The Third Voyage of Es-Sindibad of the Sea

Know, O my brothers (and hear from me the story of
the third voyage, for it is more wonderful than the pre-
ceding stories, hitherto related — and God is all-knowing
with respect to the things which He hideth. and omniscient),
that, in the times past, when I returned from the second
voyage, and was in a state of the utmost joy and happiness,
rejoicing in my safety, having gained great wealth, as I
related to you yesterday, God having compensated me for
all that I had lost, I resided in the city of Baghdad for a
length of time in the most perfect prosperity and delight.
and joy and happiness. Then my soul became desirous
of travel and diversion, and I longed for commerce and
gain and profits; the soul being prone to evil. So I medi-
tated, and bought an abundance of goods suited for a sea-
voyage, and packed them up, and departed with them from
the city of Baghdad to the city of El-Basrah. There,
coming to the bank of the river, I beheld a great vessel, in
which were many merchants and other passengers, people
of worth, and comely and good persons, people of religion
and kindness and probity. I therefore embarked with them
in that vessel, and we departed in reliance on the blessing
of God (whose name be exalted!), and his aid and favour,
rejoicing in expectation of good-fortune and safety. We
ceased not to proceed from sea to sea, and from island to
island, and from city to city; at every place by which we
passed diverting ourselves, and selling and buying, in the
utmost joy and happiness. Thus we did until we were, one
day, pursuing our course in the midst of the roaring sea,
agitated with waves, when, lo, the master standing at the
side of the vessel, looked at the different quarters of the
sea, and then slapped his face, furled the sails of the ship,
cast its anchors, plucked his beard, rent his clothes, and
uttered a great cry. So we said to him, O master, what is
the news? And he answered. Know, O passengers, whom
may God preserve ! that the wind hath prevailed against us,
and driven us out of our course in the midst of the sea, and
destiny hath cast us, through our evil fortune, towards the
Mountain of Apes. No one hath ever arrived at this place
and escaped, and my heart is impressed with the conviction
of the destruction of us all. — And the words of the master
were not ended before the apes had come to us and sur-
rounded the vessel on every side, numerous as locusts,
dispersed about the vessel and on the shore. We feared
that, if we killed one of them, or struck him, or drove him
away, they would kill us, on account of their excessive
number; for numbers prevail against courage; and we
feared them lest they should plunder our goods and our
commodities. They are the most hideous of beasts, and
covered with hair like black felt, their aspect striking
terror. No one understandeth their language or their state,
they shun the society of men, have yellow eyes, and black
faces, and are of small size, the height of each one of them
being four spans. They climbed up the cables, and severed
them with their teeth, and they severed all the ropes of
the vessel in every part : so the vessel inclined with the
wind, and stopped at their mountain, and on their coast.
Then, having seized all the merchants and the other
passengers, and landed upon the island, they took the
vessel with the whole of its contents, and went their way
with it.

They left us upon the island, the vessel became concealed
from us, and we knew not whither they went with it. And
while we were upon that island, eating of its fruits and its
herbs, and drinking of the rivers that were there, lo, there
appeared to us an inhabited house in the midst of the
island. We therefore went towards it, and walked to it;
and, behold, it was a pavilion, with lofty angles, with high
walls, having an entrance with folding doors, which were
open ; and the doors were of ebony. We entered this
pavilion, and found in it a wide, open space, like a wide,
large court, around which were many lofty doors, and at its
upper end was a high and great mastabah. There were also
in it utensils for cooking, hung over the fire-pots, and around
them were many bones. But we saw not there any person ;
and we wondered at that extremely. We sat in the open
space in that pavilion a little while, after which we slept;
and we ceased not to sleep from near the mid-time between
sunrise and moon until sunset. And, lo, the earth trembled
beneath us, and we heard a confused noise from the upper
air, and there descended upon us, from the summit of the
pavilion, a person of enormous size, in human form, and he
was of black complexion, of lofty stature, like a great palm-
tree: he had two eyes like two blazes of fire, and tusks like
the tusks of swine, and a mouth of prodigious size, like the
mouth of a well, and lips like the lips of a camel, hanging
down upon his bosom, and he had ears like two mortars,
hanging down upon his shoulders, and the nails of his hands
were like the claws of the lion. So when we beheld him
thus, we became unconscious of our existence, our fear was
vehement, and our terror was violent, and through the
violence of our fear and dread and terror we became as
dead men. And after he had desecended upon the ground,
he sat a little while upon the mastabah. Then he arose
and came to us, and, seizing me by my hands from among
my companions the merchants, lifted me up from the ground
in his hand, and felt me and turned me over ; and I was in
his hand like a little mouthful. He continued to feel me as
the butcher feeleth the sheep that he is about to slaughter;
but he found me infirm from excessive affliction, and lean
from excessive fatigue and from the voyage ; having no
flesh. He therefore let me go from his hand, and took
another, from among my companions ; and he turned him
over, as he had turned me over, and felt him as he had felt
me, and let him go. He ceased not to feel us and turn us
over, one after another, until he came to the master of our
ship, who was a fat, stout, broad-shouldered man; a person
of strength and vigour: so he pleased him, and he seized
him as the butcher seizeth the animal that he is about to
slaughter, and, having thrown him on the ground, put his
foot upon his neck, which he thus broke. Then he brought
a long spit, and thrust it into his throat, and spitted him ;
after which he lighted a fierce fire, and placed over it that
spit upon which the master was spitted, and ceased not to
turn him round over the burning coals until his flesh was
thoroughly roasted ; when he took him ofif from the fire, put
him before him, and separated his joints as a man separates
the joints of a chicken, and proceeded to tear in pieces his
flesh with his nails, and to eat of it. Thus he continued to
do until he had eaten his flesh, and gnawed his bones, and
there remained of him nothing but some bones, which he
threw by the side of the pavilion. He then sat a little, and
threw himself down, and slept upon that mastabah, making
a noise with his throat like that which is made by a lamb or
other beast when slaughtered; and he slept uninterruptedly
until the morning, when he went his way.

As soon, therefore, as we were sure that he was far from
us, we conversed together, and wept for ourselves, saying.
Would that we had been drowned in the sea, or that the
apes had eaten us ; for it were better than the roasting of a
man upon burning coals ! By Allah, this death is a vile^ ,
one ! But what God willeth cometh to pass, and there is \
no strength nor power but in God, the High, the Great !
We die in sorrow, and no one knoweth of us ; and there is
no escape for us from this place ! — We then arose and went
forth upon the island, to see for us a place in which to hide
ourselves, or to flee ; and it had become a light matter to
us to die, rather than that our flesh should be roasted with
fire. But we found not for us a place in which to hide our-
selves; and the evening overtook us. So we returned to
the pavilion, by reason of the violence of our fear, and sat
there a little while; and, lo, the earth trembled beneath us,
and that black approached us, and, coming among us, began
to turn us over, one after another, as on the former occasion,
and to feel us, until one pleased him ; whereupon he seized
him, and did with him as he did with the master of the ship
the day before. He roasted him, and ate him upon that
mastabah, and ceased not to sleep that night, making a
noise with his throat like a slaughtered animal ; and when
the day came, he arose and went his way, leaving us as
usual. Upon this we assembled together and conversed,
and, said, one to another. By Allah, if we cast ourselves into
the sea and die drowned, it will be better than our dying
burnt ; for this mode of being put to death is abominable !
And one of us said, Hear my words. Verily we will con-
trive a stratagem against him and kill him, and be at ease
from apprehension of his purpose, and relieve the Muslims
from his oppression and tyranny. — So I said to them, Hear,
O my brothers. If we must kill him, we will transport this
wood, and remove some of this firewood, and make for our-
selves rafts, each to bear three men, after which we will
contrive a stratagem to kill him, and embark on the rafts,
and proceed over the sea to whatsoever place God shall
desire. Or we will remain in this place until a ship shall
pass by, when we will embark in it. And if we be not able
to kill him, we will embark [on our rafts], and put out to
sea; and if we be drowned, we shall be preserved from
being roasted over the fire, and from being slaughtered. If
we escape, we escape ; and if we be drowned, we die martyrs.
— To this they all replied. By Allah, this is a right opinion
and a wise proceeding. And we agreed upon this matter,
and commenced the work. We removed the pieces of wood
out of the pavilion, and constructed rafts, attached them to
the sea-shore, and stowed upon them some provisions; after
which we returned to the pavilion.

