The Third Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor

Third Voyage


After a very short time the pleasant easy life I led made me quite
forget the perils of my two voyages. Moreover, as I was still in the
prime of life, it pleased me better to be up and doing. So once more
providing myself with the rarest and choicest merchandise of Baghdad, I
conveyed it to Basra, and set sail with other merchants of my
acquaintance for distant lands. We had touched at many ports and made
much profit, when one day upon the open sea we were caught by a
terrible wind which blew us completely out of our reckoning, and
lasting for several days finally drove us into harbour on a strange
island.

"I would rather have come to anchor anywhere than here," quoth our
captain. "This island and all adjoining it are inhabited by hairy
savages, who are certain to attack us, and whatever these dwarfs may do
we dare not resist, since they swarm like locusts, and if one of them
is killed the rest will fall upon us, and speedily make an end of us."

These words caused great consternation among all the ship's company,
and only too soon we were to find out that the captain spoke truly.
There appeared a vast multitude of hideous savages, not more than two
feet high and covered with reddish fur. Throwing themselves into the
waves they surrounded our vessel. Chattering meanwhile in a language
we could not understand, and clutching at ropes and gangways, they
swarmed up the ship's side with such speed and agility that they almost
seemed to fly.

You may imagine the rage and terror that seized us as we watched them,
neither daring to hinder them nor able to speak a word to deter them
from their purpose, whatever it might be. Of this we were not left
long in doubt. Hoisting the sails, and cutting the cable of the
anchor, they sailed our vessel to an island which lay a little further
off, where they drove us ashore; then taking possession of her, they
made off to the place from which they had come, leaving us helpless
upon a shore avoided with horror by all mariners for a reason which you
will soon learn.

Turning away from the sea we wandered miserably inland, finding as we
went various herbs and fruits which we ate, feeling that we might as
well live as long as possible though we had no hope of escape.
Presently we saw in the far distance what seemed to us to be a splendid
palace, towards which we turned our weary steps, but when we reached it
we saw that it was a castle, lofty, and strongly built. Pushing back
the heavy ebony doors we entered the courtyard, but upon the threshold
of the great hall beyond it we paused, frozen with horror, at the sight
which greeted us. On one side lay a huge pile of bones--human bones,
and on the other numberless spits for roasting! Overcome with despair
we sank trembling to the ground, and lay there without speech or
motion. The sun was setting when a loud noise aroused us, the door of
the hall was violently burst open and a horrible giant entered. He was
as tall as a palm tree, and perfectly black, and had one eye, which
flamed like a burning coal in the middle of his forehead. His teeth
were long and sharp and grinned horribly, while his lower lip hung down
upon his chest, and he had ears like elephant's ears, which covered his
shoulders, and nails like the claws of some fierce bird.

At this terrible sight our senses left us and we lay like dead men.
When at last we came to ourselves the giant sat examining us
attentively with his fearful eye. Presently when he had looked at us
enough he came towards us, and stretching out his hand took me by the
back of the neck, turning me this way and that, but feeling that I was
mere skin and bone he set me down again and went on to the next, whom
he treated in the same fashion; at last he came to the captain, and
finding him the fattest of us all, he took him up in one hand and stuck
him upon a spit and proceeded to kindle a huge fire at which he
presently roasted him. After the giant had supped he lay down to
sleep, snoring like the loudest thunder, while we lay shivering with
horror the whole night through, and when day broke he awoke and went
out, leaving us in the castle.

When we believed him to be really gone we started up bemoaning our
horrible fate, until the hall echoed with our despairing cries. Though
we were many and our enemy was alone it did not occur to us to kill
him, and indeed we should have found that a hard task, even if we had
thought of it, and no plan could we devise to deliver ourselves. So at
last, submitting to our sad fate, we spent the day in wandering up and
down the island eating such fruits as we could find, and when night
came we returned to the castle, having sought in vain for any other
place of shelter. At sunset the giant returned, supped upon one of our
unhappy comrades, slept and snored till dawn, and then left us as
before. Our condition seemed to us so frightful that several of my
companions thought it would be better to leap from the cliffs and
perish in the waves at once, rather than await so miserable an end; but
I had a plan of escape which I now unfolded to them, and which they at
once agreed to attempt.

"Listen, my brothers," I added. "You know that plenty of driftwood
lies along the shore. Let us make several rafts, and carry them to a
suitable place. If our plot succeeds, we can wait patiently for the
chance of some passing ship which would rescue us from this fatal
island. If it fails, we must quickly take to our rafts; frail as they
are, we have more chance of saving our lives with them than we have if
we remain here."

All agreed with me, and we spent the day in building rafts, each
capable of carrying three persons. At nightfall we returned to the
castle, and very soon in came the giant, and one more of our number was
sacrificed. But the time of our vengeance was at hand! As soon as he
had finished his horrible repast he lay down to sleep as before, and
when we heard him begin to snore I, and nine of the boldest of my
comrades, rose softly, and took each a spit, which we made red-hot in
the fire, and then at a given signal we plunged it with one accord into
the giant's eye, completely blinding him. Uttering a terrible cry, he
sprang to his feet clutching in all directions to try to seize one of
us, but we had all fled different ways as soon as the deed was done,
and thrown ourselves flat upon the ground in corners where he was not
likely to touch us with his feet.

