The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Anonymous (best novels to read in english .TXT) 📗

have to say. Very well, says he, speak; I am ready to hear you. Then I told him how I escaped, and by what adventure I met with the grooms of King Mihrage, who brought me to his court.

The captain began to abate of his confidence upon my discourse, and was soon persuaded that I was no cheat; for there came people from his ship who knew me, made me great compliments, and testified a great deal of joy to see me alive. At last he knew me himself, and embracing me, Heaven be praised, says he, for your happy escape! I cannot enough express my joy for it; there are your goods, take and do with them what you will. I thanked him, acknowledged his probity, and in requital offered him part of my goods as a present, which he generously refused. I took out what was most valuable in my bales, and presented it to King Mihrage, who, knowing my misfortune, asked me how I came by such rarities? I acquainted him with the whole story. He was mightily pleased at my good luck, accepted my present, and gave me one much more considerable in return. Upon this, I took leave of him, and went on board the same ship, after I had exchanged my goods for the commodities of the country. I carried with me the wood of aloes, sanders, camphire, nutmegs, cloves, pepper, and ginger. We passed by several islands, and at last arrived at Balsora, from whence I came to this city, with the value of one hundred thousand sequins[Footnote: The Turkish sequin is about nine shillings sterling.]. My family and I received one another with all the transport that can arise from true and sincere friendship. I bought slaves of both sexes, fine lands, and built me a great house. Thus I settled myself, resolving to forget the miseries I had suffered, and to enjoy the pleasures of life.

Sindbad stopped here, and ordered the musicians to go on with their concert, which his story had interrupted. The company continued to eat and drink until the evening, when it was time to retire. Sindbad sent for a purse of one hundred sequins, and, giving it to the porter, says, Take this, Hindbad, return to your home, and come back to-morrow to hear some more of my adventures. The porter went home, astonished at the honour done him, and the present made him. The relation of it was very agreeable to his wife and children, who did not fail to return God thanks for what he had sent them by the hands of Sindbad. Hindbad put on his best clothes next day, and returned to the bountiful traveller, who received him with a pleasant air, and caressed him mightily. When all the guests were come, dinner was set upon the table, and continued a long time. When it was ended, Sindbad, addressing himself to the company, says, Gentlemen, be pleased to give me audience, and listen to the adventures of my second voyage; they better deserve your attention than the first. Upon this, every one held his peace, and Sindbad proceeded:

The Second Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor.

I intended, after my first voyage, to spend the rest of my days at Bagdad, as I had the honour to tell you yesterday; but it was not long ere I grew weary of a quiet life. My inclination to travel revived. I bought goods proper for the commerce I designed, and put to sea a second time with merchants of known probity. We embarked on board a good ship, and, after recommending ourselves to God, set sail: We traded from island to island, and exchanged commodities with great profit. One day we landed upon an isle covered with several sorts of fruit-trees, but so deserted that we could see neither man nor horse upon it. We went to take a little fresh air in the meadows, and along the streams that watered them. Whilst some diverted themselves with gathering flowers, and others with gathering fruits, I took my wine and provisions, and sat down by a stream betwixt two great trees which formed a curious shade. I made a very good meal, and afterwards fell asleep. I cannot tell how long I slept, but, when I awaked, the ship was gone. I was very much surprised, but got up, looking about every where, and could not see one of the merchants who landed with me. At last I perceived the ship under sail, but at such a distance, that I lost sight of her in a very little time.

I leave you to guess at my melancholy reflections in this sad condition, I was like to die of grief, cried out sadly, beat my head and breast, and threw myself down upon the ground, where I lay some time in terrible agony, one afflicting thought being succeeded by another still more afflicting. I upbraided myself an hundred times for not being content with the product of my first voyage, that might very well have served me all my life. But all this was vain, and my repentance out of season. At last I resigned myself to the will of God; and, not knowing what to do, I climbed to the top of a great tree, from whence I looked about on all sides to see if there were any thing that could give me hopes. When I looked towards the sea, I could see nothing but sky and water; but, on looking towards the land, I saw something white; coming down from the tree I took up what provisions I had left, and went towards it, the distance being so great that I could not distinguish what it was.

When I came nearer, I thought it to be a white bowl, of a prodigious height and bigness; and when I came up to it, I touched it, and found it to be very smooth. I went round to see if it was open on any side, but saw it was not, and it was so smooth that there was no climbing to the top of it. It was at least fifty paces round.

