The Sixth Voyage Of Sinbad The Sailor [Fairy Tales From The Arabian Nights]
After being shipwrecked five times, and escaping so many dangers, could I resolve again to try my fortune, and expose myself to new hardships? I am astonished at it myself when I think of it, and must certainly have been induced to it by my stars. But be that as it will, after a year's rest I prepared for a sixth voyage, notwithstanding the entreaties of my kindred and friends, who did all that was possible to prevent me. Instead of taking my way by the Persian Gulf, I travelled once more through several provinces of Persia and the Indies, and arrived at a sea-port, where I embarked on board a ship, the captain of which was resolved on a long voyage.
It
was very long indeed, but at the same time so unfortunate that the captain and pilot
lost their course, and knew not where they were. They found it at last, but we
had no reason to rejoice at it. We were all seized with extraordinary fear when
we saw the captain quit his post, and cry out. He threw off his turban, pulled
his beard, and beat his head like a madman. We asked him the reason, and he
answered that he was in the most dangerous place in all the sea. 'A rapid
current carries the ship along with it,' he said, 'and we shall all of us
perish in less than a quarter of an hour. Pray to God to deliver us from this
danger; we cannot escape it if He does not take pity on us.' At these words he
ordered the sails to be changed; but all the ropes broke and the ship, without
its being possible to help it, was carried by the current to the foot of an
inaccessible mountain, where she ran ashore, and was broken to pieces, yet so
that we saved our lives, our provisions, and the best of our goods .
This
being over, the captain said to us, 'God has done what pleased Him; we may
every man dig our grave here, and bid the world adieu, for we are all in so
fatal a place that none shipwrecked here have ever returned to their homes
again.' His discourse afflicted us sorely, and we embraced each other with
tears in our eyes, bewailing our deplorable lot.
The
mountain at the foot of which we were cast was the coast of a very long and
large island. This coast was covered all over with wrecks, and from the vast
number of men's bones we saw everywhere, and which filled us with horror, we
concluded that abundance of people had died there. It is also impossible to
tell what a quantity of goods and riches we found cast ashore there. All these
objects served only to augment our grief. Whereas in all other places rivers
run from their channels into the sea, here a great river of fresh water runs
out of the sea into a dark cave, whose entrance is very high and large. What is
most remarkable in this place is that the stones of the mountain are of
crystal, rubies, or other precious stones. Here is also a sort of fountain of
pitch or bitumen, that runs into the sea, which the fishes swallow, and then
vomit up again, turned into ambergris; and this the waves throw up on the beach
in great quantities. Here also grow trees, most of which are wood of aloes,
equal in goodness to those of Comari.
To
finish the description of this place, which may well be called a gulf, since
nothing ever returns from it—it is not possible for ships to get away again
when once they come near it. If they are driven thither by a wind from the sea,
the wind and the current ruin them; and if they come into it when a land-wind
blows, which might seem to favour their getting out again, the height of the
mountain stops the wind, and occasions a calm, so that the force of the current
runs them ashore, where they are broken to pieces, as ours was; and that which
completes the misfortune is that there is no possibility to get to the top of
the mountain, or to get out any manner of way.
We
continued upon the shore, like men out of their senses, and expected death
every day. At first we divided our provisions as equally as we could, and thus
everyone lived a longer or shorter time, according to their temperance, and the
use they made of their provisions.
Those
who died first were interred by the rest; and, for my part, I paid the last
duty to all my companions. Nor are you to wonder at this; for besides that I
husbanded the provision that fell to my share better than they, I had provision
of my own, which
I did not share with my comrades; yet when I buried the last, I had so little
remaining that I thought I could not hold out long: so I dug a grave, resolving
to lie down in it, because there was none left to inter me. I must confess to
you at the same time that while I was thus employed I could not but reflect
upon myself as the cause of my own ruin, and repented that I had ever
undertaken this last voyage; nor did I stop at reflections only, but had well
nigh hastened my own death, and began to tear my hands with my teeth.
But
it pleased God once more to take compassion on me, and put it in my mind to go
to the bank of the river which ran into the great cave; where, considering the
river with great attention, I said to myself, 'This river, which runs thus
under ground, must come out somewhere or other. If I make a raft, and leave
myself to the current, it will bring me to some inhabited country, or drown me.
If I be drowned I lose nothing, but only change one kind of death for another;
and if I get out of this fatal place, I shall not only avoid the sad fate of my
comrades, but perhaps find some new occasion of enriching myself. Who knows but
fortune waits, upon my getting off this dangerous shelf, to compensate my
shipwreck with interest?'
