The Second Voyage of Es-Sindibad of the Sea

Know, O my brothers, that I was enjoying a most com-
fortable life, and the most pure happiness, as ye were told
yesterday, until it occurred to my mind, one day, to travel
again to the lands of other people, and I felt a longing
for the occupation of traffic, and the pleasure of seeing
the countries and islands of the world, and gaining my
subsistence. I resolved upon that affair, and, having taken
forth from my money a large sum, I purchased with it goods
and merchandise suitable for travel, and packed them up.
Then I went to the bank of the river, and found a hand-
some, new vessel, with sails of comely canvas, and it had
a numerous crew, and was superfluously equipped. So I
embarked my bales in it, as did also a party of merchants
besides, and we set sail that day. The voyage was pleasant
to us, and we ceased not to pass from sea to sea, and from
island to island: and at every place where we cast anchor,
we met the merchants and the grandees, and the sellers
and buyers, and we sold and bought, and exchanged goods.
Thus we continued to do until destiny conveyed us to a
beautiful island, abounding with trees bearing ripe fruits,
where flowers diffused their fragrance, with birds warbling,
and pure rivers: but there was not in it an inhabitant, nor
a blower of a fire. The master anchored our vessel at that
island and the merchants with the other passengers landed
there, to amuse themselves with the sight of its trees, and
to extol the perfection of God, the One, the Omnipotent,
and to wonder at the power of the Almighty King. I also
landed upon the island with the rest, and sat by a spring
of pure water among the trees. I had with me some food,
and I sat in that place eating what God (whose name be
exalted ! ) had allotted me. The zephyr was sweet to us in
that place, and the time was pleasant to me; so slumber
overcame me, and I reposed there, and became immersed
in sleep, enjoying that sweet zephyr, and the fragrant gales.
I then arose, and found not in the place a human being
nor a Jinni. The vessel had gone with the passengers,
and not one of them remembered me, neither any of the
merchants nor any of the sailors : so they left me in the
island.

I looked about it to the right and left, and found not
in it any one save myself. I was therefore affected with
violent vexation, not to be exceeded, and my gall-bladder
almost burst by reason of the severity of my grief and
mourning and fatigue. I had not with me aught of worldly
goods, neither food nor drink, and I had become desolate,
weary in my soul, and despairing of life; and I said. Not
every time doth the jar escape unbroken; and if I escaped
the first time, and found him who took me with him from
the shore of the island to the inhabited part, far, far from
me this time is the prospect of my finding him who will
convey me to inhabited lands ! Then I began to weep and
wail for myself until vexation overpowered me; and I
blamed myself for that which I had done, and for my
having undertaken this voyage and fatigue after I had been
reposing at ease in my abode and my country, in ample
happiness, and enjoying good food and good drink and
good apparel, and had not been in want of any thing, either
of money or goods or merchandise. I repented of my
having gone forth from the city of Baghdad, and set out on
a voyage over the sea, after the fatigue that I had suffered
during my first voyage, and I felt at the point of destruction,
and said. Verily to God we belong, and verily unto Him we
return! And I was in the predicament of the mad. After
that, I rose and stood up, and walked about the island to
the right and left, unable to sit in one place. Then I
climbed up a lofty tree; and began to look from it to the
right and left; but saw nought save sky and water, and
trees and birds, and islands and sands. Looking, however,
with a scrutinizing eye, there appeared to me on the island
a white object, indistinctly seen in the distance, of enormous
size: so I descended from the tree, and went towards it,
and proceeded in that direction without stopping until I
arrived at it; and, lo, it was a huge white dome, of great
height and large circumference. I drew near to it, and
walked round it ; but perceived no door to it ; and I found
that I had not strength nor activity to climb it, on account
of its exceeding smoothness. I made a mark at the place
where I stood, and went round the dome measuring its
circumference; and, lo, it was fifty full paces; and I medi-
tated upon some means of gaining an entrance into it.

The close of the day, and the setting of the sun. had
now drawn near ; and, behold, the sun was hidden, and
the sky became dark, and the sun was veiled from me.
I therefore imagined that a cloud had come over it ; but
this was in the season of summer: so I wondered: and I
raised my head, and, contemplating that object attentively.
I saw that it was a bird, of enormous size, bulky body, and
wide wings, flying in the air; and this it was that con-
cealed the body of the sun. and veiled it from view upon the
island. At this my wonder increased, and I remembered
a story which travellers and voyagers had told me long
before, that there is, in certain of the islands, a bird of
enormous size, called the rukh, that feedeth its young ones
with elephants. I was convinced, therefore, that the dome
which I had seen was one of the eggs of the rukh. I
wondered at the works of God (whose name be exalted!);
and while I was in this state, lo, that bird alighted upon
the dome, and brooded over it with its wings, stretching
out its legs behind upon the ground; and it slept over it.
— Extolled be the perfection of Him who sleepeth not ! —
Thereupon I arose, and unwound my turban from my head,
and folded it and twisted it so that it became like a rope;
and I girded myself with it, binding it tightly round my
waist, and tied myself by it to one of the feet of that bird,
and made the knot fast, saying within myself. Perhaps this
bird will convey me to a land of cities and inhabitants, and
that will be better than my remaining in this island. I
passed the night sleepless, fearing that if I slept, the bird
would fly away with me when I was not aware; and when
the dawn came, and morn appeared, the bird rose from its
egg, and uttered a great cry, and drew me up into the sky.
It ascended and soared up so high that I imagined it had
reached the highest region of the sky, and after that, it
descended with me gradually until it alighted with me upon
the earth, and rested upon a lofty spot. So when I reached
the earth, I hastily untied the bond from its foot, fearing it,
though it knew not of me nor was sensible of me; and
after I had loosed my turban from it, and disengaged it
from its foot, shaking as I did so, I walked away. Then
it took something from the face of the earth in its talons,
and soared to the upper region of the sky; and I looked
attentively at that thing, and, lo, it was a serpent, of enor-
mous size, of great body, which it had taken and carried off
towards the sea ; and I wondered at that event.

