Amiga CD32/Amiga CD32 1994 - Brilliant PD Games.iso/literature/50.arab.2

Text File | 1994-05-11 | 103KB | 2,479 lines

The Story of the Second Calendar, Son of a King


"Madam," said the young man, addressing Zobeida,
"if you wish to know how I lost my right eye, I
shall have to tell you the story of my whole
life."

I was scarcely more than a baby, when the king my
father, finding me unusually quick and clever for
my age, turned his thoughts to my education.  I
was taught first to read and write, and then to
learn the Koran, which is the basis of our holy
religion, and the better to understand it, I read
with my tutors the ablest commentators on its
teaching, and committed to memory all the
traditions respecting the Prophet, which have been
gathered from the mouth of those who were his
friends.  I also learnt history, and was
instructed in poetry, versification, geography,
chronology, and in all the outdoor exercises in
which every prince should excel.  But what I liked
best of all was writing Arabic characters, and in
this I soon surpassed my masters, and gained a
reputation in this branch of knowledge that
reached as far as India itself.

Now the Sultan of the Indies, curious to see a
young prince with such strange tastes, sent an
ambassador to my father, laden with rich presents,
and a warm invitation to visit his court.  My
father, who was deeply anxious to secure the
friendship of so powerful a monarch, and held
besides that a little travel would greatly improve
my manners and open my mind, accepted gladly, and
in a short time I had set out for India with the
ambassador, attended only by a small suite on
account of the length of the journey, and the
badness of the roads.  However, as was my duty, I
took with me ten camels, laden with rich presents
for the Sultan.

We had been travelling for about a month, when one
day we saw a cloud of dust moving swiftly towards
us; and as soon as it came near, we found that the
dust concealed a band of fifty robbers.  Our men
barely numbered half, and as we were also hampered
by the camels, there was no use in fighting, so we
tried to overawe them by informing them who we
were, and whither we were going.  The robbers,
however, only laughed, and declared that was none
of their business, and, without more words,
attacked us brutally.  I defended myself to the
last, wounded though I was, but at length, seeing
that resistance was hopeless, and that the
ambassador and all our followers were made
prisoners, I put spurs to my horse and rode away
as fast as I could, till the poor beast fell dead
from a wound in his side.  I managed to jump off
without any injury, and looked about to see if I
was pursued.  But for the moment I was safe, for,
as I imagined, the robbers were all engaged in
quarrelling over their booty.

I found myself in a country that was quite new to
me, and dared not return to the main road lest I
should again fall into the hands of the robbers.
Luckily my wound was only a slight one, and after
binding it up as well as I could, I walked on for
the rest of the day, till I reached a cave at the
foot of a mountain, where I passed the night in
peace, making my supper off some fruits I had
gathered on the way.

I wandered about for a whole month without knowing
where I was going, till at length I found myself
on the outskirts of a beautiful city, watered by
winding streams, which enjoyed an eternal spring.
My delight at the prospect of mixing once more
with human beings was somewhat damped at the
thought of the miserable object I must seem.  My
face and hands had been burned nearly black; my
clothes were all in rags, and my shoes were in
such a state that I had been forced to abandon
them altogether.

I entered the town, and stopped at a tailor s shop
to inquire where I was.  The man saw I was better
than my condition, and begged me to sit down, and
in return I told him my whole story.  The tailor
listened with attention, but his reply, instead of
giving me consolation, only increased my trouble.

"Beware," he said, "of telling any one what you
have told me, for the prince who governs the
kingdom is your father's greatest enemy, and he
will be rejoiced to find you in his power."

I thanked the tailor for his counsel, and said I
would do whatever he advised; then, being very
hungry, I gladly ate of the food he put before me,
and accepted his offer of a lodging in his house.

In a few days I had quite recovered from the
hardships I had undergone, and then the tailor,
knowing that it was the custom for the princes of
our religion to learn a trade or profession so as
to provide for themselves in times of ill-fortune,
inquired if there was anything I could do for my
living.  I replied that I had been educated as a
grammarian and a poet, but that my great gift was
writing.

"All that is of no use here," said the tailor.
"Take my advice, put on a short coat, and as you
seem hardy and strong, go into the woods and cut
firewood, which you will sell in the streets.  By
this means you will earn your living, and be able
to wait till better times come.  The hatchet and
the cord shall be my present."

This counsel was very distasteful to me, but I
thought I could not do otherwise than adopt it.
So the next morning I set out with a company of
poor wood-cutters, to whom the tailor had
introduced me.  Even on the first day I cut enough
wood to sell for a tolerable sum, and very soon I
became more expert, and had made enough money to
repay the tailor all he had lent me.

I had been a wood-cutter for more than a year,
when one day I wandered further into the forest
than I had ever done before, and reached a
delicious green glade, where I began to cut wood.
I was hacking at the root of a tree, when I beheld
an iron ring fastened to a trapdoor of the same
metal.  I soon cleared away the earth, and pulling
up the door, found a staircase, which I hastily
made up my mind to go down, carrying my hatchet
with me by way of protection.  When I reached the
bottom I discovered that I was in a huge palace,
as brilliantly lighted as any palace above ground
that I had ever seen, with a long gallery
supported by pillars of jasper, ornamented with
capitals of gold.  Down this gallery a lady came
to meet me, of such beauty that I forgot
everything else, and thought only of her.

To save her all the trouble possible, I hastened
towards her, and bowed low.

"Who are you?  Who are you?" she said.  "A man or
a genius?"

"A man, madam," I replied; "I have nothing to do
with genii."

"By what accident do you come here?" she asked
again with a sigh.  "I have been in this place now
for five and twenty years, and you are the first
man who has visited me."

Emboldened by her beauty and gentleness, I
ventured to reply, "Before, madam, I answer your
question, allow me to say how grateful I am for
this meeting, which is not only a consolation to
me in my own heavy sorrow, but may perhaps enable
me to render your lot happier," and then I told
her who I was, and how I had come there.

"Alas, prince," she said, with a deeper sigh than
before, "you have guessed rightly in supposing me
an unwilling prisoner in this gorgeous place.  I
am the daughter of the king of the Ebony Isle, of
whose fame you surely must have heard.  At my
father's desire I was married to a prince who was
my own cousin; but on my very wedding day, I was
snatched up by a genius, and brought here in a
faint.  For a long while I did nothing but weep,
and would not suffer the genius to come near me;
but time teaches us submission, and I have now got
accustomed to his presence, and if clothes and
jewels could content me, I have them in plenty.
Every tenth day, for five and twenty years, I have
received a visit from him, but in case I should
need his help at any other time, I have only to
touch a talisman that stands at the entrance of my
chamber.  It wants still five days to his next
visit, and I hope that during that time you will
do me the honour to be my guest."

I was too much dazzled by her beauty to dream of
refusing her offer, and accordingly the princess
had me conducted to the bath, and a rich dress
befitting my rank was provided for me.  Then a
feast of the most delicate dishes was served in a
room hung with embroidered Indian fabrics.

Next day, when we were at dinner, I could maintain
my patience no longer, and implored the princess
to break her bonds, and return with me to the
world which was lighted by the sun.

"What you ask is impossible," she answered; "but
stay here with me instead, and we can be happy,
and all you will have to do is to betake yourself
to the forest every tenth day, when I am expecting
my master the genius.  He is very jealous, as you
know, and will not suffer a man to come near me."

"Princess," I replied, "I see it is only fear of
the genius that makes you act like this.  For
myself, I dread him so little that I mean to break
his talisman in pieces!  Awful though you think
him, he shall feel the weight of my arm, and I
herewith take a solemn vow to stamp out the whole
race."

The princess, who realized the consequences of
such audacity, entreated me not to touch the
talisman.  "If you do, it will be the ruin of both
of us," said she; "I know genii much better than
you." But the wine I had drunk had confused my
brain; I gave one kick to the talisman, and it
fell into a thousand pieces.

Hardly had my foot touched the talisman when the
air became as dark as night, a fearful noise was
heard, and the palace shook to its very
foundations.  In an instant I was sobered, and
understood what I had done.  "Princess!" I cried,
"what is happening?"

"Alas!" she exclaimed, forgetting all her own
terrors in anxiety for me, "fly, or you are lost."

I followed her advice and dashed up the staircase,
leaving my hatchet behind me.  But I was too late.
The palace opened and the genius appeared, who,
turning angrily to the princess, asked
indignantly,

"What is the matter, that you have sent for me
like this?"

"A pain in my heart," she replied hastily,
"obliged me to seek the aid of this little bottle.
Feeling faint, I slipped and fell against the
talisman, which broke.  That is really all."

"You are an impudent liar!" cried the genius.
"How did this hatchet and those shoes get here?"

"I never saw them before," she answered, "and you
came in such a hurry that you may have picked them
up on the road without knowing it." To this the
genius only replied by insults and blows.  I could
hear the shrieks and groans of the princess, and
having by this time taken off my rich garments and
put on those in which I had arrived the previous
day, I lifted the trap, found myself once more in
the forest, and returned to my friend the tailor,
with a light load of wood and a heart full of
shame and sorrow.

The tailor, who had been uneasy at my long
absence, was, delighted to see me; but I kept
silence about my adventure, and as soon as
possible retired to my room to lament in secret
over my folly.  While I was thus indulging my
grief my host entered, and said, "There is an old
man downstairs who has brought your hatchet and
slippers, which he picked up on the road, and now
restores to you, as he found out from one of your
comrades where you lived.  You had better come
down and speak to him yourself." At this speech I
changed colour, and my legs trembled under me.
The tailor noticed my confusion, and was just
going to inquire the reason when the door of the
room opened, and the old man appeared, carrying
with him my hatchet and shoes.

"I am a genius," he said, "the son of the daughter
of Eblis, prince of the genii.  Is not this
hatchet yours, and these shoes?" Without waiting
for an answer--which, indeed, I could hardly have
given him, so great was my fright--he seized hold
of me, and darted up into the air with the
quickness of lightning, and then, with equal
swiftness, dropped down towards the earth.  When
he touched the ground, he rapped it with his foot;
it opened, and we found ourselves in the enchanted
palace, in the presence of the beautiful princess
of the Ebony Isle.  But how different she looked
from what she was when I had last seen her, for
she was lying stretched on the ground covered with
blood, and weeping bitterly.

"Traitress!" cried the genius, "is not this man
your lover?"

She lifted up her eyes slowly, and looked sadly at
me.  "I never saw him before," she answered
slowly.  "I do not know who he is."

"What!" exclaimed the genius, "you owe all your
sufferings to him, and yet you dare to say he is a
stranger to you!"

"But if he really is a stranger to me," she
replied, "why should I tell a lie and cause his
death?"

