The First Voyage of Es-Sindibad of the Sea

Know, O masters, O noble persons, that I had a father;
a merchant, who was one of the first in rank among the
people and the merchants, and who possessed abundant
wealth and ample fortune. He died when I was a young
child, leaving to me wealth and buildings and fields ; and
when I grew up, I put my hand upon the whole of the
property, ate well and drank well, associated with the young
men, wore handsome apparel, and passed my life with my
friends and companions, feeling confident that this course
would continue and profit me ; and I ceased not to live in
this manner for a length of time. I then returned to my
reason, and recovered from my heedlessness, and found that
my wealth had passed away, and my condition had changed,
and all [the money] that I had possessed had gone. I
recovered not to see my situation but in a state of fear and
confusion of mind, and remembered a tale that I had heard
before, the tale of our lord Suleyman the son of Da'ud (on
both of whom be peace!), respecting his saying. Three
things are better than three: the day of death is better than
the day of birth ; and a living dog is better than a dead lion ;
and the grave is better than the palace.* Then I arose, and
collected what I had, of effects and apparel, and sold them ;
after which I sold my buildings and all that my hand pos-
sessed, and amassed three thousand pieces of silver; and it
occurred to my mind to travel to the countries of other
people; and I remembered one of the sayings of the poets,
which was this.

In proportion to one's labour, eminences are gained ; and he who

seeketh eminence passeth sleepless nights.
He diveth in the sea who seeketh for pearls, and succeedeth in

acquiring lordship and good fortune.
Whoso seeketh eminence without labouring for it loseth his life

in the search of vanity.

Upon this, I resolved, and arose, and bought for myself
goods and commodities and merchandise, with such other
things as were required for travel ; and my mind had con-
sented to my performing a sea-voyage. So I embarked in a
ship, and it descended to the city of El-Basrah, with a com-
pany of merchants; and we traversed the sea for many days
and nights. We had passed by island after island, and from
sea to sea, and from land to land, and in every place by
which we passed we sold and bought, and exchanged mer-
chandise. We continued our voyage until we arrived at an
island like one of the gardens of Paradise, and at that island
the master of the ship brought her to anchor with us. He
cast the anchor, and put forth the landing-plank, and all
who were in the ship landed upon that island. They had
prepared for themselves fire-pots, and they lighted the fires
in them; and their occupations were various: some cooked;
others washed; and others amused themselves. I was
among those who were amusing themselves upon the shores
of tlie island, and the passengers were assembled to eat and
drink and play and sport. But while we were thus engaged,
lo, the master of the ship, standing upon its side, called out
with his loudest voice, O ye passengers, whom may God
preserve ! come up quickly in to the ship, hasten to embark,
and leave your merchandise, and flee with your lives, and
save yourselves from destruction ; for this apparent island,
upon which ye are, is not really an island, but it is a great
fish that hath become stationary in the midst of the sea, and
the sand hath accumulated upon it, so that it hath become
like an island, and trees have grown upon it since times of
old ; and when ye lighted the fire upon it, the fish felt the heat,
and put itself in motion, arid now it will descend with you
into the sea, and ye w-ill all be drowned : then seek for your-
selves escape before destruction, and leave the merchandise.
— The passengers, therefore, hearing the words of the
master of the ship, hastened to go up into the vessel, leaving
the merchandise, and their other goods, and their copper
cooking-pots, and their fire-pots; and some reached the
ship, and others reached it not. The island had moved,
and descended to the bottom of the sea, with all that were
upon it, and the roaring sea, agitated with w'aves, closed
over it.

