he
had addressed himself, at his first coming into
the town, to a man who in all probability could
give him the intelligence he wanted. “A dead
body!” replied he, with affected amazement, to
make him explain himself. “What could you
sew up a dead body for? You mean, you sewed
up his winding-sheet.” ‘No, no,” answered
Baba Mustapha; ‘“‘I perceive your meaning: you
want to have me speak out, but you shall know
no more.”

The robber wanted no farther assurance to be
persuaded that he had discovered what he sought.
He pulled out a piece of gold, and putting it into
Baba Mustapha’s hand, said to him, ‘‘I do not
want to learn your secret, though I can assure
you I would not divulge it if you trusted me
with it. The only thing which I desire of you
is, to do me the favour to show me the house
where you stitched up the dead body.”

“If I were disposed to do you that favour,”
220 ALI BABA AND

replied Baba Mustapha, holding the money in
his hand, ready to return it, “I assure you I

cannot; and you may believe me, on my word.

 

I was taken to a certain place, where I was
blinded. I was then led to the house, and after-
wards brought back again in the same manner.
THE FORTY THIEVES 221

You see, therefore, the impossibility of my doing
what you desire.”

“Well,” replied the robber, “you may, how-
ever, remember a little of the way that you
were led blindfolded. Come, let me blind your
eyes at the same place. We will walk together.
Perhaps you may recognise some part; and as
everybody ought to be paid for their trouble,
there is another piece of gold for you. Gratify
me in what I ask you.” So saying, he put
another piece of gold into his hand.

The two pieces of gold were great temptations
to Baba Mustapha. He looked at them a long
time in his hand, without saying a word, thinking
with himself what he should do; but at last
he pulled out his purse, and put them in. ‘I
cannot assure you,” said he to the robber, “that
I can remember the way exactly; but since you
desire, I will try what I can do.” At these
words Baba Mustapha rose up, to the great
joy of the robber, and, without shutting his shop,
where he had nothing valuable to lose, he led
the robber to the place where Morgiana had

bound his eyes. “It was here,” said Baba
Mustapha, “I was blindfolded; and I turned
as you see me.” . The robber, who had his

handkerchief ready, tied it over his eyes, walked
222 ALI BABA AND

by him till he stopped, partly leading, and partly
guided by him. “I think,” said Baba Mustapha,
“IT went no further,” and he had now stopped
directly at Cassim’s house, where. Ali Baba then
lived. The thief, before he pulled off the band,
marked the door with a piece of chalk, which
he had ready in his hand; and then asked him
if he knew whose house that was? To which
Baba Mustapha replied, that as he did not live .
in that neighbourhood, he could not tell.

The robber, finding he could discover no
more from Baba Mustapha, thanked him for the
trouble he had taken, and left him to go back
to his stall, while he returned to the forest, per-
suaded that he should be very well received.

A little after the robber and Baba Mustapha
had parted, Morgiana went out of Ali Baba’s
house upon some errand, and upon her return,
seeing the mark the robber had made, stopped
to observe it. ‘“ What can be the meaning of
this mark?” said she to herself; “somebody
intends my master no good: however, with what-
ever intention it was done, it is advisable to
guard against the worst.” Accordingly, she
fetched a piece of chalk, and marked two or
three doors on each side, in the same manner,
without saying a word to her master or mistress.
THE FORTY THIEVES 223

In the meantime the thief rejoined his troop
in the forest, and recounted to them his success ;
expatiating upon his good fortune in meeting
so soon with the only person who could inform
him of what he wanted to know. All the
robbers listened to him with the utmost satis-
faction; when the captain, after commending
his diligence, addressing himself to them all,
said, ‘Comrades, we have no time to lose: let
us set off well armed, without its appearing
who we are; but that we may not excite any
suspicion, let only one or two go into the town
together, and join at our rendezvous, which
shall be the great square. In the meantime
our comrade who brought us the good news,
and I, will go and find out the house, that we
may consult what had best be done.”

This speech and plan were approved of by
all, and they were soon ready. They filed off
in parties of two each, after some interval of
- time, and got into the town without being in
the least suspected. The captain, and he who
had visited the town in the morning as spy,
came in the last. He led the captain into the
street where he had marked Ali Baba’s resi-
dence; and when they came to the first of the
houses which Morgiana had marked, he pointed
224 ALI BABA AND

it out. But the captain observed that the next
door was chalked in the same manner and in
the same place; and showing it to his guide,
asked him which house it was, that, or the
first? The guide was so confounded, that he
knew not what answer to make; but still more
puzzled when he and the captain saw five or
six houses similarly marked. He assured the
captain, with an oath, that he had marked but
one, and could not tell who had chalked the
rest so that he could not distinguish the house
which the cobbler had stopped at.

The captain, finding that their design had
proved abortive, went directly to the place of
rendezvous, and told the first of his troops
whom he met that they had lost their labour,
and must return to their cave. He himself set
them the example, and they all returned as
they had come.

When the troop was all got together, the cap-
tain told them the reason of their returning ;
and presently the conductor was declared by
all worthy of death. He condemned himself,
acknowledging that he ought to have taken
better precaution, and prepared to receive the
stroke from him who was appointed to cut off
his head.
THE FORTY THIEVES 238

But as the safety of the troop required that
an injury should not go unpunished, another
of the gang, who promised himself that he
should succeed better, presented himself, and
his offer being accepted, he went and corrupted
Baba Mustapha, as the other had done; and
being shown the house, marked it in a place
more remote from sight, with red chalk.

Not long after Morgiana, whose eyes nothing
could escape, went out, and seeing the red chalk,
and arguing with herself as she had done before,
marked the other neighbours’ houses in the same
place and manner.

The robber, at his return to his company,
valued himself much on the precaution he had
taken, which he looked upon as an infallible
way of distinguishing Ali Baba’s house from the
others; and the captain and all of them thought
it must succeed. They conveyed themselves into
the town with the same precaution as before;
but when the robber and his captain came to
the street, they found the same difficulty; at
which the captain was enraged, and the robber
in as great confusion as his predecessor.

Thus the captain and his troop were forced
to retire a second time, and much more dis-

satisfied ; while the robber who had been. the
.M
226 ALI BABA AND

author of the mistake underwent the same punish-
ment; which he willingly submitted to.

The captain, having lost two brave fellows of
his troop, was afraid of diminishing it too much
by pursuing this plan to get information of the
residence of their plunderer. He found by their
example that their heads were not so good as
their hands on such occasions, and therefore
resolved to take upon himself the important
commission.

