The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 6 | Page 6

him, "Know, O Hammal, that my story is a wonderful one, and
thou shalt hear all that befel me and all I underwent ere I rose to this
state of prosperity and became the lord of this place wherein thou seest
me; for I came not to this high estate save after travail sore and perils
galore, and how much toil and trouble have I not suffered in days of
yore! I have made seven voyages, by each of which hangeth a
marvellous tale, such as confoundeth the reason, and all this came to
pass by doom of fortune and fate; for from what destiny doth write
there is neither refuge nor flight. Know, then, good my lords (continued
he) that I am about to relate the

First Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman."[FN#5]

My father was a merchant, one of the notables of my native place, a
monied man and ample of means, who died whilst I was yet a child,
leaving me much wealth in money and lands and farmhouses. When I
grew up, I laid hands on the whole and ate of the best and drank freely
and wore rich clothes and lived lavishly, companioning and consorting

with youths of my own age, and considering that this course of life
would continue for ever and ken no change. Thus did I for a long time,
but at last I awoke from my heedlessness and, returning to my senses, I
found my wealth had become unwealth and my condition
ill-conditioned and all I once hent had left my hand. And recovering
my reason I was stricken with dismay and confusion and bethought me
of a saying of our lord Solomon, son of David (on whom be peace!),
which I had heard aforetime from my father, "Three things are better
than other three; the day of death is better than the day of birth, a live
dog is better than a dead lion and the grave is better than want."[FN#6]
Then I got together my remains of estates and property and sold all,
even my clothes, for three thousand dirhams, with which I resolved to
travel to foreign parts, remembering the saying of the poet,
"By means of toil man shall scale the height; * Who to fame aspires
mustn't sleep o' night: Who seeketh pearl in the deep must dive, *
Winning weal and wealth by his main and might: And who seeketh
Fame without toil and strife * Th' impossible seeketh and wasteth life."
So taking heart I bought me goods, merchandise and all needed for a
voyage and, impatient to be at sea, I embarked, with a company of
merchants, on board a ship bound for Bassorah. There we again
embarked and sailed many days and nights, and we passed from isle to
isle and sea to sea and shore to shore, buying and selling and bartering
everywhere the ship touched, and continued our course till we came to
an island as it were a garth of the gardens of Paradise. Here the captain
cast anchor and making fast to the shore, put out the landing planks. So
all on board landed and made furnaces[FN#7] and lighting fires therein,
busied themselves in various ways, some cooking and some washing,
whilst other some walked about the island for solace, and the crew fell
to eating and drinking and playing and sporting. I was one of the
walkers but, as we were thus engaged, behold the master who was
standing on the gunwale cried out to us at the top of his voice, saying,
"Ho there! passengers, run for your lives and hasten back to the ship
and leave your gear and save yourselves from destruction, Allah
preserve you! For this island whereon ye stand is no true island, but a
great fish stationary a-middlemost of the sea, whereon the sand hath

settled and trees have sprung up of old time, so that it is become like
unto an island;[FN#8] but, when ye lighted fires on it, it felt the heat
and moved; and in a moment it will sink with you into the sea and ye
will all be drowned. So leave your gear and seek your safety ere ye
die!"-- And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
ship-master cried to the passengers, "Leave your gear and seek safety,
ere ye die;" all who heard him left gear and goods, clothes washed and
unwashed, fire pots and brass cooking-pots, and fled back to the ship
for their lives, and some reached it while others (amongst whom was I)
did not, for suddenly the island shook and sank into the abysses of