I was among the number of those who remained behind
upon the island; so I sank in the sea with the rest who
sank. But God (whose name be exalted!) delivered me
and saved me from drowning and supplied me with a great
wooden bowl, of the bowls in which the passengers had
been washing, and I laid hold upon it and got into it, in-
duced by the sweetness of life, and beat the water with my
feet as with oars, while the waves sported with me, tossing
me to the right and left. The master of the vessel had
caused her sails to be spread, and pursued his voyage with
those who had embarked, not regarding such as had been
submerged; and I ceased not to look at that vessel until it
was concealed from my eye. I made sure of destruction,
and night came upon me while I was in this state; but
I remained so a day and a night, and the wind and the
waves aided me until the bowl came to a stoppage with me
under a high island, whereon were trees overhanging the
sea. So I laid hold upon a branch of a lofty tree, and
clung to it, after I had been at the point of destruction ; and
I kept hold upon it until I landed on the island, when I
found my legs benumbed, and saw marks of the nibbling of
fish upon their hams, of which I had been insensible by
reason of the violence of the anguish and fatigue that I was
suffering.

I threw myself upon the island like one dead, and was
unconscious of my existence, and drowned in my stupefac-
tion ; and I ceased not to remain in this condition until the
next day. The sun having then risen upon me, I awoke
upon the island, and found that my feet were swollen, and
that I had become reduced to the state in which I then was.
Awhile I dragged myself along in a sitting posture, and then
I crawled upon my knees. And there were in the island
fruits in abundance, and springs of sweet water : therefore I
ate of those fruits; and I ceased not to continue in this state
for many days and nights. My spirit had then revived, my
soul had returned to me, and my power of motion was
renewed; and I began to meditate, and to walk along the
shore of the island, amusing myself among the trees with
the sight of the things that God (whose name be exalted!)
had cr eat ^ ; and I had made for myself a staff from those
trees, to lean upon it. Thus I remained until I walked, one
day, upon the shore of the island, and there appeared unto
me an indistinct object in the distance. I imagined that it
was a wild beast, or one of the beasts of the sea; and I
walked towards it, ceasing not to gaze at it ; and. lo, it was
a mare, of superb appearance, tethered in a part of the
island by the sea-shore. I approached her ; but she cried
out against me with a great cry, and I trembled with fear of
her, and was about to return, when, behold, a man came
forth from beneath the earth, and he called to me and
pursued me, saying to me. Who art thou, and whence hast
thou come, and what is the cause of thine arrival in this
place? So I answered him, O my master, know that I am
a stranger, and I was in a ship, and was submerged in the
sea with certain others of the passengers ; but God supplied
me with a wooden bowl, and I got into it, and it bore me
along until the waves cast me upon this island. And when
he heard my words, he laid hold of my hand and said to
me, Come with me. I therefore went with him, and he
descended with me into a grotto beneath the earth, and
conducted me into a large subterranean chamber, and, hav-
ing seated me at the upper end of that chamber, brought
me some food. I was hungry ; so I ate until I was satiated
and contented, and my soul became at ease. Then he
asked me respecting my case, and what had happened to
me; wherefore I acquainted him with my whole atfair from
beginning to end ; and he wondered at my story.

And when I had finished my tale, I said, I conjure thee
by Allah, O my master, that thou be not displeased with
me: I have acquainted thee with the truth of my case and
of what hath happened to me, and I desire of thee that thou
inform me who thou art, and what is the cause of thy dwell-
ing in this chamber that is beneath the earth, and what is
the reason of thy tethering this mare by the sea-side. So
he replied, Know that we are a party dispersed in this
island, upon its shores, and we are the grooms of the King
El-Mihraj, having under our care all his horses; and every
month, when moonlight commenceth, we bring the swift
mares, and tether them in this island, every mare that has
not foaled, and conceal ourselves in this chamber beneath
the earth, that they may attract the sea-horses. This is
the time of the coming forth of the sea-horse; and after-
wards, if it be the will of God (whose name be exalted!), I
will take thee with me to the King El-Mihraj, and divert
thee with the sight of our country. Know, moreover, that
if thou hadst not met with us, thou hadst not seen any one
in this place, and wouldst have died in misery, none know-
ing of thee. But I will be the means of the preservation
of thy life, and of thy return to thy country. — I therefore
prayed for him, and thanked him for his kindness and
beneficence; and while we were thus talking, the horse
came forth from the sea, as he had said. And shortly
after, his companions came each leading a mare; and, see-
ing rhe with him, they inquired of me my story, and I told
them what I had related to him. They then drew near to
me, and spread the table, and ate, and invited me : so I ate
with them ; after which, they arose, and mounted the horses,
taking me with them, having mounted me on a mare.

