THE STORY OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR
ON THE NINETEENTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
…I began to bite my hands in despair.
I then decided to get up, and began to dig a deep pit, saying to myself: “When I feel my last moment coming, I will drag myself over there and put myself in this pit where I will die. The wind will take care of gradually accumulating the sand on my head and filling the pit! And, while doing this work, I blamed myself for my lack of intelligence and my departure from my country, despite all that I had endured in my previous journeys and what I had experienced first, second, third, fourth and fifth, and each trial worse than the last. And I said to myself: “How many times have you repented to begin again! What more did you need to travel? Did you not have sufficient wealth in Baghdad and enough to spend lavishly and without fear of ever exhausting your funds which would suffice for two existences like yours? »
These thoughts were soon followed by another thought prompted by the sight of the river. I said to myself: “By Allah! this river must certainly have a beginning and an end. I can clearly see from here the beginning, but the end is invisible! However, this river which sinks thus under the mountain must, without a doubt, come out on the other side by some place. So I think the only really practical idea to get out of here is to build myself some kind of boat, get in it, and let myself go in the current of the water that will take me into the cave. If this is my destiny, I will certainly find in this the means of saving myself; otherwise I shall die in there, and it will be less dreadful than starving to death on this beach!"
So I got up, a little cheered up by this idea, and immediately set to work on my project. I gathered up large bundles of Chinese aloe wood, and tied them firmly together with cords; I laid on it large planks of wood picked up on the shore and taken from the wrecked ships, and united the whole thus in the form of a raft as wide as the river, or rather a little less wide, but not by much. When this work was finished, I loaded the raft with some big bags filled with rubies, pearls and all kinds of precious stones, choosing the biggest ones, those which were like pebbles; and I also took some bales of ambergris, which I chose to be quite good and freed from its impurities; and I did not fail to take away what was left of my provisions. I then balanced everything well on the raft that I had taken care to provide with two planks as oars, and I ended up embarking on it, trusting in the will of Allah and remembering these verses of the poet:
“Friend, desert the places where oppression reigns,
and let the house resound with cries of mourning over those who built it.
You will find no land other than your land,
But your soul is one and you will not find it.
And do not grieve at the accidents of the night,
For misfortunes, even the greatest, see their end.
And know well that he whose death has been fixed in advance on a land,
Cannot die on a land other than this one!
And in your misfortune do not send a message to any adviser:
No one will be better adviser to you than your soul!"
The raft was therefore carried by the current under the vault of the cave, where it began to rub very roughly against the walls, and my head also received various shocks against the vault, while, terrified by the complete darkness in which I suddenly found myself, I already wanted to come back to the beach. But I couldn't back down any longer; the very strong current dragged me further and further inside; and the bed of the river now widened and now shrank, while the darkness around me deepened more and more, and weary me above all things. So I, letting go of the oars which hadn't been of much use to me, I threw myself face down on the raft so as not to break my skull against the roof, and, I don't know how, I was numb in a deep sleep.
My slumber certainly lasted a year or more, judging by the grief that must have occasioned it. In any case, when I woke up, I found myself in full light. I opened my eyes wider and saw myself stretched out on the grass, in a vast countryside; and my raft was tied to the bank of a river; and all around me were Indians and Abyssinians.
When these men saw me waking up, they began to talk to me; but I understood nothing of their language and could not answer them. I was even beginning to believe that it was all just a dream, when I saw a man coming towards me who said to me in Arabic: “Peace be upon you, O our brother! Who are you, where are you from, and what brought you to this country? As for us, we are laborers who come here to water our plantations and our fields. We saw the raft on which you were sleeping, and we stopped and tied it on the bank; then we waited until you had woken up alone very slowly, so as not to frighten you. So tell us what adventure you find yourself in here!" I replied: “By Allah upon you, O my master, first give me something to eat, for I am very hungry; and then question me as much as you please!"
At these words the man hastened to run and bring me food; and I ate until I was satisfied and appeased and cheered up. I then felt my soul return, and I thanked Allah for this, and I congratulated myself very much on having escaped this underground river. Afterwards, I told those around me everything that had happened to me, from the beginning to the end.
When they heard my story, they were marvelously astonished and began to talk to each other, and the one who spoke Arabic explained to me what they were saying to each other, as he had moreover made them understand my words. They wanted, so much they were in admiration, to take me to their king so that he could hear my adventures. I consented immediately; and they took me away. And they did not fail to also transport the raft as it was with its bundles of amber and its big bags filled with precious stones.
The king, to whom they told who I was, received me with much cordiality; and, after the reciprocal greetings, he asked me to tell him myself the story of my adventures. Immediately I obeyed and told him everything that had happened to me, without omitting a detail. But there is no need to repeat it.
At my story, the king of this island, which was the island of Serendib, was on the verge of astonishment, and congratulated me very much on having saved my life despite all the dangers incurred. So I wanted to show him that the trips had all the same been of some use to me, and I hastened to open my bags and my bundles in his presence.
Then the king, who was a great connoisseur of precious stones, greatly admired my collection; and I, out of consideration for him, selected a very fine specimen of every kind of stone, and also several large pearls and whole pieces of gold and silver, and gave them to him as a gift. He was good enough to accept them, and, in return, showered me with attentions and honors, and asked me to lodge in his own palace. That's what I did. So I became from that day the friend of the king and the main characters of the island. And all of them asked me about my country, and I answered them; and in my turn I questioned them about their country, and they answered me. I thus learned that the island of Serendib was eighty parasangs in length and eighty in breadth; that it had a mountain, which was the highest in all the earth, on the top of which our father Adam had dwelt for a time; that it contained many pearls and precious stones, less beautiful, it is true, than those of my bundles, and many coconut palms...
At this point in her narration, Sheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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