After a vain search he fumbled about till he found the door, and fled
out of it howling frightfully. As for us, when he was gone we made
haste to leave the fatal castle, and, stationing ourselves beside our
rafts, we waited to see what would happen. Our idea was that if, when
the sun rose, we saw nothing of the giant, and no longer heard his
howls, which still came faintly through the darkness, growing more and
more distant, we should conclude that he was dead, and that we might
safely stay upon the island and need not risk our lives upon the frail
rafts. But alas! morning light showed us our enemy approaching us,
supported on either hand by two giants nearly as large and fearful as
himself, while a crowd of others followed close upon their heels.
Hesitating no longer we clambered upon our rafts and rowed with all our
might out to sea. The giants, seeing their prey escaping them, seized
up huge pieces of rock, and wading into the water hurled them after us
with such good aim that all the rafts except the one I was upon were
swamped, and their luckless crews drowned, without our being able to do
anything to help them. Indeed I and my two companions had all we could
do to keep our own raft beyond the reach of the giants, but by dint of
hard rowing we at last gained the open sea. Here we were at the mercy
of the winds and waves, which tossed us to and fro all that day and
night, but the next morning we found ourselves near an island, upon
which we gladly landed.

There we found delicious fruits, and having satisfied our hunger we
presently lay down to rest upon the shore. Suddenly we were aroused by
a loud rustling noise, and starting up, saw that it was caused by an
immense snake which was gliding towards us over the sand. So swiftly
it came that it had seized one of my comrades before he had time to
fly, and in spite of his cries and struggles speedily crushed the life
out of him in its mighty coils and proceeded to swallow him. By this
time my other companion and I were running for our lives to some place
where we might hope to be safe from this new horror, and seeing a tall
tree we climbed up into it, having first provided ourselves with a
store of fruit off the surrounding bushes. When night came I fell
asleep, but only to be awakened once more by the terrible snake, which
after hissing horribly round the tree at last reared itself up against
it, and finding my sleeping comrade who was perched just below me, it
swallowed him also, and crawled away leaving me half dead with terror.

When the sun rose I crept down from the tree with hardly a hope of
escaping the dreadful fate which had over-taken my comrades; but life
is sweet, and I determined to do all I could to save myself. All day
long I toiled with frantic haste and collected quantities of dry
brushwood, reeds and thorns, which I bound with faggots, and making a
circle of them under my tree I piled them firmly one upon another until
I had a kind of tent in which I crouched like a mouse in a hole when
she sees the cat coming. You may imagine what a fearful night I
passed, for the snake returned eager to devour me, and glided round and
round my frail shelter seeking an entrance. Every moment I feared that
it would succeed in pushing aside some of the faggots, but happily for
me they held together, and when it grew light my enemy retired, baffled
and hungry, to his den. As for me I was more dead than alive! Shaking
with fright and half suffocated by the poisonous breath of the monster,
I came out of my tent and crawled down to the sea, feeling that it
would be better to plunge from the cliffs and end my life at once than
pass such another night of horror. But to my joy and relief I saw a
ship sailing by, and by shouting wildly and waving my turban I managed
to attract the attention of her crew.

A boat was sent to rescue me, and very soon I found myself on board
surrounded by a wondering crowd of sailors and merchants eager to know
by what chance I found myself in that desolate island. After I had
told my story they regaled me with the choicest food the ship afforded,
and the captain, seeing that I was in rags, generously bestowed upon me
one of his own coats. After sailing about for some time and touching
at many ports we came at last to the island of Salahat, where sandal
wood grows in great abundance. Here we anchored, and as I stood
watching the merchants disembarking their goods and preparing to sell
or exchange them, the captain came up to me and said,

"I have here, brother, some merchandise belonging to a passenger of
mine who is dead. Will you do me the favour to trade with it, and when
I meet with his heirs I shall be able to give them the money, though it
will be only just that you shall have a portion for your trouble."

I consented gladly, for I did not like standing by idle. Whereupon he
pointed the bales out to me, and sent for the person whose duty it was
to keep a list of the goods that were upon the ship. When this man
came he asked in what name the merchandise was to be registered.

"In the name of Sindbad the Sailor," replied the captain.

At this I was greatly surprised, but looking carefully at him I
recognised him to be the captain of the ship upon which I had made my
second voyage, though he had altered much since that time. As for him,
believing me to be dead it was no wonder that he had not recognised me.

"So, captain," said I, "the merchant who owned those bales was called
Sindbad?"

"Yes," he replied. "He was so named. He belonged to Baghdad, and
joined my ship at Basra, but by mischance he was left behind upon a
desert island where we had landed to fill up our water-casks, and it
was not until four hours later that he was missed. By that time the
wind had freshened, and it was impossible to put back for him."

"You suppose him to have perished then?" said I.

"Alas! yes," he answered.

"Why, captain!" I cried, "look well at me. I am that Sindbad who fell
asleep upon the island and awoke to find himself abandoned!"

The captain stared at me in amazement, but was presently convinced that
I was indeed speaking the truth, and rejoiced greatly at my escape.

"I am glad to have that piece of carelessness off my conscience at any
rate," said he. "Now take your goods, and the profit I have made for
you upon them, and may you prosper in future."

I took them gratefully, and as we went from one island to another I
laid in stores of cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. In one place I
saw a tortoise which was twenty cubits long and as many broad, also a
fish that was like a cow and had skin so thick that it was used to make
shields. Another I saw that was like a camel in shape and colour. So
by degrees we came back to Basra, and I returned to Baghdad with so
much money that I could not myself count it, besides treasures without
end. I gave largely to the poor, and bought much land to add to what I
already possessed, and thus ended my third voyage.
----
When Sindbad had finished his story he gave another hundred sequins to
Hindbad, who then departed with the other guests, but next day when
they had all reassembled, and the banquet was ended, their host
continued his adventures.