"Very well," said the genius, drawing his sword,
"take this, and cut off his head."

"Alas," answered the princess, "I am too weak even
to hold the sabre.  And supposing that I had the
strength, why should I put an innocent man to
death?"

"You condemn yourself by your refusal," said the
genius; then turning to me, he added, "and you, do
you not know her?"

"How should I?" I replied, resolved to imitate the
princess in her fidelity.  "How should I, when I
never saw her before?"

"Cut her head off," then, "if she is a stranger to
you, and I shall believe you are speaking the
truth, and will set you at liberty."

"Certainly," I answered, taking the sabre in my
hands, and making a sign to the princess to fear
nothing, as it was my own life that I was about to
sacrifice, and not hers.  But the look of
gratitude she gave me shook my courage, and I
flung the sabre to the earth.

"I should not deserve to live," I said to the
genius, "if I were such a coward as to slay a lady
who is not only unknown to me, but who is at this
moment half dead herself.  Do with me as you
will-- I am in your power--but I refuse to obey
your cruel command."

"I see," said the genius, "that you have both made
up your minds to brave me, but I will give you a
sample of what you may expect." So saying, with
one sweep of his sabre he cut off a hand of the
princess, who was just able to lift the other to
wave me an eternal farewell.  Then I lost
consciousness for several minutes.

When I came to myself I implored the genius to
keep me no longer in this state of suspense, but
to lose no time in putting an end to my
sufferings.  The genius, however, paid no
attention to my prayers, but said sternly, "That
is the way in which a genius treats the woman who
has betrayed him.  If I chose, I could kill you
also; but I will be merciful, and content myself
with changing you into a dog, an ass, a lion, or a
bird--whichever you prefer."

I caught eagerly at these words, as giving me a
faint hope of softening his wrath.  "O genius!" I
cried, "as you wish to spare my life, be generous,
and spare it altogether.  Grant my prayer, and
pardon my crime, as the best man in the whole
world forgave his neighbour who was eaten up with
envy of him." Contrary to my hopes, the genius
seemed interested in my words, and said he would
like to hear the story of the two neighbours; and
as I think, madam, it may please you, I will tell
it to you also.



The Story of the Envious Man and of Him Who Was
Envied


In a town of moderate size, two men lived in
neighbouring houses; but they had not been there
very long before one man took such a hatred of the
other, and envied him so bitterly, that the poor
man determined to find another home, hoping that
when they no longer met every day his enemy would
forget all about him.  So he sold his house and
the little furniture it contained, and moved into
the capital of the country, which was luckily at
no great distance.  About half a mile from this
city he bought a nice little place, with a large
garden and a fair-sized court, in the centre of
which stood an old well.

In order to live a quieter life, the good man put
on the robe of a dervish, and divided his house
into a quantity of small cells, where he soon
established a number of other dervishes.  The fame
of his virtue gradually spread abroad, and many
people, including several of the highest quality,
came to visit him and ask his prayers.

Of course it was not long before his reputation
reached the ears of the man who envied him, and
this wicked wretch resolved never to rest till he
had in some way worked ill to the dervish whom he
hated.  So he left his house and his business to
look after themselves, and betook himself to the
new dervish monastery, where he was welcomed by
the founder with all the warmth imaginable.  The
excuse he gave for his appearance was that he had
come to consult the chief of the dervishes on a
private matter of great importance.  "What I have
to say must not be overheard," he whispered;
"command, I beg of you, that your dervishes retire
into their cells, as night is approaching, and
meet me in the court."

The dervish did as he was asked without delay, and
directly they were alone together the envious man
began to tell a long story, edging, as they walked
to and fro, always nearer to the well, and when
they were quite close, he seized the dervish and
dropped him in.  He then ran off triumphantly,
without having been seen by anyone, and
congratulating himself that the object of his
hatred was dead, and would trouble him no more.

But in this he was mistaken!  The old well had
long been inhabited (unknown to mere human beings)
by a set of fairies and genii, who caught the
dervish as he fell, so that he received no hurt.
The dervish himself could see nothing, but he took
for granted that something strange had happened,
or he must certainly have been dashed against the
side of the well and been killed.  He lay quite
still, and in a moment he heard a voice saying,
"Can you guess whom this man is that we have saved
from death?"

"No," replied several other voices.

And the first speaker answered, "I will tell you.
This man, from pure goodness of heart, forsook the
town where he lived and came to dwell here, in the
hope of curing one of his neighbours of the envy
he felt towards him.  But his character soon won
him the esteem of all, and the envious man's
hatred grew, till he came here with the deliberate
intention of causing his death.  And this he would
have done, without our help, the very day before
the Sultan has arranged to visit this holy
dervish, and to entreat his prayers for the
princess, his daughter."

"But what is the matter with the princess that she
needs the dervish's prayers?" asked another voice.

"She has fallen into the power of the genius
Maimoum, the son of Dimdim," replied the first
voice.  "But it would be quite simple for this
holy chief of the dervishes to cure her if he only
knew!  In his convent there is a black cat which
has a tiny white tip to its tail.  Now to cure the
princess the dervish must pull out seven of these
white hairs, burn three, and with their smoke
perfume the head of the princess.  This will
deliver her so completely that Maimoum, the son of
Dimdim, will never dare to approach her again."

The fairies and genii ceased talking, but the
dervish did not forget a word of all they had
said; and when morning came he perceived a place
in the side of the well which was broken, and
where he could easily climb out.

The dervishes, who could not imagine what had
become of him, were enchanted at his reappearance.
He told them of the attempt on his life made by
his guest of the previous day, and then retired
into his cell.  He was soon joined here by the
black cat of which the voice had spoken, who came
as usual to say good-morning to his master.  He
took him on his knee and seized the opportunity to
pull seven white hairs out of his tail, and put
them on one side till they were needed.

The sun had not long risen before the Sultan, who
was anxious to leave nothing undone that might
deliver the princess, arrived with a large suite
at the gate of the monastery, and was received by
the dervishes with profound respect.  The Sultan
lost no time in declaring the object of his visit,
and leading the chief of the dervishes aside, he
said to him, "Noble scheik, you have guessed
perhaps what I have come to ask you?"

"Yes, sire," answered the dervish; "if I am not
mistaken, it is the illness of the princess which
has procured me this honour."

"You are right," returned the Sultan, "and you
will give me fresh life if you can by your prayers
deliver my daughter from the strange malady that
has taken possession of her."

"Let your highness command her to come here, and I
will see what I can do."

The Sultan, full of hope, sent orders at once that
the princess was to set out as soon as possible,
accompanied by her usual staff of attendants.
When she arrived, she was so thickly veiled that
the dervish could not see her face, but he desired
a brazier to be held over her head, and laid the
seven hairs on the burning coals.  The instant
they were consumed, terrific cries were heard, but
no one could tell from whom they proceeded.  Only
the dervish guessed that they were uttered by
Maimoum the son of Dimdim, who felt the princess
escaping him.

All this time she had seemed unconscious of what
she was doing, but now she raised her hand to her
veil and uncovered her face.  "Where am I?" she
said in a bewildered manner; "and how did I get
here?"

The Sultan was so delighted to hear these words
that he not only embraced his daughter, but kissed
the hand of the dervish.  Then, turning to his
attendants who stood round, he said to them, "What
reward shall I give to the man who has restored me
my daughter?"

They all replied with one accord that he deserved
the hand of the princess.

"That is my own opinion," said he, "and from this
moment I declare him to be my son-in-law."

Shortly after these events, the grand-vizir died,
and his post was given to the dervish.  But he did
not hold it for long, for the Sultan fell a victim
to an attack of illness, and as he had no sons,
the soldiers and priests declared the dervish heir
to the throne, to the great joy of all the people.

One day, when the dervish, who had now become
Sultan, was making a royal progress with his
court, he perceived the envious man standing in
the crowd.  He made a sign to one of his vizirs,
and whispered in his ear, "Fetch me that man who
is standing out there, but take great care not to
frighten him." The vizir obeyed, and when the
envious man was brought before the Sultan, the
monarch said to him, "My friend, I am delighted to
see you again." Then turning to an officer, he
added, "Give him a thousand pieces of gold out of
my treasury, and twenty waggon-loads of
merchandise out of my private stores, and let an
escort of soldiers accompany him home." He then
took leave of the envious man, and went on his
way.

Now when I had ended my story, I proceeded to show
the genius how to apply it to himself.  "O
genius," I said, "you see that this Sultan was not
content with merely forgiving the envious man for
the attempt on his life; he heaped rewards and
riches upon him."

But the genius had made up his mind, and could not
be softened.  "Do not imagine that you are going
to escape so easily," he said.  "All I can do is
to give you bare life; you will have to learn what
happens to people who interfere with me."

As he spoke he seized me violently by the arm; the
roof of the palace opened to make way for us, and
we mounted up so high into the air that the earth
looked like a little cloud.  Then, as before, he
came down with the swiftness of lightning, and we
touched the ground on a mountain top.

Then he stooped and gathered a handful of earth,
and murmured some words over it, after which he
threw the earth in my face, saying as he did so,
"Quit the form of a man, and assume that of a
monkey." This done, he vanished, and I was in the
likeness of an ape, and in a country I had never
seen before.

However there was no use in stopping where I was,
so I came down the mountain and found myself in a
flat plain which was bounded by the sea.  I
travelled towards it, and was pleased to see a
vessel moored about half a mile from shore.  There
were no waves, so I broke off the branch of a
tree, and dragging it down to the waters edge, sat
across it, while, using two sticks for oars, I
rowed myself towards the ship.

The deck was full of people, who watched my
progress with interest, but when I seized a rope
and swung myself on board, I found that I had only
escaped death at the hands of the genius to perish
by those of the sailors, lest I should bring
ill-luck to the vessel and the merchants.  "Throw
him into the sea!" cried one.  "Knock him on the
head with a hammer," exclaimed another.  "Let me
shoot him with an arrow," said a third; and
certainly somebody would have had his way if I had
not flung myself at the captain's feet and grasped
tight hold of his dress.  He appeared touched by
my action and patted my head, and declared that he
would take me under his protection, and that no
one should do me any harm.

At the end of about fifty days we cast anchor
before a large town, and the ship was immediately
surrounded by a multitude of small boats filled
with people, who had come either to meet their
friends or from simple curiosity.  Among others,
one boat contained several officials, who asked to
see the merchants on board, and informed them that
they had been sent by the Sultan in token of
welcome, and to beg them each to write a few lines
on a roll of paper.  "In order to explain this
strange request," continued the officers, "it is
necessary that you should know that the
grand-vizir, lately dead, was celebrated for his
beautiful handwriting, and the Sultan is anxious
to find a similar talent in his successor.
Hitherto the search has been a failure, but his
Highness has not yet given up hope."

One after another the merchants set down a few
lines upon the roll, and when they had all
finished, I came forward, and snatched the paper
from the man who held it.  At first they all
thought I was going to throw it into the sea, but
they were quieted when they saw I held it with
great care, and great was their surprise when I
made signs that I too wished to write something.

"Let him do it if he wants to," said the captain.
"If he only makes a mess of the paper, you may be
sure I will punish him for it.  But if, as I hope,
he really can write, for he is the cleverest
monkey I ever saw, I will adopt him as my son.
The one I lost had not nearly so much sense!"

No more was said, and I took the pen and wrote the
six sorts of writing in use among the Arabs, and
each sort contained an original verse or couplet,
in praise of the Sultan.  And not only did my
handwriting completely eclipse that of the
merchants, but it is hardly too much to say that
none so beautiful had ever before been seen in
that country.  When I had ended the officials took
the roll and returned to the Sultan.

As soon as the monarch saw my writing he did not
so much as look at the samples of the merchants,
but desired his officials to take the finest and
most richly caparisoned horse in his stables,
together with the most magnificent dress they
could procure, and to put it on the person who had
written those lines, and bring him to court.

The officials began to laugh when they heard the
Sultan's command, but as soon as they could speak
they said, "Deign, your highness, to excuse our
mirth, but those lines were not written by a man
but by a monkey."

"A monkey!" exclaimed the Sultan.

"Yes, sire," answered the officials.  "They were
written by a monkey in our presence."

"Then bring me the monkey," he replied, "as fast
as you can."

The Sultan's officials returned to the ship and
showed the royal order to the captain.

"He is the master," said the good man, and desired
that I should be sent for.

Then they put on me the gorgeous robe and rowed me
to land, where I was placed on the horse and led
to the palace.  Here the Sultan was awaiting me in
great state surrounded by his court.

All the way along the streets I had been the
object of curiosity to a vast crowd, which had
filled every doorway and every window, and it was
amidst their shouts and cheers that I was ushered
into the presence of the Sultan.

I approached the throne on which he was seated and
made him three low bows, then prostrated myself at
his feet to the surprise of everyone, who could
not understand how it was possible that a monkey
should be able to distinguish a Sultan from other
people, and to pay him the respect due to his
rank.  However, excepting the usual speech, I
omitted none of the common forms attending a royal
audience.

When it was over the Sultan dismissed all the
court, keeping with him only the chief of the
eunuchs and a little slave.  He then passed into
another room and ordered food to be brought,
making signs to me to sit at table with him and
eat.  I rose from my seat, kissed the ground, and
took my place at the table, eating, as you may
suppose, with care and in moderation.

Before the dishes were removed I made signs that
writing materials, which stood in one corner of
the room, should be laid in front of me.  I then
took a peach and wrote on it some verses in praise
of the Sultan, who was speechless with
astonishment; but when I did the same thing on a
glass from which I had drunk he murmured to
himself, "Why, a man who could do as much would be
cleverer than any other man, and this is only a
monkey!"

Supper being over chessmen were brought, and the
Sultan signed to me to know if I would play with
him.  I kissed the ground and laid my hand on my
head to show that I was ready to show myself
worthy of the honour.  He beat me the first game,
but I won the second and third, and seeing that
this did not quite please I dashed off a verse by
way of consolation.

The Sultan was so enchanted with all the talents
of which I had given proof that he wished me to
exhibit some of them to other people.  So turning
to the chief of the eunuchs he said, "Go and beg
my daughter, Queen of Beauty, to come here.  I
will show her something she has never seen
before."

The chief of the eunuchs bowed and left the room,
ushering in a few moments later the princess,
Queen of Beauty.  Her face was uncovered, but the
moment she set foot in the room she threw her veil
over her head.  "Sire," she said to her father,
"what can you be thinking of to summon me like
this into the presence of a man?"

"I do not understand you," replied the Sultan.
"There is nobody here but the eunuch, who is your
own servant, the little slave, and myself, yet you
cover yourself with your veil and reproach me for
having sent for you, as if I had committed a
crime."

"Sire," answered the princess, "I am right and you
are wrong.  This monkey is really no monkey at
all, but a young prince who has been turned into a
monkey by the wicked spells of a genius, son of
the daughter of Eblis."

As will be imagined, these words took the Sultan
by surprise, and he looked at me to see how I
should take the statement of the princess.  As I
was unable to speak, I placed my hand on my head
to show that it was true.

"But how do you know this, my daughter?" asked he.

"Sire," replied Queen of Beauty, "the old lady who
took care of me in my childhood was an
accomplished magician, and she taught me seventy
rules of her art, by means of which I could, in
the twinkling of an eye, transplant your capital
into the middle of the ocean.  Her art likewise
teaches me to recognise at first sight all persons
who are enchanted, and tells me by whom the spell
was wrought."

"My daughter," said the Sultan, "I really had no
idea you were so clever."

"Sire," replied the princess, "there are many
out-of-the-way things it is as well to know, but
one should never boast of them."

"Well," asked the Sultan, "can you tell me what
must be done to disenchant the young prince?"

"Certainly; and I can do it."

"Then restore him to his former shape," cried the
Sultan.  "You could give me no greater pleasure,
for I wish to make him my grand-vizir, and to give
him to you for your husband."

"As your Highness pleases," replied the princess.

Queen of Beauty rose and went to her chamber, from
which she fetched a knife with some Hebrew words
engraven on the blade.  She then desired the
Sultan, the chief of the eunuchs, the little
slave, and myself to descend into a secret court
of the palace, and placed us beneath a gallery
which ran all round, she herself standing in the
centre of the court.  Here she traced a large
circle and in it wrote several words in Arab
characters.

When the circle and the writing were finished she
stood in the middle of it and repeated some verses
from the Koran.  Slowly the air grew dark, and we
felt as if the earth was about to crumble away,
and our fright was by no means diminished at
seeing the genius, son of the daughter of Eblis,
suddenly appear under the form of a colossal lion.

"Dog," cried the princess when she first caught
sight of him, "you think to strike terror into me
by daring to present yourself before me in this
hideous shape."

"And you," retorted the lion, "have not feared to
break our treaty that engaged solemnly we should
never interfere with each other."

"Accursed genius!" exclaimed the princess, "it is
you by whom that treaty was first broken."

"I will teach you how to give me so much trouble,"
said the lion, and opening his huge mouth he
advanced to swallow her.  But the princess
expected something of the sort and was on her
guard.  She bounded on one side, and seizing one
of the hairs of his mane repeated two or three
words over it.  In an instant it became a sword,
and with a sharp blow she cut the lion's body into
two pieces.  These pieces vanished no one knew
where, and only the lion's head remained, which
was at once changed into a scorpion.  Quick as
thought the princess assumed the form of a serpent
and gave battle to the scorpion, who, finding he
was getting the worst of it, turned himself into
an eagle and took flight.  But in a moment the
serpent had become an eagle more powerful still,
who soared up in the air and after him, and then
we lost sight of them both.

We all remained where we were quaking with
anxiety, when the ground opened in front of us and
a black and white cat leapt out, its hair standing
on end, and miauing frightfully.  At its heels was
a wolf, who had almost seized it, when the cat
changed itself into a worm, and, piercing the skin
of a pomegranate which had tumbled from a tree,
hid itself in the fruit.  The pomegranate swelled
till it grew as large as a pumpkin, and raised
itself on to the roof of the gallery, from which
it fell into the court and was broken into bits.
While this was taking place the wolf, who had
transformed himself into a cock, began to swallow
the seed of the pomegranate as fast as he could.
When all were gone he flew towards us, flapping
his wings as if to ask if we saw any more, when
suddenly his eye fell on one which lay on the bank
of the little canal that flowed through the court;
he hastened towards it, but before he could touch
it the seed rolled into the canal and became a
fish.  The cock flung himself in after the fish
and took the shape of a pike, and for two hours
they chased each other up and down under the
water, uttering horrible cries, but we could see
nothing.  At length they rose from the water in
their proper forms, but darting such flames of
fire from their mouths that we dreaded lest the
palace should catch fire.  Soon, however, we had
much greater cause for alarm, as the genius,
having shaken off the princess, flew towards us.
Our fate would have been sealed if the princess,
seeing our danger, had not attracted the attention
of the genius to herself.  As it was, the Sultan's
beard was singed and his face scorched, the chief
of the eunuchs was burned to a cinder, while a
spark deprived me of the sight of one eye.  Both I
and the Sultan had given up all hope of a rescue,
when there was a shout of "Victory, victory!" from
the princess, and the genius lay at her feet a
great heap of ashes.

Exhausted though she was, the princess at once
ordered the little slave, who alone was uninjured,
to bring her a cup of water, which she took in her
hand.  First repeating some magic words over it,
she dashed it into my face saying, "If you are
only a monkey by enchantment, resume the form of
the man you were before." In an instant I stood
before her the same man I had formerly been,
though having lost the sight of one eye.

I was about to fall on my knees and thank the
princess but she did not give me time.  Turning to
the Sultan, her father, she said, "Sire, I have
gained the battle, but it has cost me dear.  The
fire has penetrated to my heart, and I have only a
few moments to live.  This would not have happened
if I had only noticed the last pomegranate seed
and eaten it like the rest.  It was the last
struggle of the genius, and up to that time I was
quite safe.  But having let this chance slip I was
forced to resort to fire, and in spite of all his
experience I showed the genius that I knew more
than he did.  He is dead and in ashes, but my own
death is approaching fast." "My daughter," cried
the Sultan, "how sad is my condition!  I am only
surprised I am alive at all!  The eunuch is
consumed by the flames, and the prince whom you
have delivered has lost the sight of one eye." He
could say no more, for sobs choked his voice, and
we all wept together.

Suddenly the princess shrieked, "I burn, I burn!"
and death came to free her from her torments.

I have no words, madam, to tell you of my feelings
at this terrible sight.  I would rather have
remained a monkey all my life than let my
benefactress perish in this shocking manner.  As
for the Sultan, he was quite inconsolable, and his
subjects, who had dearly loved the princess,
shared his grief.  For seven days the whole nation
mourned, and then the ashes of the princess were
buried with great pomp, and a superb tomb was
raised over her.

As soon as the Sultan recovered from the severe
illness which had seized him after the death of
the princess he sent for me and plainly, though
politely, informed me that my presence would
always remind him of his loss, and he begged that
I would instantly quit his kingdom, and on pain of
death never return to it.  I was, of course, bound
to obey, and not knowing what was to become of me
I shaved my beard and eyebrows and put on the
dress of a calender.  After wandering aimlessly
through several countries, I resolved to come to
Bagdad and request an audience of the Commander of
the Faithful.