Accordingly he went and addressed himself to
Baba Mustapha, who did him the same service he
had done to the other robbers. He did not set
any particular mark on the house, but examined
and observed it so carefully, by passing often, by
it, that it was impossible for him to mistake it.

The captain, well satisfied with his attempt,
and informed of what he wanted to know, re-
turned to the forest; and when he came into
the cave, where the troop waited for him, said,
“Now, comrades, nothing can prevent our full
revenge, as I am certain of the house, and in
my way hither I have thought how to put it
into execution; but if any one can form a better
expedient, let him communicate it.” He then
told them his contrivance; and, as they approved
of it, ordered them to go into the villages about,
 
 

Er Ein

 

 

To face page 229.
THE FORTY THIEVES 229

and buy nineteen mules, with thirty-eight large
leather jars, one full of oil, and the others empty.

In two or three days’ time the robbers had
purchased the mules and jars, and, as the mouths
of the jars were rather too narrow for his. pur-
pose, the captain caused them to be widened ;
and after having put one of his men into each,
with the weapons which he thought fit, leaving
open the seam which had been undone to leave
them room to breathe, he rubbed the jars on the
outside with oil from the full vessel.

Things being thus prepared, when the nineteen
mules were loaded with thirty-seven robbers in
jars, and the jar of oil, the captain, as their
driver, set out with them, and reached the town
by the dusk of evening, as he had intended.
He led them through the streets till he came to
Ali Baba’s, at whose door he designed to. have
knocked, but was prevented by his sitting there
after supper to take a little fresh air. He
stopped his mules, addressed himself to him, and
said, “I have brought some oil a great way, to
sell at to-morrow’s market; and it is now so
late that I do not know where to lodge. If I
should not be troublesome to you, do me the
favour to let me pass the night with you, and I
shall be very much obliged by your hospitality.”
230 ALI BABA AND

Though Ali Baba had seen the captain of the
robbers in the forest, and had heard him speak,
it was impossible to know him in the disguise
of an oil-merchant. He told him he should be
welcome, and immediately opened his gates for
the mules to go into the yard. At the same
time he called to a slave, and ordered him, when
the mules were unloaded, not only to put them
into the stable, but to give them fodder; and
then went to Morgiana, to bid her get a good
supper for his guest.

He did more. To make his guest as welcome
as possible, when he saw the captain had unloaded
his mules, and that they were put into the stables
as he had ordered, and he was looking for a place
to pass the night in the air, he brought him into
the hall where he received his company, telling
him he would not suffer him to be in the court.
The captain excused himself on pretence of not
being troublesome, but really to have room to
execute his design, and it was not till after the
most pressing importunity that he yielded. Ali
Baba, not content to keep company with the
man who had a design on his life till supper
was ready, continued talking with him till it was
ended, and repeating his offer of service.

The captain rose up at the same time with his
THE FORTY THIEVES 231

host; and while Ali Baba went to speak to
Morgiana he withdrew into the yard, under pre-
tence of looking at his mules. Ali Baba, after
charging Morgiana afresh to take care of his
guest, said to her, “To-morrow morning I de-
sign to go to the bath before day; take care my
bathing-linen be ready; give them to Abdoollah,”
which was the slave’s name; “and make me some
good broth against I return.” After this he went
to bed.

In the meantime the captain of the robbers
went from the stable to give his people orders
what to do; and beginning at the first jar, and
so on to the last, said to each man: “As soon
as I throw some stones out of the chamber
window where I lie, do not fail to cut the jar
open with the knife you have about you for the
purpose, and come out, and I will immediately
join you.” After this he returned into the house,
when Morgiana, taking up a light, conducted him
' to his chamber, where she left him; and he, to
avoid any suspicion, put the light out soon after,
and laid himself down in his clothes, that he
might be the more ready to rise. .

Morgiana, remembering Ali Baba’s orders, got
his bathing-linen ready, and ordered Abdoollah to
set on the pot for the broth; but while she was
"232 ALI BABA AND

preparing it, the lamp went out, and there was no
more oil in the house, nor any candles. What to
do she did not know, for the broth must be made.
Abdoollah, seeing her very uneasy, said, “ Do not
fret and tease yourself, but go into the yard and
take some oil out of one of the jars.”

Morgiana thanked Abdoollah for his advice,
took the oil-pot, and went into the yard; when,
as she came nigh the first jar, the robber within
said softly, “Is it time?”

Though the robber spoke low, Morgiana was
struck with the voice the more, because the
captain, when he unloaded the mules, had taken
the lids off this and all the other jars to give air
to his men, who were ill enough at their ease,
almost wanting room to breathe.

As much surprised as Morgiana naturally was
at finding a man in a jar instead of the oil she
wanted, many would have made such a noise as
to have given an alarm, which would have been
attended with fatal consequences; whereas Mor-
giana, comprehending immediately the importance
of keeping silence, from the danger Ali Baba, his
family, and herself were in, and the necessity of
applying a speedy remedy without noise, con-
ceived at once the means, and collecting herself
without showing the least emotions, answered,
 

To face page 232.
THE FORTY THIEVES 235

‘Not yet, but presently.” She went in this
manner to all the jars, giving the same answer,
till she came to the jar of oil.

By this means Morgiana found that her master,
. Ali Baba, who thought that he had entertained an
oil-merchant, had admitted thirty-eight robbers
into his house, regarding this pretended merchant
as their captain. She made what haste she could
to fill her oil-pot, and returned into her kitchen;
where, as soon as she had lighted her lamp, she
took a great kettle, went again to the oil-jar,
filled the kettle, set it on a large wood-fire, and
as soon as it boiled went and poured enough
into every jar to stifle and destroy the robber
within.

When this action, worthy of the courage of
Morgiana, was executed without any noise, as she
had projected, she returned into the kitchen with
the empty kettle ; and having put out the great
fire she had made to boil the oil, and leaving
just enough to make the broth, put out the lamp
also, and remained silent; resolving not to go to
rest till she had observed what might follow,
through a window of the kitchen, which opened
into the yard.

She had not waited long before the captain
of the robbers got up, opened the window, and
236 ALI BABA AND

finding no light, and hearing no noise, or any one
stirring in the house, gave the appointed signal,
by throwing little stones, several of which hit the
jars, as he doubted not by the sound they gave.
He then listened, but not hearing or perceiving
anything whereby he could judge that his com-
panions stirred, he began to grow very uneasy,
threw stones again a second and also a third time,
and could not comprehend the reason that none
of them should answer his signal. Much alarmed,
he went softly down into the yard, and going to
the first jar, whilst asking the robber, whom he
thought alive, if he was in readiness, smelt the
hot boiled oil, which sent forth a steam out of the
jar. Hence he suspected that his plot to murder
Ali Baba and plunder his house was discovered.
Examining all the jars one after another, he found
that all his gang were dead; and by the oil he
missed out of the last jar guessed the means and
manner of their death. Enraged to despair at
having failed in his design, he forced the lock
of a door that led from the yard to the garden,
and climbing over the walls, made his escape.
When Morgiana heard no noise, and found,
after waiting some time, that the captain did not
return, she concluded that he had chosen rather
to make his escape by the garden than the street-
Wi ye

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aw npr ify .
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C a
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may ee

 

To face page 236.
THE FORTY THIEVES 239

door, which was double locked. Satisfied and
pleased to have succeeded so well in saving her
master and family, she went to bed.

Ali Baba rose before day, and, followed by his
slave, went to the baths, entirely ignorant of the
important event which had happened at home; -
for Morgiana had not thought it safe to wake him
before, for fear of losing her opportunity; and
after her successful exploit she thought it needless
to disturb him.

When he returned from the baths, the sun was
risen; he was very much surprised to see the oil-
jars, and that the merchant was not gone with the
mules. He asked Morgiana, who opened the
door, and had let all things stand as they were
that he might see them, the reason of it. “ My
good master,” answered she, “God preserve you
and all your family; you will be better informed
of what you wish to know when you have seen
what I have to show you, if you will but give
yourself the trouble to follow me.”

As soon as Morgiana had shut the door, Ali
Baba followed her; when she requested him to
look into the first jar and see if there was any oil.
Ali Baba did so, and seeing a man, started back
in alarm, and cried out. ‘‘Do not be afraid,” said
Morgiana, ‘the man you see there can neither do
240 ALI BABA AND

you nor anybody else any harm. He is dead.”
“Ah, Morgiana!” said Ali Baba, “what is it
you show me? Explain yourself.” “TI will,” -re-
plied Morgiana. ‘‘ Moderate your astonishment,
and do not excite the curiosity of your neigh-
bours; for it is of great importance to keep this
affair secret. Look into all the other jars.”

Ali Baba examined all the other jars, one after
another; and when he came to that which had
the oil in, found it prodigiously sunk, and stood
for some time motionless, sometimes looking at
the jars, and sometimes at Morgiana, without
saying a word, so great was his surprise. At last,
when he had recovered himself, he said, “And
what is become of the merchant?”

‘*Merchant!” answered she, “he is as much
one as Tam. I will tell you who he is, and what
is become of him; but you had better hear the
story in your own chamber; for it is time for
your health that you had your broth after your
bathing.”

While Ali Baba retired to his chamber, Mor-
giana went into the kitchen to fetch the broth,
but before he would drink it he first entreated
her to satisfy his impatience, and tell him what
had happened, with all the circumstances; and
she obeyed him.
THE FORTY THIEVES 241

“Last night, sir,” said she, ‘““when you were
gone to bed, I got your bathing-linens ready, and
gave them to Abdoollah; afterwards I set on the
pot for the broth, but as I was preparing the
materials, the lamp, for want of oil, went out;
and as there was not a drop more in the house,
I looked for a candle, but could not find one.
Abdoollah, seeing me vexed, put me in mind of
the jars of oil which stood in the yard. I took
the oil-pot, went directly to the jar which stood
nearest to me, and, when I came to it, heard a
voice within, saying, ‘Is it time?’ Without
being dismayed, and comprehending immediately
the malicious intention of the pretended oil-
merchant, I answered, ‘Not yet, but presently.’
I then went to the next, when another voice
asked me the same question, and I returned the
same answer; and so on, till I came to the last,
which I found full of oil; with which I filled
my pot.

“When I considered that there were thirty- .
seven robbers in the yard, who only waited for a
signal to be given by the captain, whom you took
to be an oil-merchant, and entertained so hand-
somely, I thought there was no time to be lost.
I carried my pot of oil into the kitchen, lighted
the lamp, afterwards took the biggest kettle I
242 ALI BABA AND

had, went and filled it full of oil, set it on the
fire to boil, and then poured as much into each
jar as was sufficient to prevent them from exe-
cuting the pernicious design they had meditated.
After this I retired into the kitchen, and put out
the lamp; but, before I went to bed, waited at
the window to know what measures the pretended
merchant would take.

“‘ After I had watched some time for the signal,
he threw some stones out of the window against
the jars; but neither hearing nor perceiving any-
body stirring, after throwing three times, he came
down, when I saw him go to every jar, after
which, through the darkness of the night, I lost
sight of him. I waited some time longer, and
finding that he did not return, doubted not but
that, seeing he had missed his aim, he had made
his escape over the walls of the garden. Per-
suaded that the house was now safe, I went
to bed.

“This,” said Morgiana, “is the account you
asked of me; and I am convinced it is the con-
sequence of what I observed some days ago, but
did not think fit to acquaint you with: for when
I came in one morning early, I found our street-
door marked with white chalk, and the next
morning with red ; upon which, both times, with-
THE FORTY THIEVES 243

out knowing what was the intention of those
chalks, I marked two or three neighbours’ doors
on each side in the same manner. If you reflect
on this, and what has since happened, you will
find it to be a plot of the robbers of the forest, of
whose gang there are two wanting, and now they
are reduced to three. All this shows that they
had sworn your destruction, and it is proper you
should be upon your guard while there is one of
them alive. For my part, I shall neglect nothing
necessary to your preservation, as I am in duty
bound.”

When Morgiana had left off speaking, Ali Baba
was so sensible of the great service she had done
him, that he said to her, ‘‘I will not die without
rewarding you as you deserve: I owe my life to
you, and, for the first token of my acknowledg-
ment, give you your liberty from this moment,
till I can complete your recompense as I intend.
I am persuaded with you, that the forty robbers
have laid snares for my destruction. God, by
your means, has delivered me from them as yet,
and I hope will continue to preserve me from their
wicked designs, and, by averting the danger which
threatened me, will deliver the world from their
persecution and their cursed race. All that we
have to do is to bury the bodies of these pests of
244 _ ALI BABA AND

mankind immediately, and with all the secrecy
imaginable, that nobody may suspect what is be-
come of them. But that labour Abdoollah and I
will undertake.”

Ali Baba’s garden was very long, and shaded at
the farther end by a great number of large trees.
Under these he and the slave dug a trench, long
and wide enough to hold all the’ robbers, and, as
the earth was light, they were not long in doing
it. Afterwards they lifted the bodies out of the
jars, took away their weapons, carried them to the
end of the garden, laid them in the trench, and
levelled the ground again. When this was done,
Ali Baba hid the jars and weapons; and, as he
had no occasion for the mules, he sent them at
different times to be sold in the market by his
slave.

While Ali Baba took these measures to prevent
the public from knowing how he came by his
riches in so short a time, the captain of the forty
robbers returned to the forest with inconceivable
mortification ; and in his agitation, or rather con-
fusion, at his ill success, so contrary to what he
had promised himself, entered the cave, not being
able, all the way from the town, to come to any
resolution how to revenge himself of Ali Baba.

The loneliness of the gloomy cavern became
THE FORTY THIEVES 245

frightful to him. “Where are you, my brave
lads,” cried he, “ old companions of my watchings,
inroads, and labour? What can I do without
you? Did I collect you only to lose you by so
base a fate, and so unworthy of your courage ?
Had you died with your sabres in your hands,
like brave men, my regret had been less!
When shall I enlist so gallant a troop again?
And if I could, can I undertake it without
exposing so much gold and treasure to him
who hath already enriched himself out of it?
I cannot, I ought not to think of it, before I have
taken away his life. I will undertake that alone
which I could not accomplish with your powerful
assistance; and when I have taken measures to
secure this treasure from being pillaged, I will
provide for it new masters and successors after
me, who shall preserve and augment it to all
posterity.” This resolution being taken, he was
not at a loss how to execute his purpose; but
easy in his mind, and full of hopes, slept all
that night very quietly.

When he awoke early next morning, he dressed
himself, agreeably to the project he had formed,
went to the town, and took a lodging in a khan.
As he expected what had happened at Ali Baba’s
might make a great noise, he asked his host what
246 ALI BABA AND

news there was in the city? Upon which the
inn-keeper told him a great many circumstances,
which did not concern him in the least. He
judged by this, that the reason why Ali Baba
kept his affairs so secret was for fear people
should know where the treasure lay, and because
he knew his life would be sought on account of
it. This urged him the more to neglect nothing
to rid himself of so cautious an enemy.

The captain now assumed the character of a
merchant, and conveyed gradually a great many
sorts of rich stuffs and fine linen to his lodging
from the cavern, but with all the necessary pre-
cautions imaginable to conceal the place whence
he brought them. In order to dispose of the
merchandises, when he had amassed them to-
gether, he took a warehouse, which happened to
be opposite to Cassim’s, which Ali Baba’s son had
occupied since the death of his uncle.

He took the name of Khaujeh Houssain, and,
as a new-comer, was, according to custom, ex-
tremely civil and complaisant to all the merchants
his neighbours. Ali Baba’s son was, from his
vicinity, one of the first to converse with Khaujeh
Houssain, who strove to cultivate his friendship
more particularly when, two or three days after
he was settled, he recognised Ali Baba, who came
THE FORTY THIEVES 247

to see his son, and stopped to talk with him as
he was accustomed to do. When he was gone, the
impostor learnt from his son who he was. He
increased his assiduities, caressed him in the most

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engaging manner, made him some small presents,
and often asked him to dine and sup with him;
when he treated him very handsomely.

Ali Baba’s son did not choose to lie under
N
248 ALI BABA AND

such obligation to Khaujeh Houssain, without
making the like return; but was so much strait-
ened for want of room in his house, that he
could not entertain him so well as he wished.
He therefore acquainted his father, Ali Baba,
with his intention, and told him that it did
not look well for him to receive such favours
from Khaujeh Houssain, without inviting him
in return.

‘Ali Baba, with great pleasure, took the treat
upon himself. ‘Son,’ said he, “ to-morrow
being Friday, which is a day that the shops
of such great merchants as Khaujeh Houssain
and yourself are shut, get him to take a walk
with you, and, as you come back, pass by my
door, and call in. It will look better to have
it happen accidentally, than if you gave him a
formal invitation. I will go and order Morgiana
to provide a supper.”

The next day Ali Baba’s son and Khaujeh
Houssain met by appointment, took their walk,
and, as they returned, Ali Baba’s son led Khaujeh
Houssain through the street where his father
lived, and when they came to the house, stopped
and knocked at the door. ‘This, sir,” said
he, “is my father’s house; who, from the ac-
count I have given him of your friendship,
THE FORTY THIEVES 249

charged me to procure him the honour of your
acquaintance; and I desire you to add _ this
pleasure to those for which I am already in-
debted to you.”

Though it was the sole aim of Khaujeh
Houssain to introduce himself into Ali Baba’s
house, that he might kill him, without hazarding
his own life or making any noise, yet he excused
himself, and offered to take his leave. But a
slave having opened the door, Ali Baba’s son
took him obligingly by the hand, and in a
manner forced him in.

Ali Baba received Khaujeh Houssain with
a smiling countenance, and in the most obliging
manner he could wish. He thanked him for
all the favours he had done his son; adding
withal, the obligation was the greater, as he
was a young man not much acquainted with
the world, and that he might contribute to his
information.

Khaujeh Houssain returned the compliment,
by assuring Ali Baba, that though his son might
not have acquired the experience of older men,
he had good sense equal to the experience of
many others. After a little more conversation
on different subjects, he offered again to take
his leave; when Ali Baba, stopping him, said,
250 ALI BABA AND

“Where are you going, sit, in so much haste?
I beg you would do me the honour to sup
with me, though what I have to give you is
not worth your acceptance; but, such as it is,
I hope you will accept it as heartily as I give
it.” “Sir,” replied Khaujeh Houssain, “I am
thoroughly persuaded of your goodwill; and if
I ask the favour of you not to take it ill that
I do not accept your obliging invitation, I beg
of you to believe that it does not proceed from
any slight or intention to affront, but from a
reason which you would approve if you knew it.”

“And what may that reason be, sir,” replied
Ali Baba, “if I may be so bold as to ask you?”
“Tt is,” answered Khaujeh Houssain, “that I
can eat no victuals that have any salt in them;
therefore judge how I should feel at your table.”
“Tf that is the only reason,” said Ali Baba, ‘it
ought not to deprive me of the honour of your
company at supper; for, in the first place,
there is no salt ever put into my bread, and as
to the meat we shall have to-night, I promise
you there shall be none in that. Therefore you
must do me the favour to stay. I will return
immediately.”

Ali Baba went into the kitchen, and ordered
Morgiana to put no salt to the meat that was
| PED COPS 259

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Lo face page 253.
THE FORTY THIEVES 253

to be dressed that night, and to make quickly
two or three ragouts besides what he had ordered,
but be sure to put no salt in them.