After this I walked about that place, and found myself
upon an eminence, beneath which was a large, wide, deep
valley ; and by its side, a great mountain, very high ; no
one could see its summit by reason of its excessive height,
and no one had power to ascend it. I therefore blamed
myself for that which I had done, and said. Would that I
had remained in the island, since it is better than this desert
place; for in the island are found, among various fruits,
what I might have eaten, and I might have drunk of its
rivers; but in this place are neither trees nor fruits nor
rivers : and there is no strength nor power but in God, the
High, the Great ! Verily every time that I escape from a
calamity, I fall into another that is greater and more severe I
— Then I arose, and emboldened myself, and walked in
that valley; and I beheld its ground to be composed of
diamonds, with which they perforate minerals and jewels,
and with which also they perforate porcelain and the cnyx;
and it is a stone so hard that neither iron nor rock have
any effect upon it, nor can any one cut off aught from it, or
break it, unless by means of the lead-stone. All that valley
was likewise occupied by serpents and venomous snakes,
every one of them like a palm-tree ; and by reason of its
enormous size, if an elephant came to it, it would swallow
it. Those serpents appeared in the night, and hid them-
selves in the day, fearing lest the rukh and the vulture
should carry them off, and after that tear them in pieces;
and the cause of that I know not. I remained in that
valley, repenting of what I had done, and said within
myself, By Allah, I have hastened my own destruction!
The day departed from me, and I began to walk along that
valley, looking for a place in which to pass the night, fear-
ing those serpents, and forgetting my food and drink and
subsistence, occupied only by care for my life. And there
appeared to me a cave near by; so I walked thither, and
I found its entrance narrow. I therefore entered it and,
seeing a large stone by its mouth, I pushed it, and stopped
with it the mouth of the cave while I was within it ; and I
said within myself, I am safe now that I have entered this
place; and when daylight shineth upon me, I will go forth,
and see what destiny will do. Then I looked within the
cave, and beheld a huge serpent sleeping at the upper end
of it over its eggs. At this my flesh quaked, and I raised
my head, and committed my case to fate and destiny; and I
passed all the night sleepless, until the dawn rose and
shone, when I removed the stone with which I had closed
the entrance of the cave, and went forth from it, like one
intoxicated, giddy from excessive sleeplessness and hunger
and fear.

I then walked along the valley; and while I was thus
occupied, lo, a great slaughtered animal fell before me, and
I found no one. So I wondered thereat extremely; and I
remembered a story that I heard long before from cer-
tain of the merchants and travellers, and persons in the habit
of journeying about, — that in the mountains of the diamonds
are experienced great terrors, and that no one can gain
access to the diamonds, but that the merchants who import
them know a stratagem by means of which to obtain them:
that they take a sheep, and slaughter it, and skin it, and cut
up its flesh, which they throw down from the mountain to
the bottom of the valley: so, descending fresh and moist,
some of these stones stick to it. Then the merchants leave
it imtil midday, and birds of the large kind of vulture and
the aquiline vulture descend to that meat, and, taking it in
their talons, fly up to the top of the mountain; whereupon
the merchants come to them, and cry out at them, and they
fly way from the meat. The merchants then advance to
that meat, and take from it the stones sticking to it; after
which they leave the meat for the birds and the wild beasts,
and carry the stones to their countries. And no one can
procure the diamonds but by means of this stratagem. —
Therefore when I beheld that slaughtered animal, and re-
membered this story, I arose and went to the slaughtered
beast. I then selected a great number of these stones, and
put them into my pocket, and within my clothes ; and I
proceeded to select, and put into my pockets and my
girdle and my turban, and within my clothes. And while I
was doing thus, lo, another great slaughtered animal. So I
bound myself to it with my turban, and, laying myself down
on my back, placed it upon my bosom, and grasped it firmly.
Thus it was raised high above the ground; and, behold, a
vulture descended upon it, seized it with its talons, and flew
up with it into the air, with me attached to it; and it ceased
not to soar up until it had ascended with it to the summit
of the mountain, when it alighted with it, and was about to
tear off some of it. And thereupon a great and loud cry
arose from behind that vulture, and something made a
clattering with a piece of wood upon the mountain; whereat
the vulture flew away in fear, and soared into the sky.