We commenced our journey, and proceeded without ceas-
ing until we arrived at the city of the King El-I\Iihraj, and
they went in to him and acquainted him with my story.
He therefore desired my presence, and they took me in to
him, and stationed me before him ; whereupon I saluted him,
and he returned my salutation, and welcomed me, greeting
me in an honourable manner, and inquired of me respecting
my case. So I informed him of all that had happened to
me, and of all that I had seen, from beginning to end : and
he wondered at that which had befallen me and happened
to me, and said to me, O my son, by Allah thou hast ex-
perienced an extraordinary preservation, and had it not been
for the predestined length of thy life, thou hadst not escaped
from these difficulties ; but praise be to God for thy safety !
Then he treated me with beneficence and honour, caused
me to draw near to him, and began to cheer me with con-
versation and courtesy ; and he made me his superintendent
of the sea-port, and registrar of every vessel that came to
the coast. I stood in his presence to transact his affairs,
and he favoured me and benefited me in every respect; he
invested me with a handsome and costly dress, and I became
a person high in credit with him in intercessions, and in ac-
complishing the affairs of the people. I ceased not to remain
in his service for a long time; and whenever I went to the
shore of the sea, I used to inquire of the merchants and
travellers and sailors respecting the direction of the city of
Baghdad, that perchance some one might inform me of it,
and I might go with him thither and return to my country;
but none knew it, nor knew any one who went to it. At
this I was perplexed, and I was weary of the length of my
absence from home ; and in this state I continued for a
length of time, until T went in one day to the King El-
Mihraj, and found with him a party of Indians. I saluted
them, and they returned my salutation, and welcomed me,
and asked me respecting my country; after which, I ques-
tioned them as to their country, and they told me that
they consisted of various races. Among them are the
Shakiriyeh, who are the most noble of their races, who
Oppress no one, nor offer violence to any. And among
them are a class called the Brahmans, a people who never
drink wine; but they are persons of pleasure and joy and
sport and merriment, and possessed of camels and horses
and cattle. They informed me also that the Indians are
divided into seventy-two classes ; and I wondered at this
extremely. And I saw, in the dominions of the King El-
Mihraj, an island, among others, which is called Kasil, in
which is heard the beating of tambourines and drums
throughout the night, and the islanders and travellers in-
formed us that Ed-Dejjar is in it. I saw too, in the sea
in which is that island, a fish two hundred cubits long, and
the fishermen fear it; wherefore they knock some pieces of
wood, and it fleeth from them ; and I saw a fish whose
face was like that of the owl. I likewise saw during that
voyage many wonderful and strange things, such that, if I
related them to you, the description would be too long.

I continued to amuse myself with the sight of those islands
and the things that they contained, until I stood one day
upon the shore of the sea, with a staff in my hand, as was
my custom, and lo, a great vessel approached, wherein
were many merchants ; and when it arrived at the harbour
of the city and its place of anchoring, the master furled its
sails, brought it to an anchor by the shore, and put forth the
landing-plank; and the sailors brought out every thing that
was in that vessel to the shore. They were slow in taking
forth the goods, while I stood writing their account, and I
said to the master of the ship, Doth aught remain in thy
vessel? He answered, Yes, O my master; I have some
goods in the hold of the ship ; but their owner was drowned
in the sea at one of the islands during our voyage hither,
and his goods are in our charge ; so we desire to sell them,
and to take a note of their price, in order to convey it to
his family in the city of Baghdad, the Abode of Peace. I
therefore said to the master, What was the name of that
man, the owner of the goods? He answered. His name was
Es-Sindibad of the Sea, and he was drowned on his voyage
with, us in the sea. And when I heard his words, I looked
at him with a scrutinizing eye, and recognized him ; and I
cried out at him with a great cry, and said, O master, know
that I am the owner of the goods which thou hast mentioned,
and I am Es-Sindibad of the Sea, who descended upon the
island from the ship, with the other merchants who de-
scended ; and when the fish that we were upon moved, and
thou calledst out to us, some got into the vessel, and the rest
sank, and I was among those who sank. But God (whose name
be exalted ! ) preserved me and saved me from drowning by
means of a large wooden bowl, of those in which passengers
were washing, and I got into it, and began to beat the water
with my feet, and the wind and the waves aided me until I
arrived at this island, when I landed on it, and God (whose
name be exalted!) assisted me, and I met the grooms of the
King El-Mihraj, who took me with them and brought me to
this city. They then led me into the King El-Mihraj, and
I acquainted him with my story; whereupon he bestowed
benefits upon me, and appointed me clerk of the harbour of
this city, and I obtained profit in his service, and favour
with him. Therefore these goods that thou hast are my
goods and my portion.

But the master said. There is no strength nor power but
in God, the High, the Great ! There is no longer faith nor
conscience in any one ! — Wherefore, O master, said I, when
thou hast heard me tell thee my "^ory? He answered. Be-
cause thou hcardest me say that I had goods whose owner
was drowned : therefore thou desirtst to take them without
price; and this is unlawful to thee; for we saw him when he
sank, and there were with him many of the passengers, not
one of whom escaped. How then dost thou pretend that
thou art the owner of the goods? — So I said to him, O
master, hear my story, and understand my words, and my
veracity will become manifest to thee- for falsehood is a
characteristic of the hypocrites. Then I related to him all
that I had done from the time that I went forth with him
from the city of Baghdad until we arrived at that island upon
which we were submerged in the sea, and I mentioned to
him some circumstances that had occurred between me and
him. Upon this, therefore, the master and the merchants
were convinced of my veracity, and recognized me ; and
they congratulated me on my safety, all of them saying. By
Allah, we believed not that thou hadst escaped drowning;
but God hath granted thee a new life. They then gave nie
the goods, and I found my name written upon them, and
nought of them was missing. So I opened them, and took
forth from them something precious and costly; the sailors
of the ship carried it with me, and I went up with it to the
King to ofifer it as a present, and inform him that this
ship was the one in which I was a passenger. I told him
also that my goods had arrived all entire, and that this
present was a part of them. And the King wondered at this
affair extremely ; my veracity in all that I had said became
manifest to him, and he loved me greatly, and treated me
with exceeding honour, giving me a large present in return
for mine.

Then I sold my bales, as well as the other goods that I
had, and gained upon them abundantly ; and I purchased
other goods and merchandise and commodities of that city.
And when the merchants of the ship desired to set forth on
their voyage, I stowed all that I had in the vessel, and, going
in to the King, thanked him for his beneficence and kind-
ness; after which I begged him to grant me permission to
depart on my voyage to my country and my family. So he
bade me farewell, and gave me an abundance of things at
my departure, of the commodities of that city ; and when I
had taken leave of him, I embarked in the ship, and we set
sail by the permission of God, whose name be exalted !
Fortune served us, and destiny aided us, and we ceased not
to prosecute our voyage night and day until we arrived in
safety at the city of El-Basrah. There we landed, and re-
mained a short time; and I rejoiced at my safety, and my
return to my country ; and after that, I repaired to the city
of Baghdad, the Abode of Peace, with abundance of bales'
and goods and merchandise of great value. Then I went to
my quarter, and entered my house, and all my family and
companions came to me. I procured for myself servants
and other dependants, and memluks and concubines and
male black slaves, so that I had a large establishment ; and
I purchased houses and other immovable possessions, more
than I had at first. I enjoyed the society of my companions
and friends, exceeding my former habits, and forgot all that
I had suffered from fatigue, and absence from my native
country, and difficulty, and the terrors of travel. I occupied
myself with delights and pleasures, and delicious meats and
exquisite drinks, and continued in this state. Such were the
events of the first of my voyages ; and to-morrow, if it be the
will of God (whose name be exalted!), I will relate to you
the tale of the second of the seven voyages.

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