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THE THIRD VOYAGE OF SINBAD THE SAILOR
THE
pleasures of the life which I then led soon made me forget the risks I
had run
in my two former voyages; but, being then in the flower of my age, I
grew weary
of living without business; and hardening myself against the thought of
any
danger I might incur, I went from Bagdad, with the richest commodities
of the
country, to Balsora: there I embarked again with the merchants. We made
a long
voyage, and touched at several ports, where we drove a considerable
trade. One
day, being out in the main ocean, we were attacked by a horrible
tempest, which
made us lose our course. The tempest continued several days, and
brought us
before the port of an island, where the captain was very unwilling to
enter;
but we were obliged to cast anchor there. When we had furled our sails
the
captain told us that this and some other neighbouring islands were
inhabited by
hairy savages, who would speedily attack us; and though they were but
dwarfs,
yet our misfortune was that we must make no resistance, for they were
more in
number than the locusts; and if we happened to kill one of them they
would all
fall upon us and destroy us. This
discourse of the captain put the whole company into a great
consternation; and
we found very soon, to our cost, that what he had told us was but too
true; an
innumerable multitude of frightful savages, covered all over with red
hair, and
about two feet high, came swimming towards us, and in a little time
encompassed
our ship. They spoke to us as they came near, but we understood not
their
language; they climbed up the sides of the ship with an agility that
surprised
us. We beheld all this with mortal fear, without daring to offer to
defend
ourselves, or to speak one word to divert them from their mischievous
design.
In short, they took down our sails, cut the cable, and, hauling to the
shore,
made us all get out, and afterwards carried the ship into another
island, from
whence they had come. All travellers carefully avoided that island
where they
left us, it being very dangerous to stay there, for a reason you shall
hear
anon; but we were forced to bear our affliction with patience. We went
forward into the island, where we found some fruits and herbs to
prolong our
lives as long as we could; but we expected nothing but death. As we
went on we
perceived at a distance a great pile of building, and made towards it.
We found
it to be a palace, well built, and very lofty, with a gate of ebony
with double
doors, which we thrust open. We entered the court, where we saw before
us a
vast apartment with a porch, having on one side a heap of men's bones,
and on
the other a vast number of roasting spits. We trembled at this
spectacle, and,
being weary with travelling, our legs failed under us: we fell to the
ground,
seized with deadly fear, and lay a long time motionless. The sun
had set, and whilst we were in the lamentable condition just mentioned,
the
gate of the apartment opened with a great noise, and there came out the
horrible figure of a black man, as high as a tall palm tree. He had but
one
eye, and that in the middle of his forehead, where it looked as red as
a
burning coal. His fore-teeth were very long and sharp, and stood out of
his
mouth, which was as deep as that of a horse; his upper lip hung down
upon his
breast; his ears resembled those of an elephant, and covered his
shoulders; and
his nails were as long and crooked as the talons of the greatest birds.
At the
sight of so frightful a giant we lost all our senses, and lay like men
dead. At last
we came to ourselves, and saw him sitting in the porch, looking at us.
When he
had considered us well, he advanced towards us, and laying his hand
upon me, he
took me up by the nape of my neck, and turned me round as a butcher
would do a
sheep's head. After having viewed me well, and perceiving me to be so
lean that
I had nothing but skin and bone, he let me go. He took up all the rest,
one by
one, and viewed them in the same manner; and the captain being the
fattest, he
held him with one hand, as I might a sparrow, and thrusting a spit
through him,
kindled a great fire, roasted, and ate him in his apartment for his
supper.
This being done, he returned to his porch, where he lay and fell
asleep,
snoring louder than thunder. He slept thus till morning. For our parts,
it was
not possible for us to enjoy any rest; so that we passed the night in
the most
cruel fear that can be imagined. Day being come, the giant awoke, got
up, went
out, and left us in the palace. When we
thought him at a distance, we broke the melancholy silence we had kept
all
night, and every one grieving more than another, we made the palace
resound
with our complaints and groans. Though there were a great many of us,
and we
had but one enemy, we had not at first the presence of mind to think of
delivering ourselves from him by his death. We
thought of several other things, but determined nothing; so that,
submitting to
what it should please God to order concerning us, we spent the day in
running
about the island for fruit and herbs to sustain our lives. When evening
came,
we sought for a place to lie down in, but found none; so that we were
forced,
whether we would or not, to return to the palace. The
giant failed not to come back, and supped once more upon one of our
companions;
after which he slept, and snored till day, and then went out and left
us as
formerly. Our condition was so very terrible that several of my
comrades
designed to throw themselves into the sea, rather than die so strange a
death.
Those who were of this mind argued with the rest to follow their
example; upon
which one of the company answered that we were forbidden to destroy
ourselves;
but even if it were lawful, it was more reasonable to think of a way to
rid
ourselves of the barbarous tyrant who designed so cruel a death for us.
Having
thought of a project for that end, I communicated the same to my
comrades, who
approved it. "Brethren," said I, "you know there is a great deal
of timber floating upon the coast; if you will be advised by me, let us
make
several rafts that may carry us, and when they are done, leave them
there till
we think fit to make use of them. In the meantime we will execute the
design to
deliver ourselves from the giant, and if it succeed, we may stay here
with
patience till some ship pass by to carry us out of this fatal island;
but if it
happen to miscarry, we will speedily get to our rafts, and put to sea.
I
confess, that by exposing ourselves to the fury of the waves, we run a
risk of
losing our lives; but if we do, is it not better to be buried in the
sea than
in the entrails of this monster, who has already devoured two of us?"
My
advice was relished, and we made rafts capable of carrying three
persons each. We
returned to the palace towards evening, and the giant arrived a little
while after.
We were forced to see another of our comrades roasted. But at last we
revenged
ourselves on the brutish giant thus. After he had made an end of his
cursed
supper, he lay down on his back, and fell asleep. As soon as we heard
him
snore, according to his custom, nine of the boldest among us, and
myself, took
each of us a spit, and putting the points of them into the fire till
they were
burning hot, we thrust them into his eye all at once, and blinded him.
The pain
occasioned him to make a frightful cry, and to get up and stretch out
his hands
in order to sacrifice some of us to his rage, but we ran to places
where he
could not find us; and after having sought for us in vain, he grouped
for the
gate, and went out, howling dreadfully. We went
out of the palace after the giant, and came to the shore, where we had
left our
rafts, and put them immediately into the sea. We waited till day in
order to
get upon them, in case the giant came towards us with any guide of his
own
species; but we hoped that if he did not appear by sunrise, and gave
over his
howling, which we still heard, he would die; and if that happened to be
the
case, we resolved to stay in the island, and not to risk our lives upon
the
rafts. But day had scarcely appeared when we perceived our cruel enemy,
accompanied by two others almost of the same size leading him, and a
great
number more coming before him with a very quick pace. When we
saw this, we made no delay, but got immediately upon our rafts, and
rowed off
from the shore. The giants, who perceived this, took up great stones,
and
running to the shore entered the water up to their waists, and threw so
exactly
that they sank all the rafts but that I was upon, and all my
companions, except
the two with me, were drowned. We rowed with all our might, and got out
of the
reach of the giants; but when we got out to sea, we were exposed to the
mercy
of the waves and winds, and tossed about, sometimes on one side, and
sometimes
on another, and spent that night and the following day under a cruel
uncertainty
as to our fate; but next morning we had the good luck to be thrown upon
an
island, where we landed with much joy. We found excellent fruit there,
that
gave us great relief, so that we pretty well recovered our strength. In the
evening we fell asleep on the bank of the sea, but were awaked by the
noise of
a serpent as long as a palm tree, whose scales made a rustling as he
crept
along. He swallowed up one of my comrades, notwithstanding his loud
cries and
the efforts he made to rid himself from the serpent, which shook him
several
times against the ground, and crushed him; and we could hear him gnaw
and tear
the poor wretch's bones, when we had fled a great distance from him.
