THE STORY OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR
ON THE FOURTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
Sindbad the Sailor continued:
“… Know then that on this island there are several of us who, stationed in different places, are used to guard the horses of King Mihrajan. Every month, at the new moon, each of us brings here a purebred mare, still a virgin, ties her to the shore, and hastens to go down to hide in the subterranean cave. Then, attracted by the smell of the female, a horse of sea horses comes out of the water, looking right and left and seeing no one, swoops down on the mare and covers her. Then, when he's finished his thing with her, he gets off on her back and tries to take her with him. But the mare, tied to the picket, cannot follow him; then he shouts loudly and kicks her with his head and feet, and he shouts louder and louder. So when we hear it and we understand that he has finished covering it, immediately we go out on all sides and we run to him with loud cries that frighten him and force him to go back into the sea! As for the mare, she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a colt or a filly which is worth quite a treasure and which cannot have its like on the whole surface of the earth. And it is precisely today that the sea horse will come. And I promise you, once this thing is over, to take you with me and introduce you to our king Mihrajan and let you know our country. So bless Allah who made you meet me, because without me you would have died of sadness in this solitude without ever seeing your people and your country again, and without anyone ever knowing what you would have become!"
At these words, I thanked the guard of the mare very much and continued to talk to him, when suddenly the sea horse came out of the water, rushed at the mare, and covered her. And when he had finished what he had to finish, he got down from her and wanted to take her away; however, she could not detach herself from the picket and she kicked and neighed. But the guard of the cavalry rushed out of the cave, called his companions with loud cries and all, armed with swords, spears, and shields, rushed on the sea horse which, seized with fear, let go and went like that a buffalo plunged back into the sea and disappeared under the waters.
Then all the other guards, each with his mare, gathered around me and made me a thousand courtesies and, after having offered me food again and having eaten with me, offered me a good horse and, at the invitation of the first guard, offered to accompany them to the king, their master. I accepted on the spot, and we all left together.
When we arrived in the city, my companions preceded me and went to inform their master of what had happened to me. After which they returned to fetch me and led me to the palace; and, on the permission granted to me, I entered the throne room and came to present myself into the hands of King Mihrajan, to whom I made my wish for peace.
The king returned my wish for peace, said words of welcome and wanted to hear from my mouth the story of my adventure. I immediately obeyed and told him everything that had happened to me, without omitting a detail.
After hearing this story, King Mihrajan was amazed and said to me: “My son, by Allah! Had it not been for your luck to have a long life, you would have certainly already succumbed, at present, to so many trials and misfortunes. But praise be to Allah for your deliverance!" He said many other kind words to me, wished to admit me henceforth into his intimacy, and, to give me proof of his goodwill towards me and of his esteem for my maritime knowledge, he named me on the spot field director of the ports and harbors of his island, and clerk of the arrivals and departures of all ships.
My new functions did not prevent me from going daily to the palace to make my wishes to the king, who got so used to me that he preferred me to all his intimates and proved it to me by countless presents and largesse and that every day. I also had such an influence over him that all the requests and all the affairs of the kingdom passed through me, for the general good of the inhabitants.
But all these cares did not make me forget my country or lose hope of returning there. So I never failed to question all the travelers who arrived on the island and all the sailors, asking them if they knew Baghdad and on which side it was located. But no one could answer me on this subject, and all told me that they had never heard of this town or learned where it was. And my pain increased more and more to see myself thus condemned to live in a foreign country, and my perplexity was at its limits to see people not even suspecting the existence of my city and ignoring the road which led there.
During my stay on this island, I had the opportunity to see amazing things, including these among a thousand.
One day that I had gone, as usual, to King Mihrajan, I made the acquaintance of Indian characters who, after the salams on both sides, were willing to lend themselves to my questions and told me that in the country of India, there were a large number of castes, of which the two highest ones were the caste of kshatryas, composed of noble and righteous men who never committed abuses or reprehensible acts, and the caste of Brahmins, who were pure men who never drank wine and were lovers of joy, of gentle manners, of horses, of pomp and beauty. It was these learned Indians who also taught me that the main castes were divided into seventy-two other castes which had no connection with each other. This astonished me.
On that island, I also had the opportunity to visit a land belonging to King Mihrajan, which was called Cabil. Every night you could hear the timpani and the drums resounding there. And I could see that the inhabitants were very strong in syllogisms and fertile in beautiful thoughts. Moreover, their reputation was already made on this subject with travelers and merchants.
In those distant seas, I once saw a fish a hundred cubits long, and other fish whose faces resembled the faces of owls.
In truth, O my masters, I have still seen very extraordinary things and astounding wonders, the story of which would take me too far. It will suffice to add that I remained on this island for the time necessary to learn many things and enrich myself through various exchanges, sales, and purchases.
One day, I was, as usual, standing on the shore, in the exercise of my duties, and I was, as always, leaning on my crutch, when I saw entering the roadstead a large ship filled with merchants. I waited until the ship had cast anchor firmly and lowered its ladder, to climb aboard and go to the captain to register his cargo. In front of me, the sailors unloaded the whole load, which I noted as I went along; and, when they had finished their work, I asked the captain: "Is there anything still in your ship?" He answered me: "O my master, there are still some goods in the bottom of the belly of the ship, but they are only there in deposit only, because their owner, who was with us on a journey, a long time ago of this, was lost by drowning. And we would now like to sell these goods and bring the price to the relatives of the deceased in Baghdad, the abode of peace!"
Then, moved to the extreme limit of emotion, I exclaimed: “And what was the name of this merchant, O captain?" He replied: "Sindbad the Sailor!" At these words, I looked more attentively at the captain, and I recognized in him the master of the ship who had been obliged to abandon us on the whale. And with all my voice I cried out: “I am Sindbad the Sailor! »
Then I continued: “When the whale stirred under the action of the fire lit on its back, I was one of those who could not reach your ship and drowned. But I was saved thanks to the wooden tub that the merchants had carried to wash their laundry. I did, in fact, straddle that tub, and I rowed with my feet as if with oars. And it happened what happened, with the permission of the Ordinator!"
And I told the captain how I had been able to save myself, and through what vicissitudes I had attained the high office of maritime scribe to King Mihrajan.
When the captain heard my words, he exclaimed: "There is no recourse and power but in Allah the Most High, the Omnipotent...
At this point in her narration, Sheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.