You may easily imagine the reflections that occurred to me in this dismal state. I thought I should have died with grief; I groaned and cried aloud; I beat my head, and threw myself on the ground, where I remained a long time, overwhelmed with a variety of thoughts, each more distressing than the other: I reproached myself a thousand times for my folly in not being contented with my first voyage, which ought to have satisfied my desire of seeking adventures; but all my regrets were of no avail, and my repentance came too late. