THE STORY OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR
ON THE EIGHTEENTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
Then Sindbad the Sailor, having finished this story, gave, as usual, a hundred pieces of gold to the astonished porter, who retired after dinner with the other guests. And the next day, before the same audience, after a feast as sumptuous as the day before, Sindbad the Sailor spoke in these terms:
THE SIXTH JOURNEY OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR
Know, O all of you, my friends, my companions, and my dear guests, that on my return from the fifth journey, I was one day sitting in front of my door to take the fresh air, and I really felt at the limit of fulfillment, when I saw merchants passing in my street who seemed to be returning from a trip. At this sight, I remembered with happiness the days of my arrival from my trip, my joy at finding my parents, my friends, and my old companions, and my even greater joy at seeing my native country again; and this memory invited my soul to travel and commerce. So I resolved to travel; I bought rich and expensive goods, suitable to withstand the sea, I had my bundles loaded, and I left the city of Baghdad for the city of Basra. There I found a large ship filled with merchants and notables who had sumptuous merchandise with them. I had my bundles embarked with theirs on board this ship, and we left the town of Basra in peace.
We did not stop sailing from place to place and from town to town, selling, buying, and rejoicing in the sight of the spectacle of the countries of men, favored all the time by a happy navigation which we used to enjoy the life. But here one day among days, while we were in complete safety, we heard cries of despair. It was the captain himself who pushed them. At the same time, we saw him throw his turban on the ground, slap his face, tear his beard, and let himself fall in the middle of the ship, prey to unimaginable grief.
Then all the passengers and merchants surrounded him and asked him: “O captain, what is happening?" The captain answered them: “Know, good people assembled here, that we have lost our way with our ship, and we have left the sea where we were to enter a sea whose route we hardly know. So if Allah does not give us something to save us from this sea, we are destroyed, all of us. We must therefore beg Allah Most High to get us out of this affair!"
The captain, after that, picked himself up and climbed the mast and wanted to stow the sails; but the wind suddenly blew violently and overturned the ship astern so suddenly that the rudder broke, while we were close to a high mountain. Then the captain descended from the mast and exclaimed: "There is no recourse and no strength but in Allah the Most High, the Almighty! No one can stop fate! By Allah! we have fallen into terrible perdition, with no chance of salvation or deliverance!"
At these words, the passengers all began to cry over themselves and to say goodbye to each other as they were seeing their existence come to an end and their hopes fall. And suddenly the ship leaned over the mountain in question and broke and scattered in planks on all sides. And all who were in it were overwhelmed. And the merchants fell into the sea. Some were drowned and others clung to the mountain in question and were able to save themselves. I was among those who were able to cling to the mountain.
This mountain was located on a very large island whose coasts were covered with the remains of wrecked ships, and all kinds of wrecks. At the place where we set foot, we saw around us a prodigious quantity of bundles thrown up by the sea, merchandise, and rich objects of all kinds. And I started to walk in the middle of these scattered things and, after a few steps, I arrived at a small river of fresh water which, contrary to all the other rivers, which come to throw themselves into the sea, came out of the mountain and moved away from the sea to sink further into a cave located at the bottom of this same mountain, and disappear there.
But that's not all. I noticed that the banks of this river were strewn with ruby stones, gems of all colors, precious stones of all shapes, and precious metals. And all these precious stones were as numerous as the pebbles in the bed of a river. So all the surrounding ground shone and sparkled with these reflections and fires so that the eyes could not bear the glare.
I also noticed that this island contained the best quality of Chinese aloe wood.
There was also, in this island, a source of raw liquid amber, the color of bitumen, which flowed like melted wax on the shore under the action of the sun; and the big fish came out of the sea and came to swallow it; they heated it in their bellies, and after a while vomited it on the surface of the water; then it became hard and changed in nature and color; and the waves brought it back to the shore, which was perfumed with it. As for the amber that the fish did not swallow, it melted under the action of the sun's rays and spread over the whole island an odor similar to the perfume of musk.
I must also tell you that all these riches could be of no use to anyone since no one had been able to land on this island and come out of it alive or dead. Indeed, any ship that approached it was shattered against the mountain; and no one could climb this mountain, it was so impracticable.
Also, the passengers who had been able to save themselves from the sinking of our ship, and myself, were very perplexed, and we remained on the shore dazed by all that we had before our eyes in riches, and the miserable fate that awaited us. amid this sumptuousness.
So we remained for some time on the shore, not knowing what course to take; then, as we had found some provisions, we divided them between us in all fairness. Now, my companions, who were not accustomed to adventures, ate their share at once or twice; also they were not long, after a certain time, variable according to the endurance of each one, to succumb one after the other, for lack of food. But I knew how to manage my provisions with prudence, and I ate only once a day; besides, I had found, on my own, other provisions of which I was careful not to speak to my companions.
Those of us who died first were buried by the others after they had been washed and placed in a shroud made from the fabrics collected on the shore. To the privations was added an epidemic of stomach aches, caused by the humid climate of the sea. So my companions were not long in dying to the last, and it was I who dug with my own hand the grave of the last of my companions.
At this time, I had very few provisions left, despite my economy and my prudence; and, as I saw the moment of my death approaching, I began to weep over myself, thinking: "Why did I not succumb before my companions who would have done my last duty by washing and burying! There is no recourse and strength except in Allah the Almighty! And with that, I began to bite my hands in despair...
At this point in her narration, Sheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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