And when it was evening, lo, the earth trembled with
us, and the black came in to us, like the biting dog. He
turned us over and felt us, one after another, and, having
taken one of us, did with him as he had done with the
others before him. He ate him^ and slept upon the mas-
tabah, and the noise from his throat was like thunder. So
thereupon we arose, and took two iron spits, of those which
were set up, and put them in the fierce fire until they were
red-hot, and became like burning coals ; when we grasped
them firmly, and went with them to that black while he lay
asleep snoring, and we thrust them into his eyes, all of us
pressing upon them with our united strength and force.
Thus we pushed them into his eyes as he slept, and his eyes
were destroyed, and he uttered a great cry, whereat our
hearts were terrified. Then he arose resolutely from that
mastabah, and began to search for us, while we fled from
him to the right and left, and he saw us not; for his sight
was blinded; but we feared him with a violent fear, and
made sure, in that time, of destruction, and despaired of
safety. And upon this he sought the door, feeling for it,
and went forth from it, crying out, while we were in the
utmost fear of him; and lo, the earth shook beneath us, by
reason of the vehemence of his cry. So when he went forth
from the pavilion, we followed him, and he went his way,
searching for us. Then he returned, accompanied by a
female, greater than he, and more hideous in form ; and
when we beheld him, and her who was with him, more
horrible than he in appearance, we were in the utmost fear.
As soon as the female saw us, we hastily loosed the rafts
that we had constructed, and embarked on them, and pushed
them forth into the sea. But each of the two blacks had a
mass of rock, and they cast at us until the greater number
of us died from the casting, there remaining of us only three
persons, I and two others; and the raft conveyed us to
another island.

We walked forward upon that island until the close of
the day, and the night overtook us in this state; so we slept
a little; and we awoke from our sleep, and, lo, a serpent of
enormous size, of large body and wide belly, had surrounded
us. It approached one of us, and swallowed him to his
shoulders : then it swallowed the rest of him, and we heard
his ribs break in pieces in its belly; after which it went its
way. At this we wondered extremely, and w-e mourned for
our companion, and were in the utmost fear for ourselves,
saying. By Allah, this is a wonderful thing! Every death
that we witness is more horrible than the preceding one!
We were rejoiced at our escape from the black; but our joy
is not complete ! There is no strength nor power but in
God ! By Allah, we have escaped from the black and from
drowning; but how shall we escape from this unlucky
serpent? — Then we arose and w^alked on over the island,
eating of its fruits, and drinking of its rivers, and we ceased
not to proceed till morning, when we found a great, lofty
tree. So we climbed up it, and slept upon it; I having
ascended to the highest of its branches. But when the
night arrived, and it was dark, the serpent came, looking to
the right and left, and, advancing to the tree upon which we
were, came up to my companion, and swallowed him to his
shoulders ; and it wound itself round the tree with him,
and I heard his bones break in pieces in its belly: then it
swallowed him entirely, while I looked on; after which it
descended from the tree, and went its way. — I remained
upon that tree the rest of the night ; and when the day
came, and the light appeared, I descended from the tree,
like one dead, by reason of excessive fear and terror, and
desired to cast myself into the sea, that I might be at rest
from the w'orld ; but it was not a light matter to me to do
so; for life is dear. So I tied a wide piece of wood upon
the soles of my feet, crosswise, and I tied one like it upon
my left side, and a similar one upon my right side, and a
similar one upon the front of my body, and I tied one long
and wide upon the top of my head, crosswise, like that which
was under the soles of my feet. Thus I w^as in the midst of
these pieces of wood, and they enclosed me on every side.
I bound them tightly, and threw myself with the whole upon
the ground ; so I lay in the midst of the pieces of wood,
which enclosed me like a closet. And when the evening
arrived, the serpent approached as it was wont, and saw me,
and drew towards me; but it could not swallow me when I
was in that state, with the pieces of wood round me on every
side. It went round me; but could not come at me: and I
looked at it, being like a dead man, by reason of the violence
of my fear and terror. The serpent retired from me, and
returned to me; and thus it ceased not to do: every time
that it desired to get at me to sv^^allow me, the pieces of
wood tied upon me on every side prevented it. It continued
to do thus from sunset until daybreak arrived and the light
appeared and the sun rose, when it went its way, in the
utmost vexation and rage. Upon this, therefore, I stretched
forth my hands and loosed myself from those pieces of wood,
in a state like that of the dead, through the severity of that
which I had suffered from that serpent.

