They immediately sent for a horse, which was brought in a little time; and having made me get upon him, some of them walked before me to show me the way, and the rest took my float and cargo, and followed me. Here, Scheherazade was obliged to stop, because day appeared; but towards the close of the next night, resumed the thread of her story thus: EIGHTY-SEVENTH NIGHT. We marched thus altogether, till we came to the city of Serendib, [42] for it was in that island I landed. The blacks presented me to their king; I approached his throne, and saluted him as I used to do the kings of the Indies; that is to say, I prostrated myself at his feet, and kissed the earth. The prince ordered me to rise up, received me with an obliging air, and made me come up, and sit down near him. He first asked me my name, and I answered, They call me Sindbad the sailor, because of the many voyages I had undertaken, and I am a citizen of Bagdad. But, replied he, how came you into my dominions, and from whence came you last? I concealed nothing from the king; I told him all that I have now told you, and his majesty was so surprised and charmed with it, that he commanded my adventure to be written in letters of gold, and laid up in the archives of his kingdom. At last my float was brought in, and the bales opened in his presence: he admired the quantity of wood of aloes and ambergris; but, above all, the rubies and emeralds, for he had none in his treasury that came near them. Observing that he looked on my jewels with pleasure, and viewed the most remarkable among them one after another, I fell prostrate at his feet, and took the liberty to say to him, Sir, not only my person is at your majesty’s service, but the cargo of the float, and I would beg of you to dispose of it as your own. He answered me with a smile, Sindbad, I will take care not to covet any thing of yours, nor take any thing from you that God has given you; far from lessening your wealth, I design to augment it, and will not let you go out of my dominions without marks of my liberality. All the answer I returned, was prayers for the prosperity of that prince, and commendations of his generosity and bounty. He charged one of his officers to take care of me, and ordered people to serve me at his own charge. The officer was very faithful in the execution of his orders, and caused all the goods to be carried to the lodgings provided for me. I went every day, at a set hour, to make my court to the king, and spent the rest of my time in seeing the city, and what was most worthy of notice. The isle of Serendib is situated just under the equinoctial line; [43] so that the days and nights there are always of twelve hours each, and the island is eighty parasangs [44] in length, and as many in breadth.