The Story of Sinbad the Voyager - The Fifth Voyage

All the troubles and calamities I had undergone," said he,
"could not cure me of my inclination to make new voyages. I
therefore bought goods, departed with them for the best sea-
port; and that I might not be obliged to depend upon a captain,
but have a ship at my own command, I remained there till one
was built on purpose. When the ship was ready, I went on board
with my goods : but not having enough to load her, I agreed to
take with me several merchants of different nations with their
merchandise.

"We sailed with the first fair wind, and after a long naviga-
tion, the first place we touched at was a desert island, where we
found an egg of a roc, equal in size to that I formerly mentioned.
The-re was a young roc in it just ready to be hatched, and its
bill had begun to appear. The merchants whom I had taken on
board, and who landed with me, broke the egg with hatchets,
pulled out the young roc, piecemeal, and roasted it. I had
earnestly entreated them not to meddle with the egg, but they
would not listen to me.

"Scarcely had they finished their repast, when there appeared
in the air at a considerable distance from us two great clouds.
The captain whom I had hired to navigate my ship, said they
were the male and female roc that belonged to the young one
and pressed us to re-embark with all speed, to prevent the
misfortune which he saw would otherwise befall us. We has-
tened on board, and set sail with all possible expedition.

In the meantime, the two rocs approached with a frightful
noise, which they redoubled when they saw the egg broken, and
their young one gone. They flew back in the direction they
had come, and disappeared for some time, while we made all
the sail we could to endeavour to prevent that which unhappily
befell us.

"They soon returned, and we observed that each of them
carried between its talons rocks of a monstrous size. When they
came directly over my ship, they hovered, and one of them let
fall a stone, but by the dexterity of the steersman it missed us.
The other roc, to our misfortune, threw his burden so exactly
upon the middle of the ship, as to split it into a thousand pieces.
The mariners and passengers were all crushed to death, or sank.
I myself was of the number of the latter; but as I came up again,
I fortunately caught hold of a piece of the wreck, and swimming
sometimes with one hand, and sometimes with the other, I came
to an island, and got safely ashore.

I sat down upon the grass, to recover myself from my
fatigue, after which I went into the island to explore it. I found
trees everywhere, some of them bearing green, and others ripe
fruits, and streams of fresh pure water. I ate of the fruits, which
I found excellent; and drank of the water, which was very good.

"WTien I was a little advanced into the island, I saw an old
man, who appeared very weak and infirm. He was sitting on
the bank of a stream, and at first I took him to be one who had
been shipwrecked like myself. I went toward him and saluted
him, but he only slightly bowed his head. I asked him why he
sat so still, but instead of answering me, he made a sign for me
to take him upon my back, and carry him over the brook, signify-
ing that it was to gather fruit.

"I believed him really to stand in need of my assistance,
took him upon my back, and having carried him over, bade him
get down, and for that end stooped, that he might get off with
ease ; but instead of doing so (which I laugh at every time I think
of it) the old man, who to me appeared quite decrepit, clasped
his legs nimbly about my neck. He sat astride upon my shoul-
ders, and held my throat so tight, that I thought he would have
strangled me, the apprehension of which made me swoon and
fall down.

"Notwithstanding my fainting, the ill-natured old fellow
kept fast about my neck, but opened his legs a little to give me
time to recover my breath. When I had done so, he thrust one
of his feet against my stomach, and struck me so rudely on the
side with the other that he forced me to rise up against my will.
Having arisen, he made me walk under the trees, and forced me
now and then to stop, to gather and eat fruit. He never left
me all day, and when I lay down to rest at night, laid himself
down with me, holding always fast about my neck. Every
morning he pushed me to make me awake, and afterward
obliged me to get up and walk, and pressed me with his feet.