Morgiana, who was always ready to obey her
master, could not help this time seeming some-
what dissatisfied at his strange order. ‘Who
is this difficult man,” said she, “who eats no
salt with his meat? Your supper will be spoiled
if I keep it back so long.” “Do not be angry,
Morgiana,” replied Ali Baba: “he is an honest
man; therefore do as I bid you.”

Morgiana obeyed, though with no little reluct-
ance, and had a curiosity to see this -man who
ate no salt. To this end, when she had finished
what she had to do in the kitchen, she helped
Abdoollah to carry up the dishes; and looking
at Khaujeh Houssain, knew him at first sight,
notwithstanding his disguise, to be the captain
of the robbers, and examining him very carefully,
perceived that he had a dagger under his gar-
ment. “I am not in the least amazed,” said
she to herself, “that this wicked wretch, who
is my master’s greatest enemy, would eat no
salt with him, since he intends to assassinate
him ; but I will prevent him.”

Morgiana, while they were eating, made the
necessary preparations for executing one of the
254 ALI BABA AND

boldest acts ever meditated, and had just deter-
mined, when Abdoollah came for the dessert of
fruit, which she carried up, and, as soon as Ab-
doollah had taken the meat away, set it upon the
table; after that, she placed three glasses by Ali
Baba, and going out, took Abdoollah with her
to sup, and to give Ali Baba the more liberty
of conversation with his guest.

Khaujeh Houssain, or rather the captain of
the robbers, thought he had now a favourable
opportunity of being revenged on Ali Baba. “I
will,” said he to himself, ‘‘make the father and
son both drunk: the son, whose life I intend to
spare, will not be able to prevent my stabbing his
father to the heart; and while the slaves are at
supper, or asleep in the kitchen, I can make my
escape over the gardens as before.”

Instead of going to supper, Morgiana, who
had penetrated the intentions of the counterfeit
Khaujeh Houssain, would not give him time to
put his villainous design into execution, but
dressed herself neatly with a suitable head-dress
like a dancer, girded her waist with a silver-gilt
girdle, to which there hung a poniard with a
hilt and guard of the same metal, and put a
handsome mask on her face. When she had
thus disguised herself, she said to Abdoollah,
THE FORTY THIEVES 255

‘Take your tabor, and let us go and divert our
master and his son’s guest, as we do sometimes
when he is alone.”

Abdoollah took his tabor and played all the way
into the hall before Morgiana, who, when she
came to the door, made a low obeisance, with a
deliberate air, in order to draw attention, and
by way of asking leave to exhibit her skill.
Abdoollah, seeing that his master had a mind
to say something, left off playing. “Come in,
Morgiana,” said Ali Baba, “and let Khaujeh
Houssain see what you can do, that he may tell
us what he thinks of you. But, sir,” said he,
turning towards his guest, “do not think that
I put myself to any expense to give you this
diversion, since these are my slave and my cook
and housekeeper; and I hope you will not find
the entertainment they give us disagreeable.”

Khaujeh Houssain, who did not expect this diver-
sion after supper, began to fear he should not be
able to improve the opportunity he thought he had
found; but hoped, if he now missed his aim, to
secure it another time by keeping up a friendly
correspondence with the father and son. There-
fore, though he could have wished Ali Baba would
have declined the dance, he pretended to be
obliged to him for it, and had the complaisance
256 ALI BABA AND

to express his satisfaction at what he saw pleased
his host.

As soon as Abdoollah saw that Ali Baba and
Khaujeh Houssain had done talking, he began
to play on the tabor, and.accompanied it with
an air; to which Morgiana, who was an excellent
performer, danced in such a manner as would
have created admiration in any other company
besides that before which she now exhibited,
among whom, perhaps, none but the false Khaujeh
Houssain was in the least attentive to her, the
rest having seen her so frequently.

After she had danced several dances with equal .
propriety and grace, she drew the poniard, and
holding it in her hand, began a dance, in which
she outdid herself, by the many different figures,
light movements, and the surprising leaps and
wonderful exertions with which she accompanied
it. Sometimes she presented the poniard to one’s
breast, sometimes to another’s, and oftentimes
seeming to strike her own. At last, as if she
was out of breath, she snatched the tabor from
Abdoollah with her left hand, and holding the
dagger in her right, presented the other side of
the tabor, after the manner of those who get a
livelihood by dancing, and solicit the liberality
of the spectators.
 

To face page 256.
THE FORTY THIEVES 259

Ali Baba put a piece of gold into the tabor, as
did also his son; and Khaujeh Houssain, seeing
that she was coming to him, had pulled his purse
out of his bosom to make her a present ; but while
he was putting his hand into it, Morgiana, with a
courage and resolution worthy of herself, plunged
the poniard into his heart.

Ali Baba and his son, shocked at this action,
cried out aloud. ‘Unhappy wretch!” exclaimed
Ali Baba, “‘what have you done to ruin me and
my family?” ‘It was to preserve, not to ruin
you,” answered Morgiana; ‘for see here,” con-
tinued she (opening the pretended Khaujeh Hous-
sain’s garment, and showing the dagger), “ what
an enemy you had entertained! Look well at
him, and you will find him to be both the fictitious
oil-merchant and the captain of the gang of forty
robbers. Remember, too, that he would eat no
salt with you; and what would you have more to
persuade you of his wicked design? Before I saw
him I suspected him as soon as you told me you
had such a guest. I knew him, and you now find
that my suspicion was not groundless.”

Ali Baba, who’immediately felt the new obliga-
tion he had to Morgiana for saving his life a second
time, embraced her: “ Morgiana,” said he, “I
gave you your liberty, and then promised you that
260 ALI BABA AND

my gratitude should not stop there, but that I
would soon give you higher proofs of its sincerity,
which I now do by making you my daughter-in-
law.” Then addressing himself to his son, he
said, “I believe you, son, to be so dutiful a child
that you will not refuse Morgiana for your wife.
You see that Khaujeh Houssain sought your
friendship with a.treacherous design to take «away
my life; and, if he had succeeded, there is no
doubt but he would have sacrificed you also to his
revenge. Consider that by marrying Morgiana
you marry the preserver of my family and your
own.”

The son, far from showing any dislike, readily
consented to the marriage; not only because he
would not disobey his father, but also because it ©
was agreeable to his inclination.

After this, they thought of burying the captain
of the robbers with his comrades, and did it so
privately that nobody discovered their bones till
many years after, when no one had any concern
in the publication of this remarkable history.

