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The Seventh Voyage Of Sindbad The Seaman
KNOW, O company, that after my return from my sixth voyage, which brought
me abundant profit, I resumed my former life in all possible joyance and
enjoyment and mirth and making merry day and night. And I tarried sometime
in this solace and satisfaction, till my soul began once more to long to
sail the seas and see foreign countries and company with merchants and
hear new things. So, having made up my mind, I packed up in bales a
quantity of precious stuffs suited for sea trade and repaired with them
from Baghdad city to Bassorah town, where I found a ship ready for sea,
and in her a company of considerable merchants. I shipped with them and,
becoming friends, we set forth on our venture in health and safety, and
sailed with a wind till we came to a city called Madinat-al-Sin.
But after we had left it, as we fared on in all cheer and confidence,
devising of traffic and travel, behold, there sprang up a violent head
wind and a tempest of rain fell on us and drenched us and our goods. So we
covered the bales with our cloaks and garments and drugget and canvas,
lest they be spoiled by the rain, and betook ourselves to prayer and
supplication to Almighty Allah, and humbled ourselves before Him for
deliverance from the peril that was upon us. But the captain arose and,
tightening his girdle, tucked up his skirts, and after taking refuge with
Allah from Satan the Stoned, clomb to the masthead, whence he looked out
right and left, and gazing at the passengers and crew, fell to buffeting
his face and plucking out his beard. So we cried to him, "O Rais,
what is the matter?" and he replied, saying: "Seek ye
deliverance of the Most High from the strait into which we have fallen,
and bemoan yourselves and take leave of one another. For know that the
wind hath gotten the mastery of us, and hath driven us into the uttermost
of the seas world." Then he came down from the masthead and opening
his sea chest, pulled but a bag of blue cotton, from which he took a
powder like ashes. This he set in a saucer wetted with a little water, and
after waiting a short time, smelt and tasted it. And then he took out of
the chest a booklet, wherein he read awhile, and said, weeping:
"Know, O ye passengers, that in this book is a marvelous matter,
denoting that whoso cometh hither shall surely die, without hope of
escape. For that this ocean is called the Sea of the Clime of the King,
wherein is the sepulcher of our lord Solomon, son of David (on both be
peace!), and therein are serpents of vast bulk and fearsome aspect. And
what ship soever cometh to these climes, there riseth to her a great fish
out of the sea and swalloweth her up with all and everything on board
her." Hearing these words from the captain, great was our wonder, but
hardly had he made an end of speaking when the ship was lifted out of the
water and let fall again, and we applied to praying the death prayer and
committing our souls to Allah.
Presently we heard a terrible great cry like the loud-pealing thunder
whereat we were terror-struck and became as dead men, giving ourselves up
for lost. Then, behold, there came up to us a huge fish, as big as a tall
mountain, at whose sight we became wild for affright and, weeping sore,
made ready for death, marveling at its vast size and gruesome semblance.
When lo! a second fish made its appearance, than which we had seen naught
more monstrous. So we bemoaned ourselves of our lives and farewelled one
another. But suddenly up came a third fish bigger than the two first,
whereupon we lost the power of thought and reason and were stupefied for
the excess of our fear and horror. Then the three fish began circling
round about the ship and the third and biggest opened his mouth to swallow
it, and we looked into its mouth and, behold, it was wider than the gate
of a city and its throat was like a long valley. So we besought the
Almighty and called for succor upon His Apostle (on whom be blessing and
peace!), when suddenly a violent squall of wind arose and smote the ship,
which rose out of the water and settled upon a great reef, the haunt of
sea monsters, where it broke up and fell asunder into planks, and all and
everything on board were plunged into the sea.
As for me, I tore off all my clothes but my gown, and swam a little way,
till I happened upon one of the ship's planks, whereto I clung and
bestrode it like a horse, whilst the winds and the waters sported with me
and the waves carried me up and cast me down. And I was in most piteous
plight for fear and distress and hunger and thirst. Then I reproached
myself for what I had done and my soul was weary after a life of ease and
comfort, and I said to myself: "O Sindbad, O Seaman, thou repentest
not and yet thou art ever suffering hardships and travails, yet wilt thou
not renounce sea travel, or an thou say, 'I renounce,' thou liest in thy
renouncement. Endure then with patience that which thou sufferest, for
verily thou deservest all that betideth thee!" And I ceased not to
humble myself before Almighty Allah and weep and bewail myself, recalling
my former estate of solace and satisfaction and mirth and merriment and
joyance. And thus I abode two days, at the end of which time I came to a
great island abounding in trees and streams. There I landed and ate of the
fruits of the island and drank of its waters, till I was refreshed and my
life returned to me and my strength and spirits were restored and I
recited:
"Oft when thy case shows knotty and tangled skein,
Fate downs from Heaven and straightens every ply.
