The Adventures of Sinbad
According to this famous story, Sindbad was a soldier who lived in Baghdad. As a young he spent most of he money left to him by his father. He then set out on a sea voyage to sell is goods to people in different countries. On his first voyage, he was attacked by a whale. Somehow he escaped death and return to Baghdad. After a while, he grew tired of living at home. So he set out on a voyage again. He sailed in a strong ship with other merchants. He took many fine goods along with him.
We voyaged for many months and stopped at some islands. We gave our goods to the people of those islands and got their goods from them in return. One day the winds guided our ship to an island with no people. From our ship we could see plenty of water on land and many trees laden with fruit. It was a beautiful island.
My companions and I got out of the ship and went ashore. We wandered around enjoying the delights of the island. I rested under a shady tree, had my meal and lay down by a cool murmuring brook. I soon fell asleep.
How long I slept I cannot tell, but when I woke up it was very quiet all round me. The silence dismayed me. To my horror, I realized that I was alone.
Did my companions forget and leave me behind? In despair I rushed to the shore and found the ship disappearing from the horizon!
I cursed my foolishness. Why did I leave my life of comfort in Baghdad and set out on a voyage? A little later I became more calm. Perhaps the other side of the island had people. I climbed up a tall palm tree and looked around.
A distant round white object on the shore caught my attention. It was shimmering in the sunshine. I got down the palm quickly and went towards the dome –like object. After a long tiring walk I reached the sore. Partly buried in the sand, the mysterious ball towered over me. I went round it measured fifty paces round! It was smooth and slippery to touch and I found no way o going inside it.
As I sat there puzzling over the mysterious object, a black cloud darkened the sky. A sound like the rushing of water from a river filled the air. I looked up and saw an enormous bird flying down from the sky towards me. Terrified, I crouched near the white come and prayed that the monster would not see me. I had heard tales of a giant bird larger than a ship living in some islands. It was called a roc. This then was the roc; I was certainly next to a roc’s egg!
I remained silent and still, with some difficulty, although my body was shaking with fear and I was breathing fast. The roc settled down and soon fell asleep.
It was almost daybreak. I did not have the courage to move and it my terror I could not sleep.
Then a daring and risky plan occurred to me. Swiftly I removed my turban and with it I tied myself firmly to one big leg o the bird. Soon he bird would wake up and then surely it would go in search of food to some other place. Any other place would be better than this silent, dreadful one. Perhaps the roc would go to the mainland. I waited.
At daybreak the roc awoke and took off with a violent flap of its wings. My heart thudded against my ribs, but I clung on. As the roc went high up in the sky, I almost fainted. I regained my sense when the bird landed on a rocky hill. Quickly I untied myself. Not a moment too soon. For s I untied the last knot, the roc swooped down into the valley below and flew up. It had picked up an enormous reptile. It was a black snake struggling in the bird’s beak.
I looked around and studied my surroundings. I almost wept in despair. Here there was no vegetation ad no food, no water, nothing but sand and rocks. Why did not I stay where I was earlier, near the shore? There were fruit-bearing trees and plenty of water in that place. On one side of the hills was he sore; on the other side was a steep valley. Steep cliffs rose above the valley to the hill. From here, there could be no escape. I had no choice. So I scrambled down the hill into the valley.
Flashing in the sunlight were many small stones all over the place. They were diamonds. I had never seen any like this! I then spotted huge black snakes wriggling around. One of these could swallow an elephant!
Numb wit terror. I started as these creatures. Then I ran from the place where I was standing. I found a hole and crawled into it, I covered the entrance with a stone. Tired though I was, I could not sleep. The snakes were hissing as they moved to and fro outside. When the day grew hotter, the snakes disappeared. I slowly crept out of my hiding place.
How long was I going to be there in the valley? It was hopeless. Surely death was not far away.
Suddenly I heard a thud. Something fell behind me, and I turned to face this new danger. I saw the carcass of a sheep tumbling down the cliff. I had heard some stories before, stories which I had not quite believed then. Now they came to my mind. Could these stories be true? Were these dead sheep or large pieces of meat dropped by some merchants?
Who traded in these diamonds? The merchants wanted the precious stones in the valley but could not set foot in it because of the big snakes. If they dropped the meat into the valley from the hill some large may swoop down into the valley and carry away the meat to their nests. The merchants hoped that some of the diamonds would be sticking to the meat. From the birds’ nests the merchants would get the diamonds.
I wanted to fill my pockets with precious stones, but sadness came over me. I did not need money; I just wanted to be alive. When you are in danger, you think of ways to escape. I used my turban again and tied myself under the body of a sheep. And I waited. I held my breath as I heard the flapping of wings. A huge eagle picked up the dead sheep to which I was tied and flew away over the cliffs into the mountains. Then it landed near a nest.
I untied my self quickly and silently. Already I could hear the sound of human shouts. It grew louder as the merchant came nearer. The merchants were trying to scare away the birds. They wanted to gather the diamonds picked up by the meat. I left them there and walked until I met people who promised to help me.
After seeing many more strange sights I returned to Baghdad. I as safe, and I had seen many wonderful things.
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