I was careful only to pretend to taste my portion; but my companions,
being very hungry, rashly ate up all that was set before them,
and very soon I had the horror of seeing them become perfectly mad.
Though they chattered incessantly I could not understand a word
they said, nor did they heed when I spoke to them. The savages
now produced large bowls full of rice prepared with cocoanut oil,
of which my crazy comrades ate eagerly, but I only tasted a few grains,
understanding clearly that the object of our captors was to fatten us
speedily for their own eating, and this was exactly what happened.
My unlucky companions having lost their reason, felt neither
anxiety nor fear, and ate greedily all that was offered them.
So they were soon fat and there was an end of them, but I grew
leaner day by day, for I ate but little, and even that little did me
no good by reason of my fear of what lay before me. However, as I
was so far from being a tempting morsel, I was allowed to wander
about freely, and one day, when all the blacks had gone off upon
some expedition leaving only an old man to guard me, I managed
to escape from him and plunged into the forest, running faster
the more he cried to me to come back, until I had completely
distanced him.
For seven days I hurried on, resting only when the darkness stopped me,
and living chiefly upon cocoanuts, which afforded me both meat
and drink, and on the eighth day I reached the seashore and saw a party
of white men gathering pepper, which grew abundantly all about.
Reassured by the nature of their occupation, I advanced towards them
and they greeted me in Arabic, asking who I was and whence I came.
My delight was great on hearing this familiar speech, and I willingly
satisfied their curiosity, telling them how I had been shipwrecked,
and captured by the blacks. "But these savages devour men!" said they.
"How did you escape?" I repeated to them what I have just told you,
at which they were mightily astonished. I stayed with them until
they had collected as much pepper as they wished, and then they
took me back to their own country and presented me to their king,
by whom I was hospitably received. To him also I had to relate
my adventures, which surprised him much, and when I had finished he
ordered that I should be supplied with food and raiment and treated
with consideration.
The island on which I found myself was full of people, and abounded
in all sorts of desirable things, and a great deal of traffic
went on in the capital, where I soon began to feel at home
and contented. Moreover, the king treated me with special favour,
and in consequence of this everyone, whether at the court or in
the town, sought to make life pleasant to me. One thing I remarked
which I thought very strange; this was that, from the greatest
to the least, all men rode their horses without bridle or stirrups.
I one day presumed to ask his majesty why he did not use them,
to which he replied, "You speak to me of things of which I have never
before heard!" This gave me an idea. I found a clever workman,
and made him cut out under my direction the foundation of a saddle,
which I wadded and covered with choice leather, adorning it
with rich gold embroidery. I then got a lock-smith to make me
a bit and a pair of spurs after a pattern that I drew for him,
and when all these things were completed I presented them to the king
and showed him how to use them. When I had saddled one of his horses
he mounted it and rode about quite delighted with the novelty,
and to show his gratitude he rewarded me with large gifts.
After this I had to make saddles for all the principal officers
of the king's household, and as they all gave me rich presents I
soon became very wealthy and quite an important person in the city.
One day the king sent for me and said, "Sindbad, I am going to ask
a favour of you. Both I and my subjects esteem you, and wish
you to end your days amongst us. Therefore I desire that you
will marry a rich and beautiful lady whom I will find for you,
and think no more of your own country."
As the king's will was law I accepted the charming bride he presented
to me, and lived happily with her. Nevertheless I had every intention
of escaping at the first opportunity, and going back to Bagdad.
Things were thus going prosperously with me when it happened that
the wife of one of my neighbours, with whom I had struck up quite
a friendship, fell ill, and presently died. I went to his house
to offer my consolations, and found him in the depths of woe.
"Heaven preserve you," said I, "and send you a long life!"
"Alas!" he replied, "what is the good of saying that when I have
but an hour left to live!"
"Come, come!" said I, "surely it is not so bad as all that.
I trust that you may be spared to me for many years."
"I hope," answered he, "that your life may be long, but as for me,
all is finished. I have set my house in order, and to-day I shall
be buried with my wife. This has been the law upon our island
from the earliest ages--the living husband goes to the grave
with his dead wife, the living wife with her dead husband.
So did our fathers, and so must we do. The law changes not,
and all must submit to it!"