A few days afterwards, Ali Baba celebrated the
nuptials of his son and Morgiana with great so-
lemnity, a sumptuous feast, and the usual dancing
and spectacles; and had the satisfaction to see
that his friends and neighbours, whom he invited,
THE FORTY THIEVES 261

had no knowledge of the true motives of the
matriage; but that those who were not unac-
quainted with Morgiana’s good qualities com-
mended his generosity and goodness of heart.

Ali Baba forbore, after this marriage, from going
again to the robbers’ cave, as he had done from

 

 

the time he had brought away his brother Cassim’s
mangled remains, for fear of being surprised. He
kept away after the death of the thirty-seven
robbers and their captain, supposing the other
two, whom he could get no account of, might be
alive.
262 ALI BABA

At the year’s end, when he found they had not
made any attempt to disturb him, he had the
curiosity to make another journey, taking the ne-
cessary precautions for his safety. He mounted
his horse, and when he came to the cave, and saw
no footsteps of men or horses, looked upon it as
a good sign. He alighted, tied his horse to a tree,
then approaching the entrance, and pronouncing
the words, “‘ Open, Sesame,” the door opened. He
entered the cavern, and, by the condition he found
things in, judged that nobody had been there
since the false Khaujeh Houssain, when he had
fetched the goods for his shop; that the gang of
forty robbers was completely destroyed, and no
longer doubted that he was the only person in
the world who had the secret of opening the cave,
so that all the treasure was at his sole disposal.
Having brought with him a wallet, he put into
it as much gold as his horse would carry, and
returned to town.

Afterwards Ali Baba carried his son to the cave,
and taught him the secret, which they handed
down to their posterity, who, using their good
fortune with moderation, lived in great honour
and splendour.
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To face page 262.
APPENDIX
NOTE

Ln the Cairo Edition of the “Thousand and One
Nights,” the text of the Seventh Voyage of “ Es-SinD1iBAD
of the Sea” differs from the version given in the Calcutta
Edition. Subjoined is a translation of the Cairo text.
THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF
ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA

As related in the Cairo Edition of the “ Thousand and One Nights”?

NOW, O company, said Es-Sindibdd of
the Sea, that when I returned from the
sixth voyage, and resumed my former
life of enjoyment and pleasure, and sport
i] and merriment, I remained thus for a

length of time in uninterrupted joy and
happiness, night and day, and had acquired abundant
gains and great profits. Then my soul again longed for
diversion in other countries, and voyaging upon the sea,
and associating with the merchants, and hearing news.
So I resolved upon that. I packed up bales suited for
the sea, consisting of costly commodities, and conveyed
them from the city of Baghddd to the city of El-Basrah,
where I saw a ship prepared for a voyage, and in her
was a company of great merchants. I therefore em-
barked with them, and made myself familiar with them,
and we set forth in safety and health on our voyage.
The wind was fair to us until we arrived at a city called
the City of China, and we were in the utmost joy and

happiness, conversing together on travel and commerce,
267

  
268 APPENDIX

But while we were in this state, a stormy wind rose
from the quarter a-head of the ship, and there fell upon
us a violent rain, by which we were wetted, and our
bales also; wherefore we covered the bales with felt
and canvas, fearing that the goods would be spoiled by
the rain; and we began to supplicate God (whose name
be exalted !), and to humble ourselves before Him, that
He might remove the affliction that had befallen us,
And thereupon the master of the ship arose, and tight-
ened his girdle, and tucked up his clothes, and ascended
the mast. Then he turned his eyes to the right and
left, after which he looked at the people of the ship,
and slapped his face and plucked his beard. So we
said, “O master, what is the news?” And he answered
us, “Seek ye of God (whose name be exalted!) escape
from the peril into which we have fallen, and weep for
yourselves, and bid one another farewell; for know that
the wind hath prevailed against us, and cast us into the
furthest of the seas of the world.” The master then
descended from the mast-head, and opened his chest,
and took forth from it a cotton bag, which he untied,
and he took out of it some dust like ashes, moistened
this with water, and, having waited over it a little, he
smelt.it; after which he took forth from that chest a
small book, and read in it, and said to us, “ Know, O ye
passengers, that in this book is a wonderful property,
indicating that whosoever arriveth at this region, he will
not escape from it, but will perish; for this region is
called the Clime of the Kings, and in it is the tomb of
our lord Suleyman, the son of Daood (on both of whom
be peace !), in which are serpents of enormous size and
APPENDIX 269

of terrible appearancé; and whatsoever ship arriveth at
this region, there cometh up to her from the sea a great
fish, which swalloweth her with all that she containeth.”

So when we heard these words from the master, we
wondered extremely at his account; and he had not
finished his speech to us when the ship began to rise
with us from the water and then to descend, and we
heard a great cry, like the loud-pealing thunder, whereat
we were struck with terror and became as dead men,
making sure, at that moment, of destruction. And, lo,
a great fish approached the ship, like a lofty mountain,
and we were terrified at it. We wept for ourselves
with a violent weeping, and prepared for death, and were
looking at that great fish, wondering at its terrible
formation, when, lo, another great fish approached us;
and we had not beheld aught more monstrous than it,
nor anything greater. Upon this, therefore, we bade
one another farewell, weeping for ourselves. And, lo, a
third great fish approached, and it was greater than the
two that had come to us before it. So we became
without memory and without understanding, and our
minds were stupefied by the violence of our fear and
terror. Then these three great fishes began to com-
pass the ship, and the third fish darted down to swallow
the ship with all that was in her. But, lo, there rose-a
great. wind, whereupon the ship rose, and fell upon a
great reef, and broke in pieces; all the planks were
separated, and all the bales, and the merchants and
other passengers were submerged in the sea. I there-
fore pulled off all the clothes that were upon me except

one garment, and swam a little, and reached one of the
0
246 APPENDIX

planks of the ship, and caught hold of it. Then I got
upon it and bestrode it, and the waves and the wind
sported with me upon the face of the water, while I
kept grasping that plank. The waves carried me up
and down, and I was in a state of the most violent
distress, and fear, and hunger, and thirst. I began to
blame myself for that which I had done; my soul was
weary after enjoying ease, and I said to myself, “O
Sindibad of the Sea, thou repentedst not; and every
time thou sufferest troubles and fatigue, yet repentest
not of voyaging upon the sea; and if thou sayest that
thou repentest, thou liest: suffer then all that thou
meetest with; for thou deservest all that happeneth to
thee. All this,’ I added, “is decreed to befall me by
God (whose name be exalted!), that I may relinquish my
covetousness ; and this that I suffer is occasioned by my
covetousness; for I had abundant wealth.” Then I
returned to my reason, and said, “ Verily, in this voyage,
I turn unto God (whose name be exalted !), sincerely
repenting of travel, and I will never again in my life
mention it with my tongue nor in my mind.” I ceased
not to humble myself before God (whose name be
exalted !), and to weep; and afterwards I reflected in
my mind upon my former state of ease, and happiness,
and sport, and merriment, and joy. Thus I continued
the first day, and the second day, until I landed upon a
great island, wherein were many trees and rivers. So
I ate of the fruits of those trees, and drank of the water
of those rivers, until I was revived, and my soul re-
turned to me, and my energy was strengthened, and my
bosom expanded.
APPENDIX 271