By this time the sun was ready to set, and all of a sudden the sky became as dark as if it had been covered with a thick cloud. I was much astonished at this sudden darkness, but much more when I found it occasioned by a bird of monstrous size, that came flying towards me. I remembered a fowl called *roc, that I had often heard mariners speak of, and conceived that the great bowl, which I so much admired, must needs be its egg. In short, the bird lighted, and sat over the egg to hatch it. As I perceived her coming, I crept close to the egg, so that I had before me one of the legs of the bird, that was as big as the trunk of a tree; I tied myself strongly to it with the cloth that went round my turban, in hopes that when the roc[Footnote: Mark Paul in his Travels, and Father Martini in his History of China, speak each of this bird, and say it will take up an elephant and a rhinoceros.] flew away next morning, she would carry me with her out of this desert island. After having passed the night in this condition, the bird actually flew away next morning as soon as it was day, and carried me so high that I could not see the earth; she afterwards descended all of a sudden, and with so much rapidity, that I lost my senses. But when the roc was sat, and I found myself on the ground, I speedily untied the knot, and had scarcely done so, when the bird, having taken up a serpent of a monstrous length in her bill, flew straight away. The place where it left me was a very deep valley, encompassed on all sides with mountains so high, that they seemed to reach above the clouds, and so full of steep rocks, that there was no possibility to get out of the valley. This was a new perplexity upon me; so that, when I compared this place with the desert island the roc brought me from, I found that I had gained nothing by the change.

As I walked through this valley, I perceived that it was strewed with diamonds, some of which were of a surprising bigness. I took a great deal of pleasure to look upon them, but speedily saw at a distance such objects as very much diminished my satisfaction, and which I could not look upon without terror; there were a great number of serpents, so big, and so long, that the least of them was capable of swallowing an elephant. They retired in the day-time to their dens, where they hid themselves from the roc, their enemy, and did not come out but in the night-time. I spent the day in walking about the valley, resting myself at times, in such places as I thought most commodious. When night came on, I went into a cave, where I thought I might be in safety; I stopped the mouth of it, which was low and straight, with a great stone, to preserve me from the serpents, but not so exactly fitted as to hinder light from coming in. I supped on part of my provisions; but the serpents, which began to appear, hissing about in the mean time, put me into such extreme fear, that you may easily imagine I did not sleep. When day appeared, the serpents retired, and I came out of the cave trembling; I can truly say, that I walked a long time upon diamonds, without having a mind to touch any of them. At last I sat down, and, notwithstanding my uneasiness, not having shut my eyes during the night, I fell asleep, after having ate a little more of my provisions. But I had scarcely shut my eyes, when something that fell by me with a great noise awakened me, and this was a great piece of fresh meat; at the same time I saw several others fall down from the rocks in different places.

I always looked upon it to be a fable, when I heard mariners and others discourse of the valley of diamonds, and of the stratagems made use of by some merchants to get jewels from thence; but I found it to be true; for, in reality, those merchants come to the neighbourhood of this valley when the eagles have young ones, and throwing great joints of meat into it, the diamonds upon whose points they fall stick to them: The eagles, which are stronger in this country than any where else, fall down with great force upon these pieces of meat, and carry them to their nests upon the top of the rocks, to feed their young ones with; at which time the merchants, running to these nests, frighten the eagles by their noise, and take away the diamonds that stick to the meat. And this stratagem they made use of to get the diamonds out of the valley, which is surrounded with such precipices that nobody can enter it. I believed, till then, that it was not possible for me to get out of this abyss,which I looked upon as my grave; but then I changed my mind, for the falling in of those pieces of meat put me in hopes of a way to save my life. I began to gather together the greatest diamonds I could see, and put them into a leather bag in which I used to carry my provisions. I afterwards took the largest piece of meat I could find, tied it close round me with the cloth of my turban, and then laid myself upon the ground with my face downward, the bag of diamonds being tied fast to my girdle, so that it could not possibly drop off. I had scarcely laid me down when the eagles came; each of them seized a piece of meat, and one of the strongest having taken me up with the piece of meat on my back, carried me to his nest on the top of the mountain. The merchants fell straightway a-shooting to frighten the eagles; and when they had forced them to quit their prey, one of them came up to the nest where I was: He was very much afraid when he saw me; but recovering himself, instead of inquiring how I came hither, he began to quarrel with me, and asked why I stole his goods? You will treat me, replied I, with more civility, when you know me better. Do not trouble yourself; I have diamonds enough for you and me too, more than all the merchants together. If they have any, it is by chance; but I chose