In patience keep thy soul till clear thy lot,
For He who ties the knot can eke untie."
Then I walked about till I found on the further side a great river of
sweet water, running with a strong current, whereupon I called to mind the
boat raft I had made aforetime and said to myself: "Needs must I make
another. Haply I may free me from this strait. If I escape, I have my
desire and I vow to Allah Almighty to foreswear travel. And if I perish, I
shall be at peace and shall rest from toil and moil." So I rose up
and gathered together great store of pieces of wood from the trees (which
were all of the finest sandalwood, whose like is not albe' I knew it not),
and made shift to twist creepers and tree twigs into a kind of rope, with
which I bound the billets together and so contrived a raft. Then saying,
"An I be saved, 'tis of God's grace," I embarked thereon and
committed myself to the current, and it bore me on for the first day and
the second and the third after leaving the island whilst I lay in the
raft, eating not and drinking, when I was athirst, of the water of the
river, till I was weak and giddy as a chicken for stress of fatigue and
famine and fear.
At the end of this time I came to a high mountain, whereunder ran the
river, which when I saw, I feared for my life by reason of the straitness
I had suffered in my former journey, and I would fain have stayed the raft
and landed on the mountainside. But the current overpowered me and drew it
into the subterranean passage like an archway, whereupon I gave myself up
for lost and said, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in
Allah, the Glorious, the Great!" However, after a little the raft
glided into open air and I saw before me a wide valley, whereinto the
river fell with a noise like the rolling of thunder and a swiftness as the
rushing of the wind. I held onto the raft, for fear of falling off it,
whilst the waves tossed me right and left, and the craft continued to
descend with the current, nor could I avail to stop it nor turn it
shoreward till it stopped me at a great and goodly city, grandly edified
and containing much people. And when the townsfolk saw me on the raft,
dropping down with the current, they threw me out ropes, which I had not
strength enough to hold. Then they tossed a net over the craft and drew it
ashore with me, whereupon I fell to the ground amidst them, as I were a
dead man, for stress of fear and hunger and lack of sleep.
After a while, there came up to me out of the crowd an old man of reverend
aspect, well stricken in years, who welcomed me and threw over me
abundance of handsome clothes, wherewith I covered my nakedness. Then he
carried me to the hammam bath and brought me cordial sherbets and
delicious perfumes. Moreover, when I came out, he bore me to his house,
where his people made much of me and, seating me in a pleasant place, set
rich food before me, whereof I ate my fill and returned thanks to God the
Most High for my deliverance. Thereupon his pages fetched me hot water,
and I washed my hands, and his handmaids brought me silken napkins, with
which I dried them and wiped my mouth. Also the Sheikh set apart for me an
apartment in a part of his house, and charged his pages and slave girls to
wait upon me and do my will and supply my wants. They were assiduous in my
service, and I abode with him in the guest chamber three days, taking my
ease of good eating and good drinking and good scents till life returned
to me and my terrors subsided and my heart was calmed and my mind was
eased.
On the fourth day the Sheikh, my host, came in to me and said: "Thou
cheerest us with thy company, O my son, and praised be Allah for thy
safety! Say, wilt thou now come down with me to the beach and the bazaar
and sell thy goods and take their price? Belike thou mayest buy thee
wherewithal to traffic. I have ordered my servants to remove thy stock in
trade from the sea, and they have piled it on the shore." I was
silent awhile and said to myself, "What mean these words, and what
goods have I?" Then said he: "O my son, be not troubled nor
careful, but come with me to the market, and if any offer for thy goods
what price contenteth thee, take it. But an thou be not satisfied, I lay
em up for thee in my warehouse, against a fitting occasion for sale."
