The Sixth Voyage of Es-Sindibad of the Sea

Know, O my brothers and my friends and my companions,
that when I returned from that fifth voyage, and forgot what
I had suffered, by reason of sport and merriment and enjoy-
ment and gayety, and was in a state of the utmost joy and
happiness, I continued thus until I was sitting one day in
exceeding delight and happiness and gayety; and while I
sat, lo, a party of merchants came to me, bearing the marks
of travel. And upon this I remembered the days of my
return from travel, and my joy at meeting my family and
companions and friends, and at entering my country; and
my soul longed again for travel and commerce. So I deter-
mined to set forth. I bought for myself precious, sumptuous
goods, suitable for the sea, packed up my bales, and went
from the city of Baghdad to the city of El-Basrah, where I
beheld a large vessel, in which were merchants and great
men, and with them were precious goods. I therefore
embarked my bales with them in this ship, and we departed
in safety from the city of El-Basrah. We continued our
voyage from place to place and from city to city, selling
and buying, and diverting ourselves with viewing different
countries. Fortune and the voyage were pleasant to us, and
we gained our subsistence, until we were proceeding one
day, and, lo, the master of the ship vociferated and called
out, threw down his turban, slapped his face, plucked his
beard, and fell down in the hold of the ship by reason of the
violence of his grief and rage. So all the merchants and
other passengers came together to him and said to him, O
master, what is the matter? And he answered them. Know,
O company, that we have wandered from our course, having
passed forth from the sea in which we were, and entered a
sea of which we know not the routes ; and if God appoint
not for us some means of effecting our escape from this
sea, we all perish: therefore pray to God (whose name be
exalted!) that He may save us from this case. Then the
master arose and ascended the mast, and desired to loose
the sails ; but the wind became violent upon the ship, and
drove her back, and her rudder broke near a lofty mountain;
whereupon the master descended from the mast, and said,
There is no strength nor power but in God, the High, the
Great ! No one is able to prevent what is predestined ! By
Allah, we have fallen into a great peril, and there remaineth
to us no way of safety or escape from it! — So all the
passengers wept for themselves : they bade one another fare-
well, because of the expiration of their lives, and their
hope was cut off. The vessel drove upon that mountain,
and went to pieces ; its planks were scattered, and all that
was in it was submerged ; the merchants fell into the sea,
and some of them were drowned, and some caught hold upon
that mountain, and landed upon it.

I was of the number of those who landed upon the
mountain; and, lo, within it was a large island. By it were
many vessels broken in pieces, and upon it were numerous
goods, on the shore of the sea, of the things thrown up by
the sea from the ships that had been wrecked, and the
passengers of which had been drowned. Upon it was an
abundance, that confounded the reason and the mind, of com-
modities and wealth that the sea cast upon its shores. I
ascended to the upper part of the island, and walked about
it, and I beheld in the midst of it a stream of sweet water,
flowing forth from beneath the nearest part of the mountain,
and entering at the furthest part of it, on the opposite side
[of the valley]. Then all the other passengers went over that
mountain to [the interior of] the island, and dispersed
themselves about it, and their reason was confounded at that
which they beheld. They became like madmen in conse-
quence of what they saw upon the island, of commodities
and wealth lying on the shore of the sea. I beheld also in
the midst of the above-mentioned stream an abundance of
various kinds of jewels and minerals, with jacinths and large
pearls, suitable to Kings. They were like gravel in the
channels of the water which flowed through the fields ; and
all the bed of that stream glittered by reason of the great
number of minerals and other things that it contained. We
likewise saw on that island an abundance of the best kind of
Sanfi aloes-wood, and Kamari aloes-wood. And in that
island is a gushing spring of crude ambergris, which floweth
like wax over the side of that spring through the violence
of the heat of the sun, and spreadeth upon the sea-shore, and
the monsters of the deep come up from the sea and swallow
it, and descend with it into the sea ; but it becometh hot in
their stomachs, therefore they eject it from their mouths into
the sea, and it congealeth on the surface of the water. Upon
this, its colour and its qualities become changed, and the
waves cast it up on the shore of the sea: so the travellers
and merchants who know it take it and smell it. But as to
the crude ambergris that is not swallowed, it floweth over
the side of that mountain, and congealeth upon the ground :
and when the sun shineth upon it, it melteth, and from it the
odour of the whole of that valley becometh like the odour of
musk. Then, when the sun withdraweth from it, it con-
gealeth again. The place wherein is this crude ambergris
no one can enter: no one can gain access to it: for the
mountain surroundeth that island.