As he spoke the friends and relations of the unhappy pair began
to assemble. The body, decked in rich robes and sparkling
with jewels, was laid upon an open bier, and the procession started,
taking its way to a high mountain at some distance from the city,
the wretched husband, clothed from head to foot in a black mantle,
following mournfully.
When the place of interment was reached the corpse was lowered,
just as it was, into a deep pit. Then the husband, bidding farewell
to all his friends, stretched himself upon another bier, upon which
were laid seven little loaves of bread and a pitcher of water, and he
also was let down-down-down to the depths of the horrible cavern,
and then a stone was laid over the opening, and the melancholy
company wended its way back to the city.
You may imagine that I was no unmoved spectator of these proceedings;
to all the others it was a thing to which they had been accustomed
from their youth up; but I was so horrified that I could not help
telling the king how it struck me.
"Sire," I said, "I am more astonished than I can express to you
at the strange custom which exists in your dominions of burying
the living with the dead. In all my travels I have never before
met with so cruel and horrible a law."
"What would you have, Sindbad?" he replied. "It is the law
for everybody. I myself should be buried with the Queen if she
were the first to die."
"But, your Majesty," said I, "dare I ask if this law applies
to foreigners also?"
"Why, yes," replied the king smiling, in what I could but consider
a very heartless manner, "they are no exception to the rule if they
have married in the country."
When
I heard this I went home much cast down, and from that time
forward my mind was never easy. If only my wife's little finger
ached I fancied she was going to die, and sure enough before very
long she fell really ill and in a few days breathed her last.
My dismay was great, for it seemed to me that to be buried
alive was even a worse fate than to be devoured by cannibals,
nevertheless there was no escape. The body of my wife, arrayed in
her richest robes and decked with all her jewels, was laid upon
the bier. I followed it, and after me came a great procession,
headed by the king and all his nobles, and in this order we reached
the fatal mountain, which was one of a lofty chain bordering the sea.
Here I made one more frantic effort to excite the pity of the king
and those who stood by, hoping to save myself even at this last moment,
but it was of no avail. No one spoke to me, they even appeared
to hasten over their dreadful task, and I speedily found myself
descending into the gloomy pit, with my seven loaves and pitcher
of water beside me. Almost before I reached the bottom the stone
was rolled into its place above my head, and I was left to my fate.
A feeble ray of light shone into the cavern through some chink,
and when I had the courage to look about me I could see that I
was in a vast vault, bestrewn with bones and bodies of the dead.
I even fancied that I heard the expiring sighs of those who,
like myself, had come into this dismal place alive. All in vain
did I shriek aloud with rage and despair, reproaching myself for
the love of gain and adventure which had brought me to such a pass,
but at length, growing calmer, I took up my bread and water,
and wrapping my face in my mantle I groped my way towards the end
of the cavern, where the air was fresher.
Here I lived in darkness and misery until my provisions were exhausted,
but just as I was nearly dead from starvation the rock was rolled away
overhead and I saw that a bier was being lowered into the cavern,
and that the corpse upon it was a man. In a moment my mind was made up,
the woman who followed had nothing to expect but a lingering death;
I should be doing her a service if I shortened her misery.
Therefore when she descended, already insensible from terror,
I was ready armed with a huge bone, one blow from which left her dead,
and I secured the bread and water which gave me a hope of life.
Several times did I have recourse to this desperate expedient,
and I know not how long I had been a prisoner when one day I fancied
that I heard something near me, which breathed loudly. Turning to
the place from which the sound came I dimly saw a shadowy form which
fled at my movement, squeezing itself through a cranny in the wall.
I pursued it as fast as I could, and found myself in a narrow crack
among the rocks, along which I was just able to force my way.
I followed it for what seemed to me many miles, and at last saw
before me a glimmer of light which grew clearer every moment until
I emerged upon the sea shore with a joy which I cannot describe.
When I was sure that I was not dreaming, I realised that it was
doubtless some little animal which had found its way into the cavern
from the sea, and when disturbed had fled, showing me a means of escape
which I could never have discovered for myself. I hastily surveyed
my surroundings, and saw that I was safe from all pursuit from
the town.