So I bethought me of my case and said to myself, "Do his bidding and
see what are these goods!" and I said to him: "O my nuncle the
Sheikh I hear and obey. I may not gainsay thee in aught, for Allah's
blessing is on all thou dost."
Accordingly he guided me to the market street, where I found that he had
taken in pieces the raft which carried me and which was of sandalwood, and
I heard the broker crying it for sale. Then the merchants came and opened
the gate of bidding for the wood and bid against one another till its
price reached a thousand dinars, when they left bidding and my host said
to me: "Hear, O my son, this is the current price of thy goods in
hard times like these. Wilt thou sell them for this, or shall I lay them
up for thee in my storehouses till such time as prices rise?" "O
my lord," answered I, "the business is in thy hands. Do as thou
wilt." Then asked he: "Wilt thou sell the wood to me, O my son,
for a hundred gold pieces over and above what the merchants have bidden
for it?" and I answered, "Yes, I have sold it to thee for monies
received." So he bade his servants transport the wood to his
storehouses, and, carrying me back to his house, seated me, and counted
out to me the purchase money. After which he laid it in bags and, setting
them in a privy place, locked them up with an iron padlock and gave me its
key.
Some days after this the Sheikh said to me, "O my son, I have
somewhat to propose to thee, wherein I trust thou wilt do my
bidding." Quoth I, "What is it?" Quoth he: "I am a
very old man, and have no son, but I have a daughter who is young in years
and fair of favor and endowed with abounding wealth and beauty. Now I have
a mind to marry her to thee, that thou mayest abide with her in this our
country. And I will make, thee master of all I have in hand, for I am an
old man and thou shalt stand in my stead." I was silent for shame and
made him no answer, whereupon he continued: "Do my desire in this, O
my son, for I wish but thy weal. And if thou wilt but as I say, thou shalt
have her at once and be as my son, and all that is under my hand or that
cometh to me shall be thine. If thou have a mind to traffic and travel to
thy native land, none shall hinder thee, and thy property will be at thy
sole disposal. So do as thou wilt." "By Allah, O my uncle,"
replied I, "thou art become to me even as my father, and I am a
stranger and have undergone many hardships, while for stress of that which
I have suffered naught of judgment or knowledge is left to me. It is for
thee, therefore, to decide what I shall do."
Hereupon he sent his servants for the kazi and the witnesses and married
me to his daughter, making for us a noble marriage feast and high
festival. When I went in to her, I found her perfect in beauty and
loveliness and symmetry and grace, clad in rich raiment and covered with a
profusion of ornaments and necklaces and other trinkets of gold and silver
and precious stones, worth a mint of money, a price none could pay. She
pleased me, and we loved each other, and I abode with her in all solace
and delight of life till her father was taken to the mercy of Allah
Almighty. So we shrouded him and buried him, and I laid hands on the whole
of his property and all his servants and slaves became mine. Moreover, the
merchants installed me in his office, for he was their sheikh and their
chief, and none of them purchased aught but with his knowledge and by his
leave. And now his rank passed on to me.
When I became acquainted with the townsfolk, I found that at the beginning
of each month they were transformed, in that their faces changed and they
became like unto birds and they put forth wings wherewith they flew unto
the upper regions of the firmament; and none remained in the city save the
women and children. And I said in my mind, "When the first of the
month cometh, I will ask one of them to carry me with them, whither they
go." So when the time came and their complexion changed and their
forms altered, I went in to one of the townsfolk and said to him:
"Allah upon thee! Carry me with thee, that I might divert myself with
the rest and return with you." "This may not be," answered
he. But I ceased not to solicit him, and I importuned him till he
consented. Then I went out in his company, without telling any of my
family or servants or friends, and he took me on his back and flew up with
me so high in air that I heard the angels glorifying God in the heavenly
dome, whereat I wondered and exclaimed: "Praised be Allah! Extolled
be the perfection of Allah!"
Hardly had I made an end of pronouncing the tasbih- praised be Allah!-
when there came out a fire from Heaven and all but consumed the company.