"One day I found in my w^ay several dry calabashes that had
fallen from a tree. I took a large one, and after cleaning it,
pressed into it some juice of grapes, which abounded in the island ;
having filled the calabash, I put it by in a convenient place, and
going thither again some days after, I tasted it, and found the
wine so good, that it soon made me forget my sorrow, gave me
new vigour, and so exhilarated my spu'its, that I began to sing
and dance as I walked along.

The old man, perceiving the effect which this liquor had
upon me, and that I carried him with more ease than before,
made me a sign to give him some of it. I handed him the
calabash, and the liquor pleasing his palate, he drank it all off.
There being a considerable quantity of it, he became intoxicated,
and the fumes getting up into his head, he began to sing after his
manner, and to dance, thus loosening his legs from about me by
degrees. Finding that he did not press me as before, I threw
him upon the ground, where he lay without motion; I then took
up a great stone, and crushed him.

"I was extremely glad to be thus freed forever from this
troublesome fellow. I now walked toward the beach, where
I met the crew of a ship that had cast anchor, to take in water.
They were surprised to see me, but more so at hearing the par-
ticulars of my adventures. 'You fell,' said they, *into the hands
of the Old Man of the Sea, and are the first who ever escaped
strangling by his malicious tricks. He never quits those he has
once made himself master of till he has destroyed them, and he
has made this island notorious by the number of men he has
slain.'

''After having informed me of these things, they carried me
with them to the ship, and the captain received me with great
kindness, when they told him what had befallen me. He put
out again to sea, and after some days' sail, we arrived at the
harbour of a great city.

"One of the merchants who had taken me into his friendship
invited me to go along with him, and carried me to a place
appointed for the accommodation of foreign merchants. He
gave me a large bag, and having recommended me to some people
of the town, who used to gather cocoa-nuts, desired them to take
me with them. *Go,' said he, 'follow them, and act as you see
them do, but do not separate from them, otherwise you may
endanger your life.' Having thus spoken, he gave me provisions
for the journey, and I went with them.

"We came to a thick forest of cocoa-trees, very lofty, with
trunks so smooth that it was not possible to climb to the branches
that bore the fruit. When we entered the forest we saw a great
number of apes of several sizes, who fled as soon as they perceived
us, and climbed up to the top of the trees with surprising swiftness.

*'The merchants with whom I was, gathered stones and threw
them at the apes on the trees. I did the same, and the apes out
of revenge threw cocoa-nuts at us so fast, and with such gestures,
as sufficiently testified their anger and resentment. We gathered
up the cocoa-nuts, and from time to time threw stones to provoke
the apes ; so that by this stratagem we filled our bags with cocoa-
nuts, which it had been impossible otherwise to have done.

"When we had gathered our number, we returned to the city,
where the merchant who had sent me to the forest gave me the
value of the cocoas I brought: * Go on,' said he, 'and do the like
every day, until you have got money enough to carry you home.'
I thanked him for his advice, and gradually collected as many
cocoa-nuts as produced me a considerable sum.

" The vessel in which I had come sailed with some merchants
who loaded her with cocoa-nuts. I embarked in her all the nuts
I had, and when she was ready to sail took leave of the merchant
who had been so kind to me.

"We sailed toward the islands, where pepper grows in great
plenty. From thence we went to the isle of Comari, where the
best species of wood of aloes grows. I exchanged my cocoa in
those two islands for pepper and wood of aloes, and went with
other merchants a pearl-fishing. I hired divers, who brought
me up some that were very large and pure. I embarked in a
vessel that happily arrived at Bussorah; from thence I returned
to Bagdad, where I made vast sums from my pepper, wood of
aloes, and pearls. I gave the tenth of my gains in alms, as I had
done upon my return from my other voyages, and endeavoured
to dissipate my fatigues by amusements of different kinds."

When Sinbad had finished his story, he ordered one hundred
sequins to be given to Hindbad, who retired with the other guests;
but next morning the same company returned to dine; when
Sinbad requested their attention, and gave the following account
of his sixth voyage: