THE STORY OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR
ON THE SIXTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
The next day, Sindbad the Porter hastened to return to the house of Sindbad the Sailor, who received him with an affable air and said to him: "Let friendship be an easy thing for you here! And may ease be with you!" And the porter wanted to kiss his hand, and as Sindbad did not want to consent, he said to him: “May Allah whiten your days and consolidate his blessings on you!" And, as the other guests had already arrived, they began by sitting in a circle around the stretched tablecloth where the roast lambs were jutting and the chickens were basking, amid delicious stuffings and pastes with pistachios, walnuts, and grapes! And they ate, drank, and entertained themselves. And they charmed their mind and hearing by listening to the instruments under the experienced fingers of the players.
When they had finished, Sindbad, amid the silent guests, spoke in these terms:
THE SECOND JOURNEY OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR
"I was in truth in the most savory life when, one day among the days, the idea of a journey towards the lands of men presented itself to my mind; and my soul felt a strong urge to go for a walk and rejoice in the sight of lands and islands and look with curiosity at things unknown, without however losing sight of the sale and purchase in the various countries.
I decided resolutely on this project and immediately prepared to carry it out. I went to the souk where, for a very large sum of money, I bought goods suitable for the traffic I had in mind; I put them in strong bundles and carried them to the water's edge, where I soon discovered a beautiful and new ship, rigged with sails of good quality, and full of sailors and an imposing array of machinery of all kinds and shapes. The sight of it inspired me with confidence, and I at once transported my bales there, as did various other merchants who were known to me and with whom I was happy to make the journey.
We left the same day, and we had excellent navigation. We traveled from island to island and from sea to sea for days and nights, and at each stop, we went to the local merchants and notables and sellers and buyers, and we sold and we bought and we bartered to our advantage. And we continued to navigate in this way, and we touched, guided by destiny, on a very beautiful island, covered with tall trees, abundant in fruits, rich in flowers, inhabited by the song of birds, watered by pure waters, but absolutely virgin of any habitation and of any living being.
The captain was good enough to comply with our wishes and stop there for a few hours, and he anchored near the land. We disembarked immediately and went to breathe the fresh air in the meadows shaded by trees where the birds frolicked. Provided with some provisions of mouth, I went to sit near a spring with limpid water, sheltered from the sun by the dense branches, and I took extreme pleasure in eating a piece and drinking directly from this delicious water. With this, a discreet breeze played muted chords and invited perfect rest. So I lay down on the lawn and let myself be overcome by sleep, amid the freshness and the perfumes of the air.
When I awoke, I no longer saw any of the passengers, and the ship had left without anyone suspecting my absence. No matter how much I looked to the right, to the left, in front or behind, I saw no one else on the whole island but myself. In the distance, on the sea, a sail moved away and soon disappeared from my sight.
Then I was plunged into a stupor that had no equal and which could not have increased, and with pain and grief, I felt my gallbladder about to burst in my liver. Because what could become of me on this desert island, I who had left all my effects and all my belongings on board the ship? What disastrous thing was going to happen to me in this unknown solitude? At these distressing thoughts, I cried out: "All hope is lost for you, Sindbad the Sailor! If the first time you were able to get out of trouble thanks to circumstances brought about by happy destiny, do not believe that it will always be the same thing, because, as the saying goes, the jug breaks the second time you throw it away!"
Thereupon I began to cry, to groan, then to utter terrible cries until despair had solidified in my heart. Then I struck my head with both my hands and cried out again: "What need did you have, wretch, to travel again, when in Baghdad you lived in delights? Didn't you have excellent food, excellent liquids, and excellent clothes? What was your happiness missing? Was your first journey, then, fruitless to you?" So I threw myself face down on the ground, already mourning my death and saying: "We belong to Allah, and to Him we must return!" And that day I almost went mad.
But as I saw clearly that all my regrets were useless and my repentance very belated, I resigned myself to my destiny. I arose, upright on my legs, and, after having wandered aimlessly for some time, I was much afraid of some disagreeable encounter with a wild beast or an unknown enemy, and I climbed to the top of a tree. From there I began to look more attentively to the right and the left; but I could distinguish nothing but the sky, the earth, the sea, the trees, the birds, the sands, and the rocks. However, observing a point on the horizon with more attention, I thought I saw a gigantic white ghost. Then, attracted by curiosity, I descended from the tree; but, restrained by fear, I moved only very slowly and with much circumspection. When I was only some distance from this whiteness, I discovered that it was an immense dome, dazzling white, wide at the base, and of great height. I approached it still nearer and walked around it; but I did not discover the front door, which I was looking for. So I wanted to climb on it, but it was so smooth and slippery that I had neither the dexterity nor the agility or the ability to hoist myself up. I contented myself then with measuring it: I marked on the sand the trace of my first step, and I went around again, counting my steps. I thus found that the exact roundness was one hundred and fifty paces, rather more than less.
As I was still thinking about how I should go about finding some way in or out of this dome, I noticed that suddenly the sun was disappearing and the day was turning into a dark night. At first, I thought it was a big cloud passing over the sun, although that was impossible in the height of summer. I therefore raised my head to judge this cloud which astonished me, and I saw an enormous bird with formidable wings that flew before the eye of the sun, which it thus hid entirely by spreading darkness over the island.
My astonishment was then at its extreme limits, and I remembered what, in the time of my youth, travelers and sailors had told me about a bird of extraordinary size called "roc" which was in an island far away, and which could lift an elephant. I then concluded that the one I now saw must be the roc and that the white dome at the foot of which I was standing must be an egg from among the eggs of that roc! But I had hardly had this idea that the bird swooped down on the egg and alighted on it as if to hatch it. Indeed, he spread his huge wings on the egg, let his two feet rest on the ground on each side, and fell asleep on it! (Blessed is He who never sleeps for all eternity!)
Then I, who had flattened myself face down on the ground and found myself just below one of the feet, which seemed to me to be bigger than an old tree trunk, I got up quickly, I unrolled the fabric of my turban…
At this point in her narration, Sheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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