The mountains sloped sheer down to the sea, and there was no road
across them. Being assured of this I returned to the cavern,
and amassed a rich treasure of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and jewels
of all kinds which strewed the ground. These I made up into bales,
and stored them into a safe place upon the beach, and then waited
hopefully for the passing of a ship. I had looked out for two days,
however, before a single sail appeared, so it was with much
delight that I at last saw a vessel not very far from the shore,
and by waving my arms and uttering loud cries succeeded in attracting
the attention of her crew. A boat was sent off to me, and in answer
to the questions of the sailors as to how I came to be in such
a plight, I replied that I had been shipwrecked two days before,
but had managed to scramble ashore with the bales which I pointed
out to them. Luckily for me they believed my story, and without
even looking at the place where they found me, took up my bundles,
and rowed me back to the ship. Once on board, I soon saw that the
captain was too much occupied with the difficulties of navigation
to pay much heed to me, though he generously made me welcome,
and would not even accept the jewels with which I offered to pay
my passage. Our voyage was prosperous, and after visiting many lands,
and collecting in each place great store of goodly merchandise,
I found myself at last in Bagdad once more with unheard of riches
of every description. Again I gave large sums of money to the poor,
and enriched all the mosques in the city, after which I gave myself up
to my friends and relations, with whom I passed my time in feasting
Here Sindbad paused, and all his hearers declared that the adventures
of his fourth voyage had pleased them better than anything they
had heard before. They then took their leave, followed by Hindbad,
who had once more received a hundred sequins, and with the rest had
been bidden to return next day for the story of the fifth voyage.
When the time came all were in their places, and when they had eaten
and drunk of all that was set before them Sindbad began his tale.
Fifth Voyage
Not even all that I had gone through could make me contented with a
quiet life. I soon wearied of its pleasures, and longed for change
and adventure. Therefore I set out once more, but this time in a ship
of my own, which I built and fitted out at the nearest seaport.
I wished to be able to call at whatever port I chose, taking my own time;
but as I did not intend carrying enough goods for a full cargo,
I invited several merchants of different nations to join me.
We set sail with the first favourable wind, and after a long
voyage upon the open seas we landed upon an unknown island which
proved to be uninhabited. We determined, however, to explore it,
but had not gone far when we found a roc's egg, as large as the one
I had seen before and evidently very nearly hatched, for the beak
of the young bird had already pierced the shell. In spite of all I
could say to deter them, the merchants who were with me fell upon it
with their hatchets, breaking the shell, and killing the young roc.
Then lighting a fire upon the ground they hacked morsels from the bird,
and proceeded to roast them while I stood by aghast.
Scarcely had they finished their ill-omened repast, when the air
above us was darkened by two mighty shadows. The captain of my ship,
knowing by experience what this meant, cried out to us that the parent
birds were coming, and urged us to get on board with all speed.
This we
did, and the sails were hoisted, but before we had made
any way the rocs reached their despoiled nest and hovered about it,
uttering frightful cries when they discovered the mangled remains
of their young one. For a moment we lost sight of them, and were
flattering ourselves that we had escaped, when they reappeared
and soared into the air directly over our vessel, and we saw
that each held in its claws an immense rock ready to crush us.
There was a moment of breathless suspense, then one bird loosed
its hold and the huge block of stone hurtled through the air,
but thanks to the presence of mind of the helmsman, who turned
our ship violently in another direction, it fell into the sea close
beside us, cleaving it asunder till we could nearly see the bottom.
We had hardly time to draw a breath of relief before the other rock
fell with a mighty crash right in the midst of our luckless vessel,
smashing it into a thousand fragments, and crushing, or hurling into
the sea, passengers and crew. I myself went down with the rest,
but had the good fortune to rise unhurt, and by holding on to a piece
of driftwood with one hand and swimming with the other I kept myself
afloat and was presently washed up by the tide on to an island.
Its shores were steep and rocky, but I scrambled up safely and threw
myself down to rest upon the green turf.
When I had somewhat recovered I began to examine the spot in which I
found myself, and truly it seemed to me that I had reached a garden
of delights. There were trees everywhere, and they were laden
with flowers and fruit, while a crystal stream wandered in and out
under their shadow. When night came I slept sweetly in a cosy nook,
though the remembrance that I was alone in a strange land made me
sometimes start up and look around me in alarm, and then I wished
heartily that I had stayed at home at ease. However, the morning
sunlight restored my courage, and I once more wandered among
the trees, but always with some anxiety as to what I might see next.