I then arose, and walked along the island until I came
to the extremity of it; when I cast a glance towards the
sea, and beheld a ship at a distance, in the midst of the
deep. So I took a great branch of a tree, and made a sign
with it to the passengers, calling out to them ; and when
they saw me, they said, We must see what this is. Perhaps
it is a man. — Then they approached me, and heard my
cries to them. They therefore came to me, and took me
with them in the ship, and asked me respecting my state :
so I informed them of all that had happened to me from
beginning to end, and of the troubles that I had suffered ;
whereat they wondered extremely. They clad me with
some of their clothes, attiring me decently ; and after that,
they put before me some provisions, and I ate until I was
satisfied. They also gave me to drink some cool and sweet
water, and my heart was revived, my soul became at ease,
and I experienced great comfort. God (whose name be
exalted) had raised me to life after my death: so I praised
Him (exalted be his name!) for his abundant favours, and
thanked Him. My courage was strengthened after I had
made sure of destruction, so that it seemed to me that all
which I then experienced was a dream. — We proceeded on
our voyage, and the wind was fair to us by the permission
of God (whose name be exalted!) until we came in sight of
an island called the Island of Es-Selahit, where sandal-
wood is abundant, and there the master anchored the ship,
and the merchants and other passengers landed, and took
forth their goods to sell and buy. The owner of the ship
then looked towards me, and said to me, Hear my words,
Thou art a stranger and poor, and hast informed us that
thou hast suffered many horrors; I therefore desire to
benefit thee with something that will aid thee to reach thy
country, and thou wilt pray for me. — I replied. So be it, and
thou shalt have my prayers. And he rejoined. Know that
there was with us a man voyaging, whom we lost, and we
know not whether he be living or dead, having heard no
tidings of him. I desire to commit to thee his bales that
thou mayest sell them in this island. Thou shalt take
charge of them, and we will give thee something propor-
tionate to thy trouble and thy service; and what remaineth
of them we will take and keep until we return to the city of
Baghdad, when we will inquire for the owner's family, and
give to them the remainder, together with the price of that
which shall be sold of them. Wilt thou then take charge of
them, and land with them upon this island, and sell them
as do the merchants? — I answered, I hear and obey thee,
O my master; and thou art beneficent and kind. And I
prayed for him and thanked him for that.

He thereupon ordered the porters and sailors to land
those goods upon the island, and to deliver them to me.
And the clerk of the ship said, O master, what are these
bales which the sailors and porters have brought out. and
with the name of which of the merchants shall I mark them?
He answered, Write upon them the name of Es-Sindibad of
the Sea, who was with us, and was drowned [or left behind]
at the island [of the rukh], and of whom no tidings have
come to us; wherefore we desire that this stranger sell them,
and take charge of the price of them, and we will give him
somewhat of it in requital of his trouble and his sale of them.
What shall remain we will take with us until we return to the
city of Baghdad, when, if we find him. we will give it to
him ; and if we find him not, we will give it to his family in
Baghdad. — So the clerk replied. Thy words are good, and
thy notion is excellent. And when I heard the words of
the master, mentioning that the bales were to be inscribed
with my name, I said within myself. By Allah, I am Es-
Sindibad of the Sea. Then I fortified myself, and waited
till the merchants had landed and had assembled conversing
and consuhins: upon affairs of selling and buying, when I
advanced to the owner of the ship, and said to him, O my
master, dost thou know what manner of man was the owner
of the bales which thou hast conmiitted to me that I may
sell them? He answered me, I know not his condition;
but he was a man of the city of Baghdad, called Es-Sindibad
of the Sea; and we had cast anchor at one of the islands,
where he was lost, and we have had no tidings of him to the
present time. So upon this I uttered a great cry, and said
to him, O master (whom may God preserve!), know that I
am Es-Sindibad of the Sea. I was not drowned; but when
thou anchoredst at the island, and the merchants and other
passengers landed, I also landed with the party, taking with
me something to eat on the shore of the island. Then I
enjoyed myself in sitting in that place, and slumber over-
taking me, I slept, and became immersed in sleep; after
which I arose and found not the ship, nor found I any one
with me. Therefore this wealth is my wealth, and these
goods are my goods. All the merchants also who transport
diamonds saw me when I was upon the mountain of the
diamonds, and they will bear witness for me that I am
Es-Sindibad of the Sea, as I informed them of my story and
of the events that befell me with you in the ship. I informed
them that ye had forgotten me upon the island, asleep, and
that I arose and found not any one, and that what had
befallen me befell me.

