Arabs -- Folklore; Fairy tales; Fairy tales -- Arab countries; Folklore -- Arab countries; Tales -- Arab countries
Awaking from my sleep, I sprang up, and did as the voice had directed. I
shot at the horseman, and he fell into the sea; and the bow having
fallen from my hand, I buried it: the sea then became troubled, and rose
to the summit of the mountain, and when I had stood waiting there a
little while, I beheld a boat in the midst of the sea, approaching me. I
praised God, whose name be exalted, and when the boat came to me, I
found in it a man of brass, with a tablet of lead upon his breast,
engraven with names and talismans. Without uttering a word, I embarked
in the boat, and the man rowed me ten successive days, after which I
beheld the islands of security, whereupon, in the excess of my joy, I
exclaimed: "There is no deity but God! God is most great!"--and as soon
as I had done this, the man cast me out of the boat, and sank in the
sea.
Being able to swim, I swam until night, when my arms and shoulders were
tired, and, in this perilous situation, I repeated the profession of the
faith, and gave myself up as lost; but the sea rose with the violence of
the wind, and a wave like a vast castle threw me upon the land, in order
to the accomplishment of the purpose of God. I ascended the shore, and
after I had wrung out my clothes, and spread them upon the ground to
dry, I slept; and in the morning I put on my clothes again, and, looking
about to see which way I should go, I found a tract covered with trees;
and when I had walked round it, I found that I was upon a small island
in the midst of the sea; upon which I said within myself: "Every time
that I escape from one calamity I fall into another that is worse:" but
while I was reflecting upon my unfortunate case, and wishing for death,
I beheld a vessel bearing a number of men. I arose immediately, and
climbed into a tree; and lo, the vessel came to the shore, and there
landed from it ten black slaves bearing axes. They proceeded to the
middle of the island, and, digging up the earth, uncovered and lifted up
a trap-door, after which they returned to the vessel, and brought from
it bread and flour, and clarified butter and honey, and sheep and
everything that the wants of an inhabitant would require, continuing to
pass backward and forward between the vessel and the trap-door, bringing
loads from the former, and entering the latter, until they had removed
all the stores from the ship. They then came out of the vessel with
various clothes of the most beautiful description, and in the midst of
them was an old sheikh, enfeebled and wasted by extreme age, leading by
the hand a young man cast in the mould of graceful symmetry, and
invested with such perfect beauty as deserved to be a subject for
proverbs. He was like a fresh and slender twig, enchanting and
captivating every heart by his elegant form. The party proceeded to the
trap-door, and, entering it, became concealed from my eyes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account