Whereupon they fied from it and descended with curses upon me and, casting
me down on a high mountain, went away exceeding wroth with me, and left me
there alone. As I found myself in this plight, I repented of what I had
done and reproached myself for having undertaken that for which I was
unable, saying: "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in
Allah, the Glorious, the Great! No sooner am I delivered from one
affliction than I fall into a worse." And I continued in this case,
knowing not whither I should go, when lo! there came up two young men, as
they were moons, each using as a staff a rod of red gold. So I approached
them and saluted them; and when they returned my salaam, I said to them:
Allah upon you twain. Who are ye, and what are ye?" Quoth they,
"We are of the servants of the Most High Allah, abiding in this
mountain," and giving me a rod of red gold they had with them, went
their ways and left me.
I walked on along the mountain ridge, staying my steps with the staff and
pondering the case of the two youths, when behold, a serpent came forth
from under the mountain, with a man in her jaws whom she had swallowed
even to below his navel, and he was crying out and saying, "Whoso
delivereth me, Allah will deliver him from all adversity!" So I went
up to the the serpent and smote her on the head with the golden staff,
whereupon she cast the man forth of her mouth. Then I smote her a second
time, and she turned and fled, whereupon he came up to me and said,
"Since my deliverance from yonder serpent hath been at thy hands I
will never leave thee, and thou shalt be my comrade on this
mountain." "And welcome," answered I. So we fared on along
the mountain till we fell in with a company of folk, and I looked and saw
amongst them the very man who had carried me and cast me down there. I
went up to him and spake him fair, excusing to him and saying, "O my
comrade, it is not thus that friend should deal with friend." Quoth
he, "It was thou who well-nigh destroyed us by thy tasbih and thy
glorifying God on my back." Quoth I, "Pardon me, for I had no
knowledge of this matter, but if thou wilt take me with thee, I swear not
to say a word."
So he relented and consented to carry me with him, but he made an express
condition that so long as I abode on his back, I should abstain from
pronouncing the tasbih or otherwise glorifying God. Then I gave the wand
of gold to him whom I had delivered from the serpent and bade him
farewell, and my friend took me on his back and flew with me as before,
till he brought me to the city and set me down in my own house. My wife
came to meet me and, saluting me, gave me joy of my safety and then said:
"Beware of going forth hereafter with yonder folk, neither consort
with them, for they are brethren of the devils, and know not how to
mention the name of Allah Almighty, neither worship they Him."
"And how did thy father with them?" asked I, and she answered:
"My father was not of them, neither did he as they. And as now he is
dead, methinks thou hadst better sell all we have and with the price buy
merchandise and journey to thine own country and people, and I with thee;
for I care not to tarry in this city, my father and my mother being
dead." So I sold all the Sheikh's property piecemeal, and looked for
one who should be journeying thence to Bassorah that I might join myself
to him.
And while thus doing I heard of a company of townsfolk who had a mind to
make the voyage but could not find them a ship, so they bought wood and
built them a great ship, wherein I took passage with them, and paid them
all the hire. Then we embarked, I and my wife, with all our movables,
leaving our houses and domains and so forth, and set sail, and ceased not
sailing from island to island and from sea to sea, with a fair wind and a
favoring, till we arrived at Bassorah safe and sound. I made no stay
there, but freighted another vessel and, transferring my goods to her, set
out forthright for Baghdad city, where I arrived in safety, and entering
my quarter and repairing to my house, forgathered with my family and
friends and familiars and laid up my goods in my warehouses.
When my people, who, reckoning the period of my absence on this my seventh
voyage, had found it to be seven and twenty years and had given up all
hope of me, heard of my return, they came to welcome me and to give me joy
of my safety. And I related to them all that had befallen me, whereat they
marveled with exceeding marvel. Then I foreswore travel and vowed to Allah
the Most High I would venture no more by land or sea, for that this
seventh and last voyage had surfeited me of travel and adventure, and I
thanked the Lord (be He praised and glorified!), and blessed Him for
having restored me to my kith and kin and country and home.
"Consider, therefore, O Sindbad, O Landsman," continued Sindbad
the Seaman, "what sufferings I have undergone and what perils and
hardships I have endured before coming to my present state."
"Allah upon thee, O my Lord!" answered Sindbad the, Landsman.
"Pardon me the wrong I did thee." And they ceased not from
friendship and fellowship, abiding in all cheer and pleasures and solace
of life till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer
of Societies, and the Shatterer of palaces and the Caterer for Cemeteries;
to wit, the Cup of Death, and glory be to the Living One who dieth not!
And there is a tale touching The
Lady And Her Five Suitors.
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