And that, madam, is my story.

The other Calender then told his story.



Story of the Third Calendar, Son of a King


My story, said the Third Calender, is quite
different from those of my two friends.  It was
fate that deprived them of the sight of their
right eyes, but mine was lost by my own folly.

My name is Agib, and I am the son of a king called
Cassib, who reigned over a large kingdom, which
had for its capital one of the finest seaport
towns in the world.

When I succeeded to my father's throne my first
care was to visit the provinces on the mainland,
and then to sail to the numerous islands which lay
off the shore, in order to gain the hearts of my
subjects.  These voyages gave me such a taste for
sailing that I soon determined to explore more
distant seas, and commanded a fleet of large ships
to be got ready without delay.  When they were
properly fitted out I embarked on my expedition.

For forty days wind and weather were all in our
favour, but the next night a terrific storm arose,
which blew us hither and thither for ten days,
till the pilot confessed that he had quite lost
his bearings.  Accordingly a sailor was sent up to
the masthead to try to catch a sight of land, and
reported that nothing was to be seen but the sea
and sky, except a huge mass of blackness that lay
astern.

On hearing this the pilot grew white, and, beating
his breast, he cried, "Oh, sir, we are lost,
lost!" till the ship's crew trembled at they knew
not what.  When he had recovered himself a little,
and was able to explain the cause of his terror,
he replied, in answer to my question, that we had
drifted far out of our course, and that the
following day about noon we should come near that
mass of darkness, which, said he, is nothing but
the famous Black Mountain.  This mountain is
composed of adamant, which attracts to itself all
the iron and nails in your ship; and as we are
helplessly drawn nearer, the force of attraction
will become so great that the iron and nails will
fall out of the ships and cling to the mountain,
and the ships will sink to the bottom with all
that are in them.  This it is that causes the side
of the mountain towards the sea to appear of such
a dense blackness.

As may be supposed--continued the pilot--the
mountain sides are very rugged, but on the summit
stands a brass dome supported on pillars, and
bearing on top the figure of a brass horse, with a
rider on his back.  This rider wears a breastplate
of lead, on which strange signs and figures are
engraved, and it is said that as long as this
statue remains on the dome, vessels will never
cease to perish at the foot of the mountain.

So saying, the pilot began to weep afresh, and the
crew, fearing their last hour had come, made their
wills, each one in favour of his fellow.

At noon next day, as the pilot had foretold, we
were so near to the Black Mountain that we saw all
the nails and iron fly out of the ships and dash
themselves against the mountain with a horrible
noise.  A moment after the vessels fell asunder
and sank, the crews with them.  I alone managed to
grasp a floating plank, and was driven ashore by
the wind, without even a scratch.  What was my joy
on finding myself at the bottom of some steps
which led straight up the mountain, for there was
not another inch to the right or the left where a
man could set his foot.  And, indeed, even the
steps themselves were so narrow and so steep that,
if the lightest breeze had arisen, I should
certainly have been blown into the sea.

When I reached the top I found the brass dome and
the statue exactly as the pilot had described, but
was too wearied with all I had gone through to do
more than glance at them, and, flinging myself
under the dome, was asleep in an instant.  In my
dreams an old man appeared to me and said,
"Hearken, Agib!  As soon as thou art awake dig up
the ground underfoot, and thou shalt find a bow of
brass and three arrows of lead.  Shoot the arrows
at the statue, and the rider shall tumble into the
sea, but the horse will fall down by thy side, and
thou shalt bury him in the place from which thou
tookest the bow and arrows.  This being done the
sea will rise and cover the mountain, and on it
thou wilt perceive the figure of a metal man
seated in a boat, having an oar in each hand.
Step on board and let him conduct thee; but if
thou wouldest behold thy kingdom again, see that
thou takest not the name of Allah into thy mouth."

Having uttered these words the vision left me, and
I woke, much comforted.  I sprang up and drew the
bow and arrows out of the ground, and with the
third shot the horseman fell with a great crash
into the sea, which instantly began to rise, so
rapidly, that I had hardly time to bury the horse
before the boat approached me.  I stepped silently
in and sat down, and the metal man pushed off, and
rowed without stopping for nine days, after which
land appeared on the horizon.  I was so overcome
with joy at this sight that I forgot all the old
man had told me, and cried out, "Allah be praised!
Allah be praised!"

The words were scarcely out of my mouth when the
boat and man sank from beneath me, and left me
floating on the surface.  All that day and the
next night I swam and floated alternately, making
as well as I could for the land which was nearest
to me.  At last my strength began to fail, and I
gave myself up for lost, when the wind suddenly
rose, and a huge wave cast me on a flat shore.
Then, placing myself in safety, I hastily spread
my clothes out to dry in the sun, and flung myself
on the warm ground to rest.

Next morning I dressed myself and began to look
about me.  There seemed to be no one but myself on
the island, which was covered with fruit trees and
watered with streams, but seemed a long distance
from the mainland which I hoped to reach.  Before,
however, I had time to feel cast down, I saw a
ship making directly for the island, and not
knowing whether it would contain friends or foes,
I hid myself in the thick branches of a tree.

The sailors ran the ship into a creek, where ten
slaves landed, carrying spades and pickaxes.  In
the middle of the island they stopped, and after
digging some time, lifted up what seemed to be a
trapdoor.  They then returned to the vessel two or
three times for furniture and provisions, and
finally were accompanied by an old man, leading a
handsome boy of fourteen or fifteen years of age.
They all disappeared down the trapdoor, and after
remaining below for a few minutes came up again,
but without the boy, and let down the trapdoor,
covering it with earth as before.  This done, they
entered the ship and set sail.

As soon as they were out of sight, I came down
from my tree, and went to the place where the boy
had been buried.  I dug up the earth till I
reached a large stone with a ring in the centre.
This, when removed, disclosed a flight of stone
steps which led to a large room richly furnished
and lighted by tapers.  On a pile of cushions,
covered with tapestry, sat the boy.  He looked up,
startled and frightened at the sight of a stranger
in such a place, and to soothe his fears, I at
once spoke:  "Be not alarmed, sir, whoever you may
be.  I am a king, and the son of a king, and will
do you no hurt.  On the contrary, perhaps I have
been sent here to deliver you out of this tomb,
where you have been buried alive."

Hearing my words, the young man recovered himself,
and when I had ended, he said, "The reasons,
Prince, that have caused me to be buried in this
place are so strange that they cannot but surprise
you.  My father is a rich merchant, owning much
land and many ships, and has great dealings in
precious stones, but he never ceased mourning that
he had no child to inherit his wealth.

"At length one day he dreamed that the following
year a son would be born to him, and when this
actually happened, he consulted all the wise men
in the kingdom as to the future of the infant.
One and all they said the same thing.  I was to
live happily till I was fifteen, when a terrible
danger awaited me, which I should hardly escape.
If, however, I should succeed in doing so, I
should live to a great old age.  And, they added,
when the statue of the brass horse on the top of
the mountain of adamant is thrown into the sea by
Agib, the son of Cassib, then beware, for fifty
days later your son shall fall by his hand!

"This prophecy struck the heart of my father with
such woe, that he never got over it, but that did
not prevent him from attending carefully to my
education till I attained, a short time ago, my
fifteenth birthday.  It was only yesterday that
the news reached him that ten days previously the
statue of brass had been thrown into the sea, and
he at once set about hiding me in this underground
chamber, which was built for the purpose,
promising to fetch me out when the forty days have
passed.  For myself, I have no fears, as Prince
Agib is not likely to come here to look for me."

I listened to his story with an inward laugh as to
the absurdity of my ever wishing to cause the
death of this harmless boy, whom I hastened to
assure of my friendship and even of my protection;
begging him, in return, to convey me in his
father's ship to my own country.  I need hardly
say that I took special care not to inform him
that I was the Agib whom he dreaded.

The day passed in conversation on various
subjects, and I found him a youth of ready wit and
of some learning.  I took on myself the duties of
a servant, held the basin and water for him when
he washed, prepared the dinner and set it on the
table.  He soon grew to love me, and for
thirty-nine days we spent as pleasant an existence
as could be expected underground.

The morning of the fortieth dawned, and the young
man when he woke gave thanks in an outburst of joy
that the danger was passed.  "My father may be
here at any moment," said he, "so make me, I pray
you, a bath of hot water, that I may bathe, and
change my clothes, and be ready to receive him."

So I fetched the water as he asked, and washed and
rubbed him, after which he lay down again and
slept a little.  When he opened his eyes for the
second time, he begged me to bring him a melon and
some sugar, that he might eat and refresh himself.

I soon chose a fine melon out of those which
remained, but could find no knife to cut it with.
"Look in the cornice over my head," said he, "and
I think you will see one." It was so high above
me, that I had some difficulty in reaching it, and
catching my foot in the covering of the bed, I
slipped, and fell right upon the young man, the
knife going straight into his heart.

At this awful sight I shrieked aloud in my grief
and pain.  I threw myself on the ground and rent
my clothes and tore my hair with sorrow.  Then,
fearing to be punished as his murderer by the
unhappy father, I raised the great stone which
blocked the staircase, and quitting the
underground chamber, made everything fast as
before.

Scarcely had I finished when, looking out to sea,
I saw the vessel heading for the island, and,
feeling that it would be useless for me to protest
my innocence, I again concealed myself among the
branches of a tree that grew near by.

The old man and his slaves pushed off in a boat
directly the ship touched land, and walked quickly
towards the entrance to the underground chamber;
but when they were near enough to see that the
earth had been disturbed, they paused and changed
colour.  In silence they all went down and called
to the youth by name; then for a moment I heard no
more.  Suddenly a fearful scream rent the air, and
the next instant the slaves came up the steps,
carrying with them the body of the old man, who
had fainted from sorrow!  Laying him down at the
foot of the tree in which I had taken shelter,
they did their best to recover him, but it took a
long while.  When at last he revived, they left
him to dig a grave, and then laying the young
man's body in it, they threw in the earth.

This ended, the slaves brought up all the
furniture that remained below, and put it on the
vessel, and breaking some boughs to weave a
litter, they laid the old man on it, and carried
him to the ship, which spread its sails and stood
out to sea.

So once more I was quite alone, and for a whole
month I walked daily over the island, seeking for
some chance of escape.  At length one day it
struck me that my prison had grown much larger,
and that the mainland seemed to be nearer.  My
heart beat at this thought, which was almost too
good to be true.  I watched a little longer:
there was no doubt about it, and soon there was
only a tiny stream for me to cross.

Even when I was safe on the other side I had a
long distance to go on the mud and sand before I
reached dry ground, and very tired I was, when far
in front of me I caught sight of a castle of red
copper, which, at first sight, I took to be a
fire.  I made all the haste I could, and after
some miles of hard walking stood before it, and
gazed at it in astonishment, for it seemed to me
the most wonderful building I had ever beheld.
While I was still staring at it, there came
towards me a tall old man, accompanied by ten
young men, all handsome, and all blind of the
right eye.

Now in its way, the spectacle of ten men walking
together, all blind of the right eye, is as
uncommon as that of a copper castle, and I was
turning over in my mind what could be the meaning
of this strange fact, when they greeted me warmly,
and inquired what had brought me there.  I replied
that my story was somewhat long, but that if they
would take the trouble to sit down, I should be
happy to tell it them.  When I had finished, the
young men begged that I would go with them to the
castle, and I joyfully accepted their offer.  We
passed through what seemed to me an endless number
of rooms, and came at length into a large hall,
furnished with ten small blue sofas for the ten
young men, which served as beds as well as chairs,
and with another sofa in the middle for the old
man.  As none of the sofas could hold more than
one person, they bade me place myself on the
carpet, and to ask no questions about anything I
should see.

After a little while the old man rose and brought
in supper, which I ate heartily, for I was very
hungry.  Then one of the young men begged me to
repeat my story, which had struck them all with
astonishment, and when I had ended, the old man
was bidden to "do his duty," as it was late, and
they wished to go to bed.  At these words he rose,
and went to a closet, from which he brought out
ten basins, all covered with blue stuff.  He set
one before each of the young men, together with a
lighted taper.

When the covers were taken off the basins, I saw
they were filled with ashes, coal-dust, and
lamp-black.  The young men mixed these all
together, and smeared the whole over their heads
and faces.  They then wept and beat their breasts,
crying, "This is the fruit of idleness, and of our
wicked lives."

This ceremony lasted nearly the whole night, and
when it stopped they washed themselves carefully,
and put on fresh clothes, and lay down to sleep.

All this while I had refrained from questions,
though my curiosity almost seemed to burn a hole
in me, but the following day, when we went out to
walk, I said to them, "Gentlemen, I must disobey
your wishes, for I can keep silence no more.  You
do not appear to lack wit, yet you do such actions
as none but madmen could be capable of.  Whatever
befalls me I cannot forbear asking, `Why you daub
your faces with black, and how it is you are all
blind of one eye?'" But they only answered that
such questions were none of my business, and that
I should do well to hold my peace.

During that day we spoke of other things, but when
night came, and the same ceremony was repeated, I
implored them most earnestly to let me know the
meaning of it all.

"It is for your own sake," replied one of the
young men, "that we have not granted your request,
and to preserve you from our unfortunate fate.
If, however, you wish to share our destiny we will
delay no longer."

I answered that whatever might be the consequence
I wished to have my curiosity satisfied, and that
I would take the result on my own head.  He then
assured me that, even when I had lost my eye, I
should be unable to remain with them, as their
number was complete, and could not be added to.
But to this I replied that, though I should be
grieved to part company with such honest
gentlemen, I would not be turned from my
resolution on that account.

On hearing my determination my ten hosts then took
a sheep and killed it, and handed me a knife,
which they said I should by-and-by find useful.
"We must sew you into this sheep-skin," said they,
"and then leave you.  A fowl of monstrous size,
called a roc, will appear in the air, taking you
to be a sheep.  He will snatch you up and carry
you into the sky, but be not alarmed, for he will
bring you safely down and lay you on the top of a
mountain.  When you are on the ground cut the skin
with the knife and throw it off.  As soon as the
roc sees you he will fly away from fear, but you
must walk on till you come to a castle covered
with plates of gold, studded with jewels.  Enter
boldly at the gate, which always stands open, but
do not ask us to tell you what we saw or what
befel us there, for that you will learn for
yourself.  This only we may say, that it cost us
each our right eye, and has imposed upon us our
nightly penance."

After the young gentlemen had been at the trouble
of sewing the sheep-skin on me they left me, and
retired to the hall.  In a few minutes the roc
appeared, and bore me off to the top of the
mountain in his huge claws as lightly as if I had
been a feather, for this great white bird is so
strong that he has been known to carry even an
elephant to his nest in the hills.

The moment my feet touched the ground I took out
my knife and cut the threads that bound me, and
the sight of me in my proper clothes so alarmed
the roc that he spread his wings and flew away.
Then I set out to seek the castle.

I found it after wandering about for half a day,
and never could I have imagined anything so
glorious.  The gate led into a square court, into
which opened a hundred doors, ninety-nine of them
being of rare woods and one of gold.  Through each
of these doors I caught glimpses of splendid
gardens or of rich storehouses.

Entering one of the doors which was standing open
I found myself in a vast hall where forty young
ladies, magnificently dressed, and of perfect
beauty, were reclining.  As soon as they saw me
they rose and uttered words of welcome, and even
forced me to take possession of a seat that was
higher than their own, though my proper place was
at their feet.  Not content with this, one brought
me splendid garments, while another filled a basin
with scented water and poured it over my hands,
and the rest busied themselves with preparing
refreshments.  After I had eaten and drunk of the
most delicate food and rarest wines, the ladies
crowded round me and begged me to tell them all my
adventures.

By the time I had finished night had fallen, and
the ladies lighted up the castle with such a
prodigious quantity of tapers that even day could
hardly have been brighter.  We then sat down to a
supper of dried fruits and sweetmeats, after which
some sang and others danced.  I was so well amused
that I did not notice how the time was passing,
but at length one of the ladies approached and
informed me it was midnight, and that, as I must
be tired, she would conduct me to the room that
had been prepared for me.  Then, bidding me
good-night, I was left to sleep.

I spent the next thirty-nine days in much the same
way as the first, but at the close of that time
the ladies appeared (as was their custom) in my
room one morning to inquire how I had slept, and
instead of looking cheerful and smiling they were
in floods of tears.  "Prince," said they, "we must
leave you, and never was it so hard to part from
any of our friends.  Most likely we shall never
see you again, but if you have sufficient
self-command perhaps we may yet look forward to a
meeting."

"Ladies," I replied, "what is the meaning of these
strange words-- I pray you to tell me?"

"Know then," answered one of them, "that we are
all princesses-- each a king's daughter.  We live
in this castle together, in the way that you have
seen, but at the end of every year secret duties
call us away for the space of forty days.  The
time has now come; but before we depart, we will
leave you our keys, so that you may not lack
entertainment during our absence.  But one thing
we would ask of you.  The Golden Door, alone,
forbear to open, as you value your own peace, and
the happiness of your life.  That door once
unlocked, we must bid you farewell for ever."

Weeping, I assured them of my prudence, and after
embracing me tenderly, they went their ways.

Every day I opened two or three fresh doors, each
of which contained behind it so many curious
things that I had no chance of feeling dull, much
as I regretted the absence of the ladies.
Sometimes it was an orchard, whose fruit far
exceeded in bigness any that grew in my father's
garden.  Sometimes it was a court planted with
roses, jessamine, dafeodils, hyacinths and
anemones, and a thousand other flowers of which I
did not know the names.  Or again, it would be an
aviary, fitted with all kinds of singing birds, or
a treasury heaped up with precious stones; but
whatever I might see, all was perfect of its own
sort.

Thirty-nine days passed away more rapidly than I
could have conceived possible, and the following
morning the princesses were to return to the
castle.  But alas!  I had explored every corner,
save only the room that was shut in by the Golden
Door, and I had no longer anything to amuse myself
with.  I stood before the forbidden place for some
time, gazing at its beauty; then a happy
inspiration struck me, that because I unlocked the
door it was not necessary that I should enter the
chamber.  It would be enough for me to stand
outside and view whatever hidden wonders might be
therein.

Thus arguing against my own conscience, I turned
the key, when a smell rushed out that, pleasant
though it was, overcame me completely, and I fell
fainting across the threshold.  Instead of being
warned by this accident, directly I came to myself
I went for a few moments into the air to shake of
the effects of the perfume, and then entered
boldly.  I found myself in a large, vaulted room,
lighted by tapers, scented with aloes and
ambergris, standing in golden candle-sticks,
whilst gold and silver lamps hung from the
ceiling.

Though objects of rare workmanship lay heaped
around me, I paid them scant attention, so much
was I struck by a great black horse which stood in
one corner, the handsomest and best-shaped animal
I had ever seen.  His saddle and bridle were of
massive gold, curiously wrought; one side of his
trough was filled with clean barley and sesame,
and the other with rose water.  I led the animal
into the open air, and then jumped on his back,
shaking the reins as I did so, but as he never
stirred, I touched him lightly with a switch I had
picked up in his stable.  No sooner did he feel
the stroke, than he spread his wings (which I had
not perceived before), and flew up with me
straight into the sky.  When he had reached a
prodigious height, he next darted back to earth,
and alighted on the terrace belonging to a castle,
shaking me violently out of the saddle as he did
so, and giving me such a blow with his tail, that
he knocked out my right eye.

Half-stunned as I was with all that had happened
to me, I rose to my feet, thinking as I did so of
what had befallen the ten young men, and watching
the horse which was soaring into the clouds.  I
left the terrace and wandered on till I came to a
hall, which I knew to have been the one from which
the roc had taken me, by the ten blue sofas
against the wall.

The ten young men were not present when I first
entered, but came in soon after, accompanied by
the old man.  They greeted me kindly, and bewailed
my misfortune, though, indeed, they had expected
nothing less.  "All that has happened to you,"
they said, "we also have undergone, and we should
be enjoying the same happiness still, had we not
opened the Golden Door while the princesses were
absent.  You have been no wiser than we, and have
suffered the same punishment.  We would gladly
receive you among us, to perform such penance as
we do, but we have already told you that this is
impossible.  Depart, therefore, from hence and go
to the Court of Bagdad, where you shall meet with
him that can decide your destiny." They told me
the way I was to travel, and I left them.

On the road I caused my beard and eyebrows to be
shaved, and put on a Calender's habit.  I have had
a long journey, but arrived this evening in the
city, where I met my brother Calenders at the
gate, being strangers like myself.  We wondered
much at one another, to see we were all blind of
the same eye, but we had no leisure to discourse
at length of our common calamities.  We had only
so much time as to come hither to implore those
favours which you have been generously pleased to
grant us.

He finished, and it was Zobeida's turn to speak:
"Go wherever you please," she said, addressing all
three.  "I pardon you all, but you must depart
immediately out of this house."



The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor


IN the times of the Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid there
lived in Bagdad a poor porter named Hindbad, who
on a very hot day was sent to carry a heavy load
from one end of the city to the other.  Before he
had accomplished half the distance he was so tired
that, finding himself in a quiet street where the
pavement was sprinkled with rose water, and a cool
breeze was blowing, he set his burden upon the
ground, and sat down to rest in the shade of a
grand house.  Very soon he decided that he could
not have chosen a pleasanter place; a delicious
perfume of aloes wood and pastilles came from the
open windows and mingled with the scent of the
rose water which steamed up from the hot pavement.
Within the palace he heard some music, as of many
instruments cunningly played, and the melodious
warble of nightingales and other birds, and by
this, and the appetising smell of many dainty
dishes of which he presently became aware, he
judged that feasting and merry making were going
on.  He wondered who lived in this magnificent
house which he had never seen before, the street
in which it stood being one which he seldom had
occasion to pass.  To satisfy his curiosity he
went up to some splendidly dressed servants who
stood at the door, and asked one of them the name
of the master of the mansion.

"What," replied he, "do you live in Bagdad, and
not know that here lives the noble Sindbad the
Sailor, that famous traveller who sailed over
every sea upon which the sun shines?"

The porter, who had often heard people speak of
the immense wealth of Sindbad, could not help
feeling envious of one whose lot seemed to be as
happy as his own was miserable.  Casting his eyes
up to the sky he exclaimed aloud,

"Consider, Mighty Creator of all things, the
differences between Sindbad's life and mine.
Every day I suffer a thousand hardships and
misfortunes, and have hard work to get even enough
bad barley bread to keep myself and my family
alive, while the lucky Sindbad spends money right
and left and lives upon the fat of the land!  What
has he done that you should give him this pleasant
life-- what have I done to deserve so hard a
fate?"

So saying he stamped upon the ground like one
beside himself with misery and despair.  Just at
this moment a servant came out of the palace, and
taking him by the arm said, "Come with me, the
noble Sindbad, my master, wishes to speak to you."

Hindbad was not a little surprised at this
summons, and feared that his unguarded words might
have drawn upon him the displeasure of Sindbad, so
he tried to excuse himself upon the pretext that
he could not leave the burden which had been
entrusted to him in the street.  However the
lackey promised him that it should be taken care
of, and urged him to obey the call so pressingly
that at last the porter was obliged to yield.

He followed the servant into a vast room, where a
great company was seated round a table covered
with all sorts of delicacies.  In the place of
honour sat a tall, grave man whose long white
beard gave him a venerable air.  Behind his chair
stood a crowd of attendants eager to minister to
his wants.  This was the famous Sindbad himself.
The porter, more than ever alarmed at the sight of
so much magnificence, tremblingly saluted the
noble company.  Sindbad, making a sign to him to
approach, caused him to be seated at his right
hand, and himself heaped choice morsels upon his
plate, and poured out for him a draught of
excellent wine, and presently, when the banquet
drew to a close, spoke to him familiarly, asking
his name and occupation.

"My lord," replied the porter, "I am called
Hindbad."

"I am glad to see you here," continued Sindbad.
"And I will answer for the rest of the company
that they are equally pleased, but I wish you to
tell me what it was that you said just now in the
street." For Sindbad, passing by the open window
before the feast began, had heard his complaint
and therefore had sent for him.

At this question Hindbad was covered with
confusion, and hanging down his head, replied, "My
lord, I confess that, overcome by weariness and
ill-humour, I uttered indiscreet words, which I
pray you to pardon me."

"Oh!" replied Sindbad, "do not imagine that I am
so unjust as to blame you.  On the contrary, I
understand your situation and can pity you.  Only
you appear to be mistaken about me, and I wish to
set you right.  You doubtless imagine that I have
acquired all the wealth and luxury that you see me
enjoy without difficulty or danger, but this is
far indeed from being the case.  I have only
reached this happy state after having for years
suffered every possible kind of toil and danger.

"Yes, my noble friends," he continued, addressing
the company, "l assure you that my adventures have
been strange enough to deter even the most
avaricious men from seeking wealth by traversing
the seas.  Since you have, perhaps, heard but
confused accounts of my seven voyages, and the
dangers and wonders that I have met with by sea
and land, I will now give you a full and true
account of them, which I think you will be well
pleased to hear."

As Sindbad was relating his adventures chiefly on
account of the porter, he ordered, before
beginning his tale, that the burden which had been
left in the street should be carried by some of
his own servants to the place for which Hindbad
had set out at first, while he remained to listen
to the story.



First Voyage


I had inherited considerable wealth from my
parents, and being young and foolish I at first
squandered it recklessly upon every kind of
pleasure, but presently, finding that riches
speedily take to themselves wings if managed as
badly as I was managing mine, and remembering also
that to be old and poor is misery indeed, I began
to bethink me of how I could make the best of what
still remained to me.  I sold all my household
goods by public auction, and joined a company of
merchants who traded by sea, embarking with them
at Balsora in a ship which we had fitted out
between us.

We set sail and took our course towards the East
Indies by the Persian Gulf, having the coast of
Persia upon our left hand and upon our right the
shores of Arabia Felix.  I was at first much
troubled by the uneasy motion of the vessel, but
speedily recovered my health, and since that hour
have been no more plagued by sea-sickness.

From time to time we landed at various islands,
where we sold or exchanged our merchandise, and
one day, when the wind dropped suddenly, we found
ourselves becalmed close to a small island like a
green meadow, which only rose slightly above the
surface of the water.  Our sails were furled, and
the captain gave permission to all who wished to
land for a while and amuse themselves.  I was
among the number, but when after strolling about
for some time we lighted a fire and sat down to
enjoy the repast which we had brought with us, we
were startled by a sudden and violent trembling of
the island, while at the same moment those left
upon the ship set up an outcry bidding us come on
board for our lives, since what we had taken for
an island was nothing but the back of a sleeping
whale.  Those who were nearest to the boat threw
themselves into it, others sprang into the sea,
but before I could save myself the whale plunged
suddenly into the depths of the ocean, leaving me
clinging to a piece of the wood which we had
brought to make our fire.  Meanwhile a breeze had
sprung up, and in the confusion that ensued on
board our vessel in hoisting the sails and taking
up those who were in the boat and clinging to its
sides, no one missed me and I was left at the
mercy of the waves.  All that day I floated up and
down, now beaten this way, now that, and when
night fell I despaired for my life; but, weary and
spent as I was, I clung to my frail support, and
great was my joy when the morning light showed me
that I had drifted against an island.

The cliffs were high and steep, but luckily for me
some tree-roots protruded in places, and by their
aid I climbed up at last, and stretched myself
upon the turf at the top, where I lay, more dead
than alive, till the sun was high in the heavens.
By that time I was very hungry, but after some
searching I came upon some eatable herbs, and a
spring of clear water, and much refreshed I set
out to explore the island.  Presently I reached a
great plain where a grazing horse was tethered,
and as I stood looking at it I heard voices
talking apparently underground, and in a moment a
man appeared who asked me how I came upon the
island.  I told him my adventures, and heard in
return that he was one of the grooms of Mihrage,
the king of the island, and that each year they
came to feed their master's horses in this plain.
He took me to a cave where his companions were
assembled, and when I had eaten of the food they
set before me, they bade me think myself fortunate
to have come upon them when I did, since they were
going back to their master on the morrow, and
without their aid I could certainly never have
found my way to the inhabited part of the island.

Early the next morning we accordingly set out, and
when we reached the capital I was graciously
received by the king, to whom I related my
adventures, upon which he ordered that I should be
well cared for and provided with such things as I
needed.  Being a merchant I sought out men of my
own profession, and particularly those who came
from foreign countries, as I hoped in this way to
hear news from Bagdad, and find out some means of
returning thither, for the capital was situated
upon the sea-shore, and visited by vessels from
all parts of the world.  In the meantime I heard
many curious things, and answered many questions
concerning my own country, for I talked willingly
with all who came to me.  Also to while away the
time of waiting I explored a little island named
Cassel, which belonged to King Mihrage, and which
was supposed to be inhabited by a spirit named
Deggial.  Indeed, the sailors assured me that
often at night the playing of timbals could be
heard upon it.  However, I saw nothing strange
upon my voyage, saving some fish that were full
two hundred cubits long, but were fortunately more
in dread of us than even we were of them, and fled
from us if we did but strike upon a board to
frighten them.  Other fishes there were only a
cubit long which had heads like owls.

One day after my return, as I went down to the
quay, I saw a ship which had just cast anchor, and
was discharging her cargo, while the merchants to
whom it belonged were busily directing the removal
of it to their warehouses.  Drawing nearer I
presently noticed that my own name was marked upon
some of the packages, and after having carefully
examined them, I felt sure that they were indeed
those which I had put on board our ship at
Balsora.  I then recognised the captain of the
vessel, but as I was certain that he believed me
to be dead, I went up to him and asked who owned
the packages that I was looking at.

"There was on board my ship," he replied, "a
merchant of Bagdad named Sindbad.  One day he and
several of my other passengers landed upon what we
supposed to be an island, but which was really an
enormous whale floating asleep upon the waves.  No
sooner did it feel upon its back the heat of the
fire which had been kindled, than it plunged into
the depths of the sea.  Several of the people who
were upon it perished in the waters, and among
others this unlucky Sindbad.  This merchandise is
his, but I have resolved to dispose of it for the
benefit of his family if I should ever chance to
meet with them."

"Captain," said I, "I am that Sindbad whom you
believe to be dead, and these are my possessions!"

When the captain heard these words he cried out in
amazement, "Lackaday!  and what is the world
coming to?  In these days there is not an honest
man to be met with.  Did I not with my own eyes
see Sindbad drown, and now you have the audacity
to tell me that you are he!  I should have taken
you to be a just man, and yet for the sake of
obtaining that which does not belong to you, you
are ready to invent this horrible falsehood."

"Have patience, and do me the favour to hear my
story," said I.

"Speak then," replied the captain, "I'm all
attention."

So I told him of my escape and of my fortunate
meeting with the king's grooms, and how kindly I
had been received at the palace.  Very soon I
began to see that I had made some impression upon
him, and after the arrival of some of the other
merchants, who showed great joy at once more
seeing me alive, he declared that he also
recognised me.

Throwing himself upon my neck he exclaimed,
"Heaven be praised that you have escaped from so
great a danger.  As to your goods, I pray you take
them, and dispose of them as you please." I
thanked him, and praised his honesty, begging him
to accept several bales of merchandise in token of
my gratitude, but he would take nothing.  Of the
choicest of my goods I prepared a present for King
Mihrage, who was at first amazed, having known
that I had lost my all.  However, when I had
explained to him how my bales had been
miraculously restored to me, he graciously
accepted my gifts, and in return gave me many
valuable things.  I then took leave of him, and
exchanging my merchandise for sandal and aloes
wood, camphor, nutmegs, cloves, pepper, and
ginger, I embarked upon the same vessel and traded
so successfully upon our homeward voyage that I
arrived in Balsora with about one hundred thousand
sequins.  My family received me with as much joy
as I felt upon seeing them once more.  I bought
land and slaves, and built a great house in which
I resolved to live happily, and in the enjoyment
of all the pleasures of life to forget my past
sufferings.

Here Sindbad paused, and commanded the musicians
to play again, while the feasting continued until
evening.  When the time came for the porter to
depart, Sindbad gave him a purse containing one
hundred sequins, saying, "Take this, Hindbad, and
go home, but to-morrow come again and you shall
hear more of my adventures."

The porter retired quite overcome by so much
generosity, and you may imagine that he was well
received at home, where his wife and children
thanked their lucky stars that he had found such a
benefactor.

The next day Hindbad, dressed in his best,
returned to the voyager's house, and was received
with open arms.  As soon as all the guests had
arrived the banquet began as before, and when they
had feasted long and merrily, Sindbad addressed
them thus:

"My friends, I beg that you will give me your
attention while I relate the adventures of my
second voyage, which you will find even more
astonishing than the first."



Second Voyage


I had resolved, as you know, on my return from my
first voyage, to spend the rest of my days quietly
in Bagdad, but very soon I grew tired of such an
idle life and longed once more to find myself upon
the sea.

I procured, therefore, such goods as were suitable
for the places I intended to visit, and embarked
for the second time in a good ship with other
merchants whom I knew to be honourable men.  We
went from island to island, often making excellent
bargains, until one day we landed at a spot which,
though covered with fruit trees and abounding in
springs of excellent water, appeared to possess
neither houses nor people.  While my companions
wandered here and there gathering flowers and
fruit I sat down in a shady place, and, having
heartily enjoyed the provisions and the wine I had
brought with me, I fell asleep, lulled by the
murmur of a clear brook which flowed close by.

How long I slept I know not, but when I opened my
eyes and started to my feet I perceived with
horror that I was alone and that the ship was
gone.  I rushed to and fro like one distracted,
uttering cries of despair, and when from the shore
I saw the vessel under full sail just disappearing
upon the horizon, I wished bitterly enough that I
had been content to stay at home in safety.  But
since wishes could do me no good, I presently took
courage and looked about me for a means of escape.
When I had climbed a tall tree I first of all
directed my anxious glances towards the sea; but,
finding nothing hopeful there, I turned landward,
and my curiosity was excited by a huge dazzling
white object, so far off that I could not make out
what it might be.

Descending from the tree I hastily collected what
remained of my provisions and set off as fast as I
could go towards it.  As I drew near it seemed to
me to be a white ball of immense size and height,
and when I could touch it, I found it marvellously
smooth and soft.  As it was impossible to climb
it--for it presented no foot-hold-- I walked round
about it seeking some opening, but there was none.
I counted, however, that it was at least fifty
paces round.  By this time the sun was near
setting, but quite suddenly it fell dark,
something like a huge black cloud came swiftly
over me, and I saw with amazement that it was a
bird of extraordinary size which was hovering
near.  Then I remembered that I had often heard
the sailors speak of a wonderful bird called a
roc, and it occurred to me that the white object
which had so puzzled me must be its egg.

Sure enough the bird settled slowly down upon it,
covering it with its wings to keep it warm, and I
cowered close beside the egg in such a position
that one of the bird's feet, which was as large as
the trunk of a tree, was just in front of me.
Taking off my turban I bound myself securely to it
with the linen in the hope that the roc, when it
took flight next morning, would bear me away with
it from the desolate island.  And this was
precisely what did happen.  As soon as the dawn
appeared the bird rose into the air carrying me up
and up till I could no longer see the earth, and
then suddenly it descended so swiftly that I
almost lost consciousness.  When I became aware
that the roc had settled and that I was once again
upon solid ground, I hastily unbound my turban
from its foot and freed myself, and that not a
moment too soon; for the bird, pouncing upon a
huge snake, killed it with a few blows from its
powerful beak, and seizing it up rose into the air
once more and soon disappeared from my view.  When
I had looked about me I began to doubt if I had
gained anything by quitting the desolate island.

The valley in which I found myself was deep and
narrow, and surrounded by mountains which towered
into the clouds, and were so steep and rocky that
there was no way of climbing up their sides.  As I
wandered about, seeking anxiously for some means
of escaping from this trap, I observed that the
ground was strewed with diamonds, some of them of
an astonishing size.  This sight gave me great
pleasure, but my delight was speedily damped when
I saw also numbers of horrible snakes so long and
so large that the smallest of them could have
swallowed an elephant with ease.  Fortunately for
me they seemed to hide in caverns of the rocks by
day, and only came out by night, probably because
of their enemy the roc.

All day long I wandered up and down the valley,
and when it grew dusk I crept into a little cave,
and having blocked up the entrance to it with a
stone, I ate part of my little store of food and
lay down to sleep, but all through the night the
serpents crawled to and fro, hissing horribly, so
that I could scarcely close my eyes for terror.  I
was thankful when the morning light appeared, and
when I judged by the silence that the serpents had
retreated to their dens I came tremblingly out of
my cave and wandered up and down the valley once
more, kicking the diamonds contemptuously out of
my path, for I felt that they were indeed vain
things to a man in my situation.  At last,
overcome with weariness, I sat down upon a rock,
but I had hardly closed my eyes when I was
startled by something which fell to the ground
with a thud close beside me.

It was a huge piece of fresh meat, and as I stared
at it several more pieces rolled over the cliffs
in different places.  I had always thought that
the stories the sailors told of the famous valley
of diamonds, and of the cunning way which some
merchants had devised for getting at the precious
stones, were mere travellers' tales invented to
give pleasure to the hearers, but now I perceived
that they were surely true.  These merchants came
to the valley at the time when the eagles, which
keep their eyries in the rocks, had hatched their
young.  The merchants then threw great lumps of
meat into the valley.  These, falling with so much
force upon the diamonds, were sure to take up some
of the precious stones with them, when the eagles
pounced upon the meat and carried it off to their
nests to feed their hungry broods.  Then the
merchants, scaring away the parent birds with
shouts and outcries, would secure their treasures.
Until this moment I had looked upon the valley as
my grave, for I had seen no possibility of getting
out of it alive, but now I took courage and began
to devise a means of escape.  I began by picking
up all the largest diamonds I could find and
storing them carefully in the leathern wallet
which had held my provisions; this I tied securely
to my belt.  I then chose the piece of meat which
seemed most suited to my purpose, and with the aid
of my turban bound it firmly to my back; this done
I laid down upon my face and awaited the coming of
the eagles.  I soon heard the flapping of their
mighty wings above me, and had the satisfaction of
feeling one of them seize upon my piece of meat,
and me with it, and rise slowly towards his nest,
into which he presently dropped me.  Luckily for
me the merchants were on the watch, and setting up
their usual outcries they rushed to the nest
scaring away the eagle.  Their amazement was great
when they discovered me, and also their
disappointment, and with one accord they fell to
abusing me for having robbed them of their usual
profit.  Addressing myself to the one who seemed
most aggrieved, I said:  "I am sure, if you knew
all that I have suffered, you would show more
kindness towards me, and as for diamonds, I have
enough here of the very best for you and me and
all your company." So saying I showed them to him.
The others all crowded round me, wondering at my
adventures and admiring the device by which I had
escaped from the valley, and when they had led me
to their camp and examined my diamonds, they
assured me that in all the years that they had
carried on their trade they had seen no stones to
be compared with them for size and beauty.

I found that each merchant chose a particular
nest, and took his chance of what he might find in
it.  So I begged the one who owned the nest to
which I had been carried to take as much as he
would of my treasure, but he contented himself
with one stone, and that by no means the largest,
assuring me that with such a gem his fortune was
made, and he need toil no more.  I stayed with the
merchants several days, and then as they were
journeying homewards I gladly accompanied them.
Our way lay across high mountains infested with
frightful serpents, but we had the good luck to
escape them and came at last to the seashore.
Thence we sailed to the isle of Rohat where the
camphor trees grow to such a size that a hundred
men could shelter under one of them with ease.
The sap flows from an incision made high up in the
tree into a vessel hung there to receive it, and
soon hardens into the substance called camphor,
but the tree itself withers up and dies when it
has been so treated.

In this same island we saw the rhinoceros, an
animal which is smaller than the elephant and
larger than the buffalo.  It has one horn about a
cubit long which is solid, but has a furrow from
the base to the tip.  Upon it is traced in white
lines the figure of a man.  The rhinoceros fights
with the elephant, and transfixing him with his
horn carries him off upon his head, but becoming
blinded with the blood of his enemy, he falls
helpless to the ground, and then comes the roc,
and clutches them both up in his talons and takes
them to feed his young.  This doubtless astonishes
you, but if you do not believe my tale go to Rohat
and see for yourself.  For fear of wearying you I
pass over in silence many other wonderful things
which we saw in this island.  Before we left I
exchanged one of my diamonds for much goodly
merchandise by which I profited greatly on our
homeward way.  At last we reached Balsora, whence
I hastened to Bagdad, where my first action was to
bestow large sums of money upon the poor, after
which I settled down to enjoy tranquilly the
riches I had gained with so much toil and pain.

Having thus related the adventures of his second
voyage, Sindbad again bestowed a hundred sequins
upon Hindbad, inviting him to come again on the
following day and hear how he fared upon his third
voyage.  The other guests also departed to their
homes, but all returned at the same hour next day,
including the porter, whose former life of hard
work and poverty had already begun to seem to him
like a bad dream.  Again after the feast was over
did Sindbad claim the attention of his guests and
began the account of his third voyage.



Third Voyage


After a very short time the pleasant easy life I
led made me quite forget the perils of my two
voyages.  Moreover, as I was still in the prime of
life, it pleased me better to be up and doing.  So
once more providing myself with the rarest and
choicest merchandise of Bagdad, I conveyed it to
Balsora, and set sail with other merchants of my
acquaintance for distant lands.  We had touched at
many ports and made much profit, when one day upon
the open sea we were caught by a terrible wind
which blew us completely out of our reckoning, and
lasting for several days finally drove us into
harbour on a strange island.

"I would rather have come to anchor anywhere than
here," quoth our captain.  "This island and all
adjoining it are inhabited by hairy savages, who
are certain to attack us, and whatever these
dwarfs may do we dare not resist, since they swarm
like locusts, and if one of them is killed the
rest will fall upon us, and speedily make an end
of us."

These words caused great consternation among all
the ship's company, and only too soon we were to
find out that the captain spoke truly.  There
appeared a vast multitude of hideous savages, not
more than two feet high and covered with reddish
fur.  Throwing themselves into the waves they
surrounded our vessel.  Chattering meanwhile in a
language we could not understand, and clutching at
ropes and gangways, they swarmed up the ship's
side with such speed and agility that they almost
seemed to fly.

You may imagine the rage and terror that seized us
as we watched them, neither daring to hinder them
nor able to speak a word to deter them from their
purpose, whatever it might be.  Of this we were
not left long in doubt.  Hoisting the sails, and
cutting the cable of the anchor, they sailed our
vessel to an island which lay a little further
off, where they drove us ashore; then taking
possession of her, they made off to the place from
which they had come, leaving us helpless upon a
shore avoided with horror by all mariners for a
reason which you will soon learn.

Turning away from the sea we wandered miserably
inland, finding as we went various herbs and
fruits which we ate, feeling that we might as well
live as long as possible though we had no hope of
escape.  Presently we saw in the far distance what
seemed to us to be a splendid palace, towards
which we turned our weary steps, but when we
reached it we saw that it was a castle, lofty, and
strongly built.  Pushing back the heavy ebony
doors we entered the courtyard, but upon the
threshold of the great hall beyond it we paused,
frozen with horror, at the sight which greeted us.
On one side lay a huge pile of bones--human bones,
and on the other numberless spits for roasting!
Overcome with despair we sank trembling to the
ground, and lay there without speech or motion.
The sun was setting when a loud noise aroused us,
the door of the hall was violently burst open and
a horrible giant entered.  He was as tall as a
palm tree, and perfectly black, and had one eye,
which flamed like a burning coal in the middle of
his forehead.  His teeth were long and sharp and
grinned horribly, while his lower lip hung down
upon his chest, and he had ears like elephant's
ears, which covered his shoulders, and nails like
the claws of some fierce bird.

At this terrible sight our senses left us and we
lay like dead men.  When at last we came to
ourselves the giant sat examining us attentively
with his fearful eye.  Presently when he had
looked at us enough he came towards us, and
stretching out his hand took me by the back of the
neck, turning me this way and that, but feeling
that I was mere skin and bone he set me down again
and went on to the next, whom he treated in the
same fashion; at last he came to the captain, and
finding him the fattest of us all, he took him up
in one hand and stuck him upon a spit and
proceeded to kindle a huge fire at which he
presently roasted him.  After the giant had supped
he lay down to sleep, snoring like the loudest
thunder, while we lay shivering with horror the
whole night through, and when day broke he awoke
and went out, leaving us in the castle.

When we believed him to be really gone we started
up bemoaning our horrible fate, until the hall
echoed with our despairing cries.  Though we were
many and our enemy was alone it did not occur to
us to kill him, and indeed we should have found
that a hard task, even if we had thought of it,
and no plan could we devise to deliver ourselves.
So at last, submitting to our sad fate, we spent
the day in wandering up and down the island eating
such fruits as we could find, and when night came
we returned to the castle, having sought in vain
for any other place of shelter.  At sunset the
giant returned, supped upon one of our unhappy
comrades, slept and snored till dawn, and then
left us as before.  Our condition seemed to us so
frightful that several of my companions thought it
would be better to leap from the cliffs and perish
in the waves at once, rather than await so
miserable an end; but I had a plan of escape which
I now unfolded to them, and which they at once
agreed to attempt.

"Listen, my brothers," I added.  "You know that
plenty of driftwood lies along the shore.  Let us
make several rafts, and carry them to a suitable
place.  If our plot succeeds, we can wait
patiently for the chance of some passing ship
which would rescue us from this fatal island.  If
it fails, we must quickly take to our rafts; frail
as they are, we have more chance of saving our
lives with them than we have if we remain here."

All agreed with me, and we spent the day in
building rafts, each capable of carrying three
persons.  At nightfall we returned to the castle,
and very soon in came the giant, and one more of
our number was sacrificed.  But the time of our
vengeance was at hand!  As soon as he had finished
his horrible repast he lay down to sleep as
before, and when we heard him begin to snore I,
and nine of the boldest of my comrades, rose
softly, and took each a spit, which we made
red-hot in the fire, and then at a given signal we
plunged it with one accord into the giant's eye,
completely blinding him.  Uttering a terrible cry,
he sprang to his feet clutching in all directions
to try to seize one of us, but we had all fled
different ways as soon as the deed was done, and
thrown ourselves flat upon the ground in corners
where he was not likely to touch us with his feet.

After a vain search he fumbled about till he found
the door, and fled out of it howling frightfully.
As for us, when he was gone we made haste to leave
the fatal castle, and, stationing ourselves beside
our rafts, we waited to see what would happen.
Our idea was that if, when the sun rose, we saw
nothing of the giant, and no longer heard his
howls, which still came faintly through the
darkness, growing more and more distant, we should
conclude that he was dead, and that we might
safely stay upon the island and need not risk our
lives upon the frail rafts.  But alas!  morning
light showed us our enemy approaching us,
supported on either hand by two giants nearly as
large and fearful as himself, while a crowd of
others followed close upon their heels.
Hesitating no longer we clambered upon our rafts
and rowed with all our might out to sea.  The
giants, seeing their prey escaping them, seized up
huge pieces of rock, and wading into the water
hurled them after us with such good aim that all
the rafts except the one I was upon were swamped,
and their luckless crews drowned, without our
being able to do anything to help them.  Indeed I
and my two companions had all we could do to keep
our own raft beyond the reach of the giants, but
by dint of hard rowing we at last gained the open
sea.  Here we were at the mercy of the winds and
waves, which tossed us to and fro all that day and
night, but the next morning we found ourselves
near an island, upon which we gladly landed.

There we found delicious fruits, and having
satisfied our hunger we presently lay down to rest
upon the shore.  Suddenly we were aroused by a
loud rustling noise, and starting up, saw that it
was caused by an immense snake which was gliding
towards us over the sand.  So swiftly it came that
it had seized one of my comrades before he had
time to fly, and in spite of his cries and
struggles speedily crushed the life out of him in
its mighty coils and proceeded to swallow him.  By
this time my other companion and I were running
for our lives to some place where we might hope to
be safe from this new horror, and seeing a tall
tree we climbed up into it, having first provided
ourselves with a store of fruit off the
surrounding bushes.  When night came I fell
asleep, but only to be awakened once more by the
terrible snake, which after hissing horribly round
the tree at last reared itself up against it, and
finding my sleeping comrade who was perched just
below me, it swallowed him also, and crawled away
leaving me half dead with terror.

When the sun rose I crept down from the tree with
hardly a hope of escaping the dreadful fate which
had over-taken my comrades; but life is sweet, and
I determined to do all I could to save myself.
All day long I toiled with frantic haste and
collected quantities of dry brushwood, reeds and
thorns, which I bound with faggots, and making a
circle of them under my tree I piled them firmly
one upon another until I had a kind of tent in
which I crouched like a mouse in a hole when she
sees the cat coming.  You may imagine what a
fearful night I passed, for the snake returned
eager to devour me, and glided round and round my
frail shelter seeking an entrance.  Every moment I
feared that it would succeed in pushing aside some
of the faggots, but happily for me they held
together, and when it grew light my enemy retired,
baffled and hungry, to his den.  As for me I was
more dead than alive!  Shaking with fright and
half suffocated by the poisonous breath of the
monster, I came out of my tent and crawled down to
the sea, feeling that it would be better to plunge
from the cliffs and end my life at once than pass
such another night of horror.  But to my joy and
relief I saw a ship sailing by, and by shouting
wildly and waving my turban I managed to attract
the attention of her crew.

A boat was sent to rescue me, and very soon I
found myself on board surrounded by a wondering
crowd of sailors and merchants eager to know by
what chance I found myself in that desolate
island.  After I had told my story they regaled me
with the choicest food the ship afforded, and the
captain, seeing that I was in rags, generously
bestowed upon me one of his own coats.  After
sailing about for some time and touching at many
ports we came at last to the island of Salahat,
where sandal wood grows in great abundance.  Here
we anchored, and as I stood watching the merchants
disembarking their goods and preparing to sell or
exchange them, the captain came up to me and said,

"I have here, brother, some merchandise belonging
to a passenger of mine who is dead.  Will you do
me the favour to trade with it, and when I meet
with his heirs I shall be able to give them the
money, though it will be only just that you shall
have a portion for your trouble."

I consented gladly, for I did not like standing by
idle.  Whereupon he pointed the bales out to me,
and sent for the person whose duty it was to keep
a list of the goods that were upon the ship.  When
this man came he asked in what name the
merchandise was to be registered.

"In the name of Sindbad the Sailor," replied the
captain.

At this I was greatly surprised, but looking
carefully at him I recognised him to be the
captain of the ship upon which I had made my
second voyage, though he had altered much since
that time.  As for him, believing me to be dead it
was no wonder that he had not recognised me.

"So, captain," said I, "the merchant who owned
those bales was called Sindbad?"

"Yes," he replied.  "He was so named.  He belonged
to Bagdad, and joined my ship at Balsora, but by
mischance he was left behind upon a desert island
where we had landed to fill up our water-casks,
and it was not until four hours later that he was
missed.  By that time the wind had freshened, and
it was impossible to put back for him."

"You suppose him to have perished then?" said I.

"Alas!  yes," he answered.

"Why, captain!" I cried, "look well at me.  I am
that Sindbad who fell asleep upon the island and
awoke to find himself abandoned!"

The captain stared at me in amazement, but was
presently convinced that I was indeed speaking the
truth, and rejoiced greatly at my escape.

"I am glad to have that piece of carelessness off
my conscience at any rate," said he.  "Now take
your goods, and the profit I have made for you
upon them, and may you prosper in future."

I took them gratefully, and as we went from one
island to another I laid in stores of cloves,
cinnamon, and other spices.  In one place I saw a
tortoise which was twenty cubits long and as many
broad, also a fish that was like a cow and had
skin so thick that it was used to make shields.
Another I saw that was like a camel in shape and
colour.  So by degrees we came back to Balsora,
and I returned to Bagdad with so much money that I
could not myself count it, besides treasures
without end.  I gave largely to the poor, and
bought much land to add to what I already
possessed, and thus ended my third voyage.

When Sindbad had finished his story he gave
another hundred sequins to Hindbad, who then
departed with the other guests, but next day when
they had all reassembled, and the banquet was
ended, their host continued his adventures.