We continued to wander about the island, diverting our-
selves with the view of the good things which God (whose
name be exalted!
had created upon it. and perplexed at
our case, and at the things that we beheld, and affected with
violent fear. We had collected upon the shore of the sea
a small quantity of provisions, and w^e used it sparingly,
eating of it every day, or two days, only one meal, dreading
the exhaustion of our stock, and our dying in sorrow, from
the violence of hunger and fear. Each one of us that died
we washed, and shrouded in some of the clothes and linen
which the sea cast upon the shore of the island; and thus
we did until a great number of us had died, and there
remained of us but a small party, who were weakened by a
colic occasioned by the sea. After this, we remained a
short period, and all my associates and companions died,
one after another, and each of them who died we buried.

Then I was alone on that island, and there remained with
me but little of the provisions, after there had been much.
So I wept for myself, and said, Would that I had died be-
fore my companions, and that they had washed me and
buried me ! There is no strength nor power but in God,
the High, the Great! — And I remained a short time longer;
after which I arose and dug for myself a deep grave on the
shore of the island, and said within myself. When I fall
sick, and know that death hath come to me, I will lie down
in this grave, and die in it, and the wind will blow the sand
upon me, and cover me; so I shall become buried in it.
I blamed myself for my little sense, and my going forth
from my country and my city, and my voyaging to foreign
countries, after what I had suffered in the first instance, and
the second and the third and the fourth and the fifth ; and
when I had not performed one of my voyages without
suffering in it horrors and distresses more troublesome and
more difficult than the horrors preceding. I believed not
that I could escape and save myself, and repented of under-
taking sea-voyages, and of my returning to this life when I
was not in want of wealth, but had abundance, so that I
could not consume what I had, nor spend half of it during
the rest of my life ; having enough for me, and more
than enough.

Then I meditated in my mind, and said. This river
must have a beginning and an end, ajid it must have a place
of egress into an inliabited country. The right plan in my
opinion will be for me to construct for myself a small raft,
of sufficient size for me to sit upon it, and I will go down
and cast it upon this river, and depart on it. If I find
safety, I am safe, and escape, by permission of God (whose
name be exalted!) ; and if I find no way of saving- myself,
it will be better for me to die in this river than in this
place. — And I sighed for myself. Then I arose and went
and collected pieces of wood that were upon that island, of
Sanfi and Kamari aloes-wood, and bound them upon the
shore of the sea with some of the ropes of the ships that
had been wrecked ; and I brought some straight planks, of
the planks of the ships, and placed them upon those pieces
of wood. I made the raft to suit the width of the river,
less wide than the latter, and bound it well and firmly ; and
having taken with me some of those minerals and jewels
and goods, and of the large pearls that were like gravel, as
well as other things that were upon the island, and some of
the crude, pure, excellent ambergris, I put them upon that
raft, with all that I had collected upon the island, and took
with me what remained of the provisions. I then launched
the raft upon the river, made for it two pieces of wood like
oars, and acted in accordance with the following saying of
one of the poets: —

Depart from a place wherein is oppression, and leave the house to
tell its builder's fate ;

For thou wilt find, for the land that thou quittest, another ; but
no soul wilt thou find to replace thine own.

Grieve not on account of nocturnal calamities ; since every afflic-
tion will have its end ;

And he whose death is decreed to take place in one land will not
die in any land but that.

Send not thy messenger on an errand of importance ; for the soul
hath no faithful minister save itself.

I departed upon the raft along the river, meditating upon
what might be the result of my case, and proceeded to the
place where the river entered beneath the mountain. I
propelled the raft into that place, and became in intense
darkness within it, and the raft continued to carry me in
with the current to a narrow place beneath the mountain,
where the sides of the raft rubbed against the sides of the
channel of the river, and my head rubbed against the roof
of the channel. I was unable to return thence, and I
blamed myself for that which I had done, and said, If this
place become narrower to the raft, it will scarcely pass
through it, and it cannot return : so I shall perish in this
place in sorrow, inevitably ! I threw myself upon my face
on the raft, on account of the narrowness of the channel of
the river, and ceased not to proceed, without knowing night
from day, by reason of the darkness in which I was involved
beneath that mountain, together with my terror and fear
for myself lest I should perish. In this state I continued
my course along the river, which sometimes widened and
at other times contracted; but the intensity of the darkness
wearied me excessively, and slumber overcame me in con-
sequence of the violence of my distress. So I lay upon
my face on the raft, which ceased not to bear me along
while I slept, and knew not whether the time was long or
short.

At length I awoke, and found myself in the light; and,
opening my eyes, I beheld an extensive tract, and the raft
tied to the shore of an island, and around me a company of
Indians, and [people like] Abyssinians. When they saw
that I had risen, they rose and came to me, and spoke to
me in their language; but I knew not what they said, and
imagined that it was a dream, and that this occurred in
sleep, by reason of the violence of my distress and vexation.
And when they spoke to me and I understood not their
speech, and returned them not an answer, a man among
them advanced to me, and said to me, in the Arabic
language, Peace be on thee, O our brother ! What art thou,
and whence hast thou come, and what is the cause of thy
coming to this place? We are people of the sown lands
and the fields, and we came to irrigate our fields and our
sown lands, and found thee asleep on the raft: so we laid
hold upon it, and tied it here by us, waiting for thee to
rise at thy leisure. Tell us then what is the cause of thy
coming to this place. — I replied, I conjure thee by Allah,
O my master, that thou bring me some food; for I am
hungry; and after that, ask of me concerning what thou
wilt. And thereupon he hastened, and brought me food,
and I ate until I was satiated and was at ease, and my fear
subsided, my satiety was abundant, and my soul returned to
me. I therefore praised God (whose name be exalted!)
for all that had occurred, rejoiced at my having passed
forth from that river, and having come to these people;
and I told them of all that had happened to me from begin-
ning to end, and of what I had experienced upon that river,
and of its narrowness. They then talked together, and said.
We must take him with us and present him to our King,
that he may acquaint him with what hath happened to him.
Accordingly they took me with them, and conveyed with me
the raft, together with all that was upon it, of riches and
goods, and jewels and minerals, and ornaments of gold, and
they took me in to their King, who was the King of
Sarandib,' and acquainted him with what had happened;
whereupon he saluted me and welcomed me, and asked me
respecting my state, and respecting the events that had
happened to me. I therefore acquainted him with all my
story, and what I had experienced, from the first to last ; and
the King wondered at this narrative extremely, and con-
gratulated me on my safety. Then I arose and took forth
from the raft a quantity of the minerals and jewels, and
aloes-wood and crude ambergris, and gave it to the King;
and he accepted it from me, and treated me with exceeding
honour, lodging me in a place in his abode. I associated
with the best and the greatest of the people, who paid me
great respect, and I quitted not the abode of the King.