And when the merchants and other passengers heard
my words, they assembled around me; and some of them
believed me, and others disbelieved me. But while we
were thus talking, lo, one of the merchants, on his hearing
me mention the valley of diamonds arose and advanced to
me, and said to thern. Hear, O company, my words. When
I related to you the most wonderful thing that I had seen in
my travels, I told you that, when we cast down the slaughtered
animals into the valley of diamonds, I casting down mine
with the rest, as I was accustomed to do, there came up with
my slaughtered beast a man attached to it, and ye believed
me not, but accused me of falsehood. — They replied. Yes:
thou didst relate to us this thing, and we believed thee not.
And the merchant said to them. This is the man who
attached himself to my slaughtered animal, and he gave
me some diamonds of high price, the like of which exist
not, rewarding me with more than would have come up
with my slaughtered animal; and I took him as my com-
panion until we arrived at the city of El-Basrah, whence he
proceeded to his country, having bidden us farewell, and we
returned to our own countries. This is he, and he informed
us that his name was Es-Sindibad of the Sea: he told us
likewise of the departure of the ship, and of his sitting in
that island. And know ye that this man came not to us
here but in order that ye might believe my words respecting
the matter which I told you ; and all these goods are his
property; for he informed us of them at the time of his
meeting with us, and the truth of his assertion hath become
manifest. — So when the master heard the words of that
merchant, he arose and came to me, and, having looked at
me awhile with a scrutinizing eye, said. What is the mark of
thy goods? I answered him. Know that the mark of my
goods is of such and such a kind. And I related to him a
circumstance that had occurred between me and him when
I embarked with him in the vessel from El-Basrah. He
therefore was convinced that I was Es-Sindibad of the Sea,
and he embraced me and saluted me, and congratulated me
on my safety, saying to me, By Allah, O my master, thy
story is wonderful and thy case is extraordinary ! But
praise be to God who hath brought us together, and restored
thy goods and thy wealth to thee !

Upon this, I disposed of my goods according to the
knowledge I possessed and they procured me, during that
voyage, great gain, whereat I rejoiced exceedingly, con-
gratulating myself on my safety, and on the restoration of
my wealth to me. And we ceased not to sell and buy at
the islands until we arrived at the country of Es-Sind,°
where likewise we sold and bought. And I beheld in that
sea [which we navigated, namely the Sea of India,] many
wonders and strange things that cannot be numbered nor
calculated. Among the things that I saw there were a fish
in the form of the cow, and a creature in the form of the
ass; and I saw a bird that cometh forth from a sea-shell,
and layeth its eggs and hatcheth them upon the surface of
the water, and never cometh forth from the sea upon the
face of the earth. — After this we continued our voyage, by
permission of God (whose name be exalted!), and the wind
and voyage were pleasant to us, until we arrived at El-Basrah,
where I remained a few days. Then I came to the city of
Baghdad, and repaired to my quarter, entered my house,
and saluted my family and companions and friends. I re-
joiced at my safety and my return to my country and my
family and city and district, and I gave alms and presents,
and clad the widows and the orphans, and collected my
companions and friends. And I ceased not to live thus,
eating and drinking, and sporting and making merry, eating
well and drinking well, associating familiarly and mingling
in society ; and I forgot all that had happened to me, and
the distresses and horrors that I had suffered. And I gained
during that voyage what could not be numbered nor calcu-
lated. — Such were the most wonderful of the things that I
beheld during that voyage; and to-morrow, if it be the will
of God (whose name be exalted!), thou shalt come. [O
Sindibad of the Land,] and I will relate to thee the story
of the fourth voyage; for it is more wonderful than the
stories of the preceding voyages.