Next day
we saw the serpent again, to our great terror, and I cried out, "O
heaven,
to what dangers are we exposed! We rejoiced yesterday at having escaped
from
the cruelty of a giant and the rage of the waves, and now are we fallen
into
another danger altogether as terrible." As we
walked about we saw a large tall tree, upon which we designed to pass
the
following night, for our security; and having satisfied our hunger with
fruit,
we mounted it accordingly. A little while after, the serpent came
hissing to
the root of the tree, raised itself up against the trunk of it, and
meeting
with my comrade, who sat lower than I, swallowed him at once, and went
off. I staid
upon the tree till it was day, and then came down, more like a dead man
than
one alive, expecting the same fate as my two companions. This filled me
with
horror, so that I was going to throw myself into the sea; but nature
prompting
us to a desire to live as long as we can, I withstood this temptation
to
despair, and submitted myself to the will of God, who disposes of our
lives at
His pleasure. In the
meantime I gathered together a great quantity of small wood, brambles,
and dry
thorns, and making them up into faggots made a great circle with them
round the
tree, and also tied some of them to the branches over my head. Having
done
thus, when the evening came I shut myself up within this circle, with
this
melancholy piece of satisfaction, that I had neglected nothing which
could
preserve me from the cruel destiny with which I was threatened. The
serpent
failed not to come at the usual hour, and went round the tree, seeking
for an
opportunity to devour me, but was prevented by the rampart I had made,
so that
he lay till day, like a cat watching in vain for a mouse that has
retreated to
a place of safety. When day appeared he retired, but I dared not to
leave my
fort until the sun arose. I was
fatigued with the toil he had put me to, and suffered so much from his
poisonous breath that, death seeming preferable to me than the horror
of such a
condition, I came down from the tree, and not thinking on the
resignation I had
made to the will of God the preceding day, I ran towards the sea, with
a design
to throw myself into it headlong. God took
compassion on my desperate state, for just as I was going to throw
myself into
the sea, I perceived a ship at a considerable distance. I called as
loud as I
could, and taking the linen from my turban, displayed it that they
might
observe me. This had the desired effect; all the crew perceived me, and
the
captain sent his boat for me. As soon as I came aboard, the merchants
and
seamen flocked about me to know how I came to that desert island; and
after I
had told them of all that befell me, the oldest among them said they
had
several times heard of the giants that dwelt in that island, that they
were
cannibals and ate men raw as well as roasted; and as to the serpents,
he added,
there were abundance in the isle that hid themselves by day and came
abroad by
night. After
having testified their joy at my escaping so many dangers, they brought
me the
best of what they had to eat; and the captain, seeing that I was all in
rags,
was so generous as to give me one of his own suits. We were
at sea for some time, touched at several islands, and at last landed at
that of
Salabat, where there grows sanders, a wood of great use in physic. We
entered the
port, and came to anchor. The merchants began to unload their goods, in
order
to sell or exchange them. In the meantime the captain came to me, and
said,
"Brother, I have here a parcel of goods that belonged to a merchant who
sailed some time on board this ship; and he being dead, I intend to
dispose of
them for the benefit of his heirs, when I know them. "The bales he
spoke
of lay on the deck, and showing them to me, he said, "There are the
goods;
I hope you will take care to sell them, and you shall have a
commission.
"I thanked him that he gave me an opportunity to employ myself, because
I
hated to be idle. The
clerk of the ship took an account of all the bales, with the names of
the
merchants to whom they belonged; and when he asked the captain in whose
name he
should enter those he gave me the charge of, "Enter them," said the
captain, "in the name of Sinbad the sailor." I could not hear myself
named without some emotion, and looking steadfastly on the captain, I
knew him
to be the person who, in my second voyage, had left me in the island
where I
fell asleep by a brook, and set sail without me, and without sending to
look
for me. But I could not remember him at first, he was so much altered
since I
saw him. And as
for him, who believed me to be dead, I could not wonder at his not
knowing me.
"But, captain," said I, "was the merchant's name to whom those
goods belonged Sinbad?" "Yes,"
replied he, "that was his name; he came from Bagdad, and embarked on
board
my ship at Balsora. One day, when we landed at an island to take in
water and
other refreshments, I know not by what mistake I set sail without
observing
that he did not re-embark with us; neither I nor the merchants
perceived it
till four hours after. We had the wind in our stern and so fresh a gale
that it
was not then possible for us to tack about for him. " "You
believe him then to be dead?" said I. "Certainly," answered he.
"No,
captain," said I; "look upon me, and you may know that I am Sinbad,
whom you left in that desert island. I fell asleep by a brook, and when
I awoke
I found all the company gone." The
captain, having considered me attentively, knew me at last, embraced
me, and
said, "God be praised that fortune has supplied my defect. There are
your
goods, which I always took care to preserve and to make the best of at
every
port where I touched. I restore them to you, with the profit I have
made on
them." I took them from him, and at the same time acknowledged how much
I
owed to him. From the
Isle of Salabat we went to another, where I furnished myself with
cloves,
cinnamon, and other spices. As we sailed from that island we saw a
tortoise
that was twenty cubits in length and breadth. We observed also a fish
which
looked like a cow, and gave milk, and its skin is so hard that they
usually
make bucklers of it. I saw another which had the shape and colour of a
camel.
In short, after a long voyage, I arrived at Balsora, and from thence
returned
to this city of Bagdad, with so much riches that I knew not what I had.
I gave
a great deal to the poor, and bought another great estate in addition
to what I
had already. |