I
immediately went to work on a raft. I made it of large pieces of timber and
cables, for I had choice of them, and tied them together so strongly that I had
made a very solid little raft. When I had finished it I loaded it with some
bales of rubies, emeralds, ambergris, rock-crystal, and rich stuffs. Having
balanced all my cargo exactly and fastened it well to the raft, I went on board
it with two little oars that I had made, and, leaving it to the course of the
river, I resigned myself to the will of God.
As
soon as I came into the cave I lost all light, and the stream carried me I knew
not whither. Thus I floated for some days in perfect darkness, and once found
the arch so low that it well nigh broke my head, which made me very cautious
afterwards to avoid the like danger. All this while I ate nothing but what was just
necessary to support nature; yet, notwithstanding this frugality, all my
provisions were spent. Then a pleasing sleep fell upon me. I cannot tell how
long it continued; but when I awoke, I was surprised to find myself in the
middle of a vast country, at the bank of a river, where my raft was tied,
amidst a great number of negroes. I got up as soon as I saw them and saluted
them. They spoke to me, but I did not understand their language. I was so
transported with joy that I knew not whether I was asleep or awake; but being
persuaded that I was not asleep, I recited the following words in Arabic aloud:
'Call upon the Almighty, he will help thee; thou needest not perplex
thyself about anything else; shut thy eyes, and while thou art asleep, God will
change thy bad fortune into good.'
One
of the blacks, who understood Arabic, hearing me speak thus, came towards me
and said, 'Brother, be not surprised to see us; we are inhabitants of this
country, and came hither to-day to water our fields, by digging little canals
from this river, which comes out of the neighbouring mountain. We saw something
floating upon the water, went speedily to find out what it was, and perceiving
your raft, one of us swam into the river, and brought it hither, where we
fastened it, as you see, until you should awake. Pray tell us your history, for
it must be extraordinary; how did you venture into this river, and whence did
you come?'
I
begged of them first to give me something to eat, and then I would satisfy
their curiosity. They gave me several sorts of food; and when I had satisfied
my hunger, I gave them a true account of all that had befallen me, which they
listened to with wonder. As soon as I had finished my discourse, they told me,
by the person who spoke Arabic and interpreted to them what I said, that it was
one of the most surprising stories they ever heard, and that I must go along
with them, and tell it to their king myself; the story was too extraordinary to
be told by any other than the person to whom it happened. I told them I was
ready to do whatever they pleased.
They
immediately sent for a horse, which was brought in a little time; and having
made me get upon him, some of them walked before me to show me the way, and the
rest took my raft and cargo, and followed me.
We
marched thus altogether, till we came to the city of Serendib, for it was in
that island I landed. The blacks presented me to their king; I approached his
throne, and saluted him as I used to do the kings of the Indies; that is to
say, I prostrated myself at his feet, and kissed the earth. The prince ordered
me to rise up, received me with an obliging air, and made me come up, and sit
down near him. He first asked me my name, and I answered, 'They call me Sinbad
the sailor, because of the many voyages I have undertaken, and I am a citizen
of Baghdad.'
'But,'
replied he, 'how came you into my dominions, and from whence came you last?'
I
concealed nothing from the king; I told him all that I have now told you, and his majesty was so
surprised and charmed with it, that he commanded my adventure to be written in
letters of gold, and laid up in the archives of his kingdom. At last my raft
was brought in, and the bales opened in his presence: he admired the quantity
of wood of aloes and ambergris; but, above all, the rubies and emeralds, for he
had none in his treasury that came near them.
Observing
that he looked on my jewels with pleasure, and viewed the most remarkable among
them one after another, I fell prostrate at his feet, and took the liberty to
say to him, 'Sir, not only my person is at your majesty's service, but the
cargo of the raft, and I would beg of you to dispose of it as your own.'
He
answered me with a smile, 'Sinbad, I will take care not to covet anything of
yours, nor to take anything from you that God has given you; far from lessening
your wealth, I design to augment it, and will not let you go out of my
dominions without marks of my liberality.'
All
the answer I returned was prayers for the prosperity of this prince, and
commendations of his generosity and bounty. He charged one of his officers to
take care of me, and ordered people to serve me at his own charge. The officer
was very faithful in the execution of his orders, and caused all the goods to
be carried to the lodgings provided for me. I went every day at a set hour to
pay court to the king, and spent the rest of my time in seeing the city, and
what was most worthy of notice.