The island of Sarandib is under the equinoctial line;
its night being always twelve hours, and its day also twelve
hours. Its length is eighty leagues; and its breadth, thirty;
and it extendeth largely between a lofty mountain and a
deep valley. This mountain is seen from a distance of three
days, and it containeth varieties of jacinths, and different
kinds of minerals, and trees of all sorts of spices, and its
surface is covered with emery, wherewith jewels are cut into
shape: in its rivers also are diamonds, and pearls are in its
valleys. I ascended to the summit of the mountain, and
diverted myself with a view of its wonders, which are not
to be described; and afterwards I went back to the King,
and begged him to give me permission to return to my
country. He gave me permission after great pressing, and
bestowed upon me an abundant present from his treasuries;
and he gave me a present and a sealed letter, saying to me.
Convey these to the Khalifeh Harun Er-Rashid, and give
him many salutations from us. So I replied, I hear and
obey. Then he wrote for me a letter on skin of the khawi,
which is finer than parchment, of yellowish colour; and
the writing was in ultramarine. And the form of what he
wrote to the Khalifeh was this: — Peace be on thee, from
the King of India, before whom are a thousand elephants,
and on the battlements of whose palace are a thousand
jewels. To proceed: we have sent to thee a trifling present:
accept it then from us. Thou art to us a brother and
sincere friend, and the afifection for you that is in our
hearts is great: therefore favour us by a reply. The
present is not suited to thy dignity; but we beg of thee,
O brother, to accept it graciously. And peace be on thee !
— And the present was a cup of ruby, a span high, the
inside of which was embellished with precious pearls; and
a bed covered with the skin of the serpent that swalloweth
the elephant, which skin hath spots, each like a piece of
gold, and whosoever sitteth upon it never becometh diseased,
and a hundred thousand mithkals of Indian aloes-wood;
and a slave-girl like the shining full moon. Then he bade
me farewell, and gave a charge respecting me to the mer-
chants and the master of the ship.

So I departed thence, and we continued our voyage
from island to island and from country to country imtil
we arrived at Baghdad, whereupon I entered my house, and
met my family and my brethren; after which I took the
present, with a token of service from myself for the Khalifeh.
On entering his presence, I kissed his hand, and placed
before him the whole, giving him the letter; and he read
it, and took the present, with which he was greatly rejoiced,
and he treated me with the utmost honour. He then said
to me, O Sindibad, is that true which this King hath stated
in his letter? And I kissed the ground, and answered,
O my lord, I witnessed in his kingdom much more than
he hath mentioned in his letter. On the day of his public
appearance, a throne is set for him upon a huge elephant,
eleven cubits high, and he sitteth upon it, having with
him his chief officers and pages and guests, standing in two
ranks, on his right and on his left. At his head standeth
a man having in his hand a golden javelin, and behind him
a man in whose hand is a great mace of gold, at the top
of which is an emerald a span in length, and of the thick-
ness of a thumb. And when he mounteth, there mount at
the same time with him a thousand horsemen clad in gold
and silk ; and as the King proceedeth, a man before him
proclaimeth, saying. This is the King of great dignity, of
high authority ! And he proceedeth to repeat his praises
in terms that I remember not, at the end of his panegyric
saying, This is the King the owner of the crown the like
of which neither Suleyman nor the Mihraj possessed ! Then
he is silent; and one behind him proclaimeth, saying, He
will die ! Again I say, He will die ! Again I say. He will
die ! — And the other saith, Extolled be the perfection of the
Living who dieth not ! — ^Moreover, by reason of his justice
and good government and intelligence, there is no Kadi
in his city ; and all the people of his country^ distinguish
the truth from falsity. — And the Khalifeh wondered ai. my
words, and said. How great is this King ! His letter hath
shewn me this ; and as to the greatness of his dominion,
thou hast told us what thou hast witnessed. By Allah, he
hath been endowed with wisdom and dominion ! — Then the
Khalifeh conferred favours upon me, and commanded me
to depart to my abode. So I came to my house, and gave
the legal and other alms, and continued to live in the same
pleasant circumstances as at present. I forgot the arduous
troubles that I had experienced, discarded from my heart
the anxieties of travel, rejected from my mind distress, and
betook myself to eating and drinking, and pleasures and joy.