I then walked along the island, and I beheld, in its
opposite side, a great river of sweet water, running with
a strong current; whereupon I remembered the affair of
the raft upon which I was before, and said within myself,
“T must make for me a raft like it, and perhaps I may
escape from this predicament. If I so escape, my desire
is attained, and I turn unto God (whose name be exalted.!),
repenting of travel; and if I perish, my heart is relieved
from fatigue and distress.” Then I arose and collected
pieces of wood from those trees, consisting of high-priced
sandal-wood, the like of which existeth not; but I knew
not what it was. And when I had collected those pieces
of wood, I made shift with twigs and herbs of the island,
twisting them like ropes, and bound with them the raft ;
and I said, “If I be preserved, it will be by God’s help.”
I embarked upon the raft, and proceeded upon it along
that river during the first day, and the second day, and
the third day after my departure thence. I lay down,
and ate not during this period anything; but when I
thirsted I drank of that river; and I was like.a giddy
young bird, by reason of the violence of my fatigue and
hunger and fear, until the raft conveyed me to a high
mountain, beneath which the river entered. So when I
saw this, I feared for myself, on account of the distress
that I had suffered before on the former river; and I de-
sired to stop the raft, and to get off from it to the side
of the mountain; but the current overpowered me, and
drew the raft, with me upon it, and descended with it
beneath the mountain. On beholding this, therefore, I
made sure of destruction, and said, “ There is no strength
nor power but in God, the High, the Great!” The raft
272 APPENDIX

ceased not to proceed for a short distance, after which it
passed forth into a wide place, and, lo, it was a great
valley, through which the water roared, making a noise
like thunder, and with a rapidity like that of the wind.
I grasped the raft with my hand, fearing lest I should
fall from upon it, the waves tossing me to the right and
left in the midst of the stream. The raft continued to
descend with the current along that valley, and I could
not prevent it, nor was I able to bring it to the land,’
until it stopped with me by a city of grand appearance,
well built, and containing a numerous population. And
when the people beheld me upon that raft, descending
in the midst of the river with the current, they cast a
net and ropes upon me and the raft, and drew forth the
raft from the river to the land.

I fell down in the midst of them like a dead man, by
reason of excessive hunger, and sleeplessness, and fear ;
and there came to me from among the assemblage an aged
man, a sheykh of high dignity, who welcomed me, and
threw over me an abundance of comely apparel, with
which I covered myself decently. Then he took me and
conducted me into the bath, brought me reviving bever-
ages and exquisite scents, and, after we had come forth
from the bath, took me to his house, and led me into it;
and his family rejoiced at my coming. He seated me in
an elegant place, and prepared for me some rich food; so
I ate until I was satiated, and praised God (whose name
be exalted!) for my escape; and after that, his pages
brought to me hot water, and I washed my hands; and
his female slaves brought to me drying-towels of silk,
with which I dried my hands and wiped my mouth.
APPENDIX ; 273

Then that sheykh arose immediately, and appropriated to
me a place alone, in a part of his house, and made his
pages and his female slaves to serve me, and to perform
my wants and all my affairs. They therefore paid con-
stant attention to me, and in this manner I ceased not to
remain with him in the mansion of entertainment three
days, enjoying good eating and good drinking and sweet
scents, until my soul returned to me, and my terror ~
subsided, and my heart was calmed, and my mind was at
ease. And on the fourth day, the sheykh came to me
and said to me, “Thou hast cheered us by thy company,
O my son, and praise be to God for thy safety! Wilt
thou now arise and go with me to the bank of the river,
and go down into the market and sell the goods and re-
ceive their price? Perhaps thou wilt buy for thyself with
it something wherewith thou mayest traffic.” So I was
silent for a little while, and said within myself, “ Whence
have I goods, and what is the cause of these words?”
And the sheykh said, “O my son, be not anxious nor be
thoughtful; but arise and go with us to the market, and
if we see any one who will give thee for thy goods a
price that will content thee, I will receive it for thee;
but if what will content thee be not offered for them, I
will déposit them for thee in my magazines until the days
of selling and buying arrive.” So I meditated upon my
case, and said to myself, “Comply with his desire, that
thou mayest see what these goods are.” And I said to
him, “I hear and obey, O my uncle the sheykh, and
what thou doest will be attended by blessing, and it is
impossible to oppose thee in aught.” I then went with
him to the market, and found that he had unbound the
wa APPENDIX

raft on which I came, and which was of sandal-wood,
and he commissioned the crier to announce it for sale.
The merchants came, and opened the bidding for the
wood, and increased their offers for it until its price
amounted to a thousand pieces of gold; whereupon they
ceased to bid more; and the sheykh, looking towards me,
said, “Hear, O my son: this is the price of thy goods in
such days as the present. Wilt thou then sell them for
this price, or wilt thou wait, and shall I put them for
thee in my magazines until the time come when their
price will be greater, and then sell them for thee?”
I answered him, “O my master, the affair is thine: so
do what thou desirest.” And he said, “O my son, wilt
thou sell me this wood fora hundred pieces of gold above
what the merchants have offered for it ?”—“ Yes,” I
answered him: “I have sold it to thee, and received the
price.” And upon this he ordered his young men to
transport that wood to his magazines, and I returned
with him to his house, where we sat, and he counted to
me the whole price of the wood, brought to me bags, and,
having put the money into them, locked them up with a
lock of iron, of which he gave me the key.

And after a period of some days and nights, the sheykh
said, “O my son, I will propose to thee something, and I
hope that thou wilt comply with my desire respecting it.”
So I said to him, “ And what is that affair?” And he
answered me, “ Know that I have become a man of great
age, and I have not a male child; but I have a daughter,
small in age, elegant in form, having abundant wealth
and loveliness; therefore I desire to marry her to thee,
and thou shalt reside with her in our country; then I
APPENDIX 275

will put thee in possession of all that I have, and what.
my hand possesseth ; for I have become an old man, and
thou wilt supply my place.” And I was silent and spoke
not. And he said to me, “Obey me, O my son, in that
which I say to thee; for my wish to thee is good, and if
thou comply with my desire I will marry thee to my
daughtet, and thou shalt be as my son; and all that my
hand hath, and what I possess, shall be thine; and if thou
desire to traffic, and to return to thy country, no one will
prevent thee. This is thy property, under thy disposal:
do therefore with it what thou wilt and what thou
choosest.” So I replied, “By Allah, O my uncle the
sheykh, thou hast become as my father. I have suffered
many horrors, and have neither judgment nor knowledge
remaining; it is thine, therefore, to determine in all that
thou desirest to do.” And upon this the sheykh ordered
his pages to bring the Kadee and the witnesses. Accord-
ingly they brought them, and he married me to his
daughter, made for us a grand entertainment and a
great feast, and introduced me to her; and I found her
to be endowed with the utmost beauty and loveliness,
with handsome figure and just stature, and upon her
was an abundance of various ornaments and articles of
apparel, minerals, and ornaments of gold, and necklaces,
and precious jewels, the value of which was not less than
thousands of thousands of pieces of gold, and no one
could pay their price. When I went into her presence .
she pleased me, affection for each other ensued, and I
remained with her for a length of time in a state of the
utmost delight and enjoyment. Her father was then
admitted to the mercy of God (whose name be exalted !),
276 APPENDIX

and we prepared his body for the grave, and buried him,
and I put my hand upon his property: all his young
men became mine, and under my authority in my ser-
vice, and the merchants instated me in his office; for he
was their chief, and none of them purchased aught but
with his knowledge and by his permission, he being their
sheykh; and I became in his place.

Now when I mixed with the people of that city I
found that their state became changed every month, and
there appeared upon them wings, wherewith they flew
to the upper region of the sky, and there remained not
behind in the city any but the children and the women.
So I said within myself, “When the first day of the
month cometh, I will ask one of them, and perhaps they
will convey me with them whither they go.” And when
the first day of that month came, their appearances be-
came altered, and their forms became changed, and I
went in to one of them, and said to him, “I conjure thee
by Allah that thou convey me with thee, in order that I
may divert myself and return with you.” He replied,
“This is a thing that cannot be.” But I ceased not to
solicit him until he granted that favour. I agreed with
them, and caught hold of that man, and he soared with
me in the air; but I informed not any one of my family,
nor any of my young men, nor any of my companions;
and that man continued to fly, with me upon his
shoulders, until he rose so high with me into the sky
that I heard the praises of the angels in the vault of the
heavens. So I wondered at that, and said, “Extolled
be the perfection of God! and praise be to God!” And
I had not finished the words of praise when there came
APPENDIX 277

forth a fire from heaven, and it almost burnt them.
They therefore all descended, and, having cast me upon
a lofty mountain, departed in the utmost rage against
me, and they went and left me. Thus I became alone
upon that mountain, and I blamed myself for that which
I had done, and said, “There is no strength nor power
but in God, the High, the Great! Verily, every time
that I escape from a calamity I fall into a calamity that
is mightier than the former one!”

I remained upon that mountain, and knew not
whither to go, when, lo, two young men passed along,
like two moons, each having in his hand a rod of gold,
on which he leaned. I advanced to them, and saluted
them, and they returned my salutation; and I said to
them, “I conjure you by Allah to tell me who ye are
and what is your business.” And they answered me,
“We are of the servants of God, whose name be exalted!”
Then they gave me a rod of red gold that they had with:
them, and went their way and left me. And I pro-
ceeded along the top of that mountain, leaning upon the
rod, and reflecting upon the case of these two young
men, and, lo, a serpent came forth from beneath the
mountain, having in its mouth a man whom it had
swallowed to his middle, and he was crying out and
saying, “ Whosoever will deliver me, God will deliver
him from every difficulty!” I therefore advanced to that
serpent, and struck it with the rod of gold on its head,
whereat it threw the man from its mouth. And upon
this the man came to me and said, “Since my deliver-
ance from this serpent hath been effected by thy means,
I will not henceforth quit thee: thou hast become my
278 APPENDIX

companion on this mountain.” So I replied, “ Thou art
welcome.” And we proceeded along the mountain.
And, lo, a party of people came towards us, and I
looked at them, and among them was the man who bore
me upon his shoulders and flew with me. Therefore I
advanced to him, and excused myself to him, addressing
him courteously, and saying to him, “O my friend,
friends act not thus one to another.” The man replied,
“Thou wouldst have destroyed us by thy words of praise
upon my back.” And I rejoined, “Be not displeased
with me; for I had no knowledge of the matter; but I
will never again speak.” So he consented to take me
with him, making a condition with me that I should not
mention God, nor praise Him, upon his back. He then
took me up, and flew away with me as before, until he
conveyed me to my abode, when my wife met me and
saluted me, and congratulated me on my safety; and
she said to me, “ Beware of going forth again with these
people, and be not familiar with them; for they are the
brothers of the devils, and they know not the celebration
of God, whose name be exalted!” I said to her, “How
did thy father live with them?” And she answered
me, “My father was not of them, nor did he as they;
and it is my opinion, since my father is dead, that thou
shouldst sell all that we have, and purchase goods with
the price, and voyage back to thy country and thy
family, and I will go with thee: for I have no need of
residing here in this city after the loss of my mother
and my father.” .

.So upon. this I betook myself to selling the com-
modities of the sheykh,.one thing after another, and. to
APPENDIX 279

watching for some one who would set forth on a voyage
from that city, that I might go with him. And while
I was so doing, lo, a company of men in the city desired
to perform a voyage, but found not for themselves a
ship; wherefore they bought wood, and made for them a
great ship; and I engaged for a passage with them, and
paid them the whole of the hire. I then embarked my
wife, and all that we had, in the ship; and, leaving the
other possessions and the estates, we proceeded, and
ceased not in our course over the sea from island to
island, and from sea to sea; and the wind and the
voyage were pleasant to us until we arrived in safety at
the city of El-Basrah. I sojourned not there; but
engaged for a passage in another vessel, to which I
transferred all that I had with me, and I went on to the
city of Baghdad. Then I entered my quarter and came
to my house, met my family and companions and friends,
and stowed all the goods that I had with me in my
magazines; and my family calculated the period of my
absence from them during the seventh voyage, and found
it to be seven and twenty years, so that they had given
up all hope of my return.

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Edinburgh and London
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