The
Isle of Serendib is situated just under the equinoctial line, so that the days
and nights there are always of twelve hours each, and the island is eighty
parasangs in length, and as many in breadth.
The
capital city stands at the end of a fine valley formed by a mountain in the
middle of the island, which is the highest in the world. I made, by way of
devotion, a pilgrimage to the place where Adam was confined after his
banishment from Paradise, and had the curiosity to go to the top of it.
When
I came back to the city, I prayed the king to allow me to return to my country,
which he granted me in the most obliging and honourable manner. He would needs
force a rich present upon me, and when I went to take my leave of him, he gave
me one much more valuable, and at the same time charged me with a letter for
the Commander of the Faithful, our sovereign, saying to me, 'I pray you give
this present from me and this letter to Caliph Haroun Alraschid, and assure him of my
friendship.' I took the present and letter in a very respectful manner, and
promised his majesty punctually to execute the commission with which he was
pleased to honour me. Before I embarked, this prince sent for the captain and
the merchants who were to go with me, and ordered them to treat me with all
possible respect.
The
letter from the King of Serendib was written on the skin of a certain animal of
great value, because of its being so scarce, and of a yellowish colour. The
writing was azure, and the contents as follows:—
'The
king of the Indies, before whom march a hundred elephants, who lives in a
palace that shines with a hundred thousand rubies, and who has in his treasury
twenty thousand crowns enriched with diamonds, to Caliph Haroun Alraschid:
'Though
the present we send you be inconsiderable, receive it as a brother and a
friend, in consideration of the hearty friendship which we bear to you, and of
which we are willing to give you proof. We desire the same part in your
friendship, considering that we believe it to be our merit, being of the same
dignity with yourself. We conjure you this in the rank of a brother. Farewell.'
The
present consisted first, of one single ruby made into a cup, about half a foot
high, an inch thick, and filled with round pearls. Secondly, the skin of a
serpent, whose scales were as large as an ordinary piece of gold, and had the
virtue to preserve from sickness those who lay upon it. Thirdly, fifty thousand
drachms of the best wood of aloes, with thirty grains of camphor as big as
pistachios. And fourthly, a she-slave of ravishing beauty, whose apparel was
covered all over with jewels.
The
ship set sail, and after a very long and successful voyage, we landed at
Balsora; from thence I went to Bagdad, where the first thing I did was to
acquit myself of my commission.
I
took the King of Serendib's letter, and went to present myself at the gate of
the Commander of the Faithful, followed by the beautiful slave and such of my
own family as carried the presents. I gave an account of the reason of my
coming, and was immediately conducted to the throne of the caliph. I made my
reverence, and after a short speech gave him the letter and present. When he
had read what the King of Serendib wrote to him, he asked me if that prince
were really so rich and potent as he had said in this letter. I prostrated
myself a second time, and rising again, 'Commander of the Faithful,'
said I, 'I can assure your majesty he doth not exceed the truth on that head: I
am witness of it. There is nothing more capable of raising a man's admiration
than the magnificence of his palace. When the prince appears in public, he has
a throne fixed on the back of an elephant, and marches betwixt two ranks of his
ministers, favourites, and other people of his court; before him, upon the same
elephant, an officer carries a golden lance in his hand, and behind the throne
there is another, who stands upright with a column of gold, on the top of which
there is an emerald half a foot long and an inch thick; before him march a
guard of a thousand men, clad in cloth of gold and silk, and mounted on
elephants richly caparisoned.
'While
the king is on his march, the officer who is before him on the same elephant
cries from time to time, with a loud voice, "Behold the great monarch, the
potent and redoubtable Sultan of the Indies, whose palace is covered with a
hundred thousand rubies, and who possesses twenty thousand crowns of diamonds."
After he has pronounced these words, the officer behind the throne cries in his
turn, "This monarch so great and so powerful, must die, must die, must
die." And the officer in front replies, "Praise be to Him who lives
for ever."
'Further,
the King of Serendib is so just that there are no judges in his dominions. His
people have no need of them. They understand and observe justice of themselves.'
The
caliph was much pleased with my discourse. 'The wisdom of this king,' said he,
'appears in his letter, and after what you tell me I must confess that his
wisdom is worthy of his people, and his people deserve so wise a prince.'
Having spoken thus he dismissed me, and sent me home with a rich present .
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