I therefore disengaged myself from the slaughtered ani-
mal, with the blood of which my clothes were polluted ;
and I stood by its side. And, lo, the merchant who had
cried out at the vulture advanced to the slaughtered animal,
and saw me standing there. He spoke not to me ; for he
was frightened at me, and terrified; but he came to the
slaughtered beast, and turned it over ; and, not finding any
thing upon it, he uttered a loud cry, and said, Oh, my
disappointment ! There is no strength nor power but in
God ! We seek refuge with God from Satan the accursed ! —
He repented, and struck hand upon hand, and said, Oh, my
grief! What is this affair? — So I advanced to him, and he
said to me. Who art thou, and what is the reason of thy
coming to this place? I answered him, Fear not, nor be
alarmed; for I am a human being, of the best of mankind;
and I was a merchant, and my tale is marvellous, and my
story extraordinary, and the cause of my coming to this
mountain and this valley is wondrous to relate. Fear not;
for thou shalt receive of me what will rejoice thee: I have
with me abundance of diamonds, of which I will give thee
as much as will suffice thee, and every piece that I have is
better than all that would come to thee by other means :
therefore be not timorous nor afraid. — And upon this the
man thanked me, and prayed for me, and conversed with
me; and, lo, the other merchants heard me talking with
their companion ; so they came to me. Each merchant
had thrown down a slaughtered animal ; and when they
came to us, they saluted me, and congratulated me on my
safety, and took me with them ; and I acquainted them with
my whole story, relating to them what I had suffered on my
voyage, and telling them the cause of my arrival in this
valley. Then I gave to the owner of the slaughtered animal
to which I had attached myself an abundance of what I had
brought with me; and he was delighted with me, and prayed
for me, and thanked me for that ; and the other merchants
said to me. By Allah, a new life hath been decreed thee;
for no one ever arrived at this place before thee and escaped
from it; but praise be to God for thy safety — They passed
the next night in a pleasant and safe place, and I passed the
night with them, full of the utmost joy at my safety and my
escape from the valley of serpents, and my arrival in an
inhabited country.

And when day came, we arose and journeyed over that
great mountain, beholding in that valley numerous serpents ;
and we continued to advance until we arrived at a garden
in a great and beautiful island, wherein were camphor-trees,
under each of which trees a hundred men might shade them-
selves. When any one desireth to obtain some camphor
from one of these trees, he maketh a perforation in the
upper part of it with something long, and catcheth what
descendeth from it. The liquid camphor floweth from it,
and concreteth like gum. It is the juice of that tree; and
after this operation, the tree drieth, and becometh firewood.
In that island too is a kind of wild beast called the rhinoc-
eros which pastureth there like oxen and buffaloes in our
country ; but the bulk of that wild beast is greater than the
bulk of the camel, and it eateth the tender leaves of trees.
It is a huge beast, with a single horn, thick, in the middle
of its head, a cubit in length, wherein is the figure of a
man. And in that island are some animals of the ex-kind.
Moreover, the sailors, and travellers, and persons in the
habit of journeying about in the mountains and the lands,
have told us, that this wild beast which is named the rhinoc-
eros lifteth the great elephant upon its horn, and pastureth
with it upon the island and the shores, without being sensible
of it ; and the elephant dieth upon its horn ; and its fat,
melting by the heat of the sun, and flowing upon its head
entereth its eyes, so that it becometh blind. Then it lieth
down upon the shore, and the rukh cometh to it, and
carrieth it off [with the elephant] in its talons to its young
ones, and feedeth them with it and with that which is upon
its horn, [namely the elephant]. I saw also in that island
abundance of the buffalo-kind, the like of which existeth not
among us.

The valley before mentioned containeth a great quantity
of diamonds such as I carried off and hid in my pockets.
For these the people gave me in exchange goods and com-
modities belonging to them ; and they conveyed them for
me, giving me likewise pieces of silver and pieces of gold;
and I ceased not to proceed with them, amusing myself
with the sight of different countries, and of what God hath
created, from valley to valley and from city to city, we, in
our way. selling and buying, until we arrived at the city of
El-Basrah. We remained there a few days, and then I came
to the city of Baghdad, the Abode of Peace, and came to
my quarter, and entered my house, bringing with me a great
quantity of diamonds, and money and commodities and
goods in abundance. I met my family and relations, be-
stowed alms and gifts, made presents to all my family and
companions, and began to eat well and drink well and wear
handsome apparel. I associated with friends, and com-
panions, forgot all that I had suffered, and ceased not to
enjoy a pleasant life and joyful heart and dilated bosom,
with sport and merriment. Every one who heard of my
arrival came to me, and inquired of me respecting my
voyage, and the states of the different countries: so I in-
formed him, relating to him what I had experienced and
suffered; and he wondered at the severity of my sufferings,
and congratulated me on my safety. — This is the end of the
account of the events that befell me and happened to me
during the second voyage; and to-morrow, if it be the will
of God (whose name be exalted), I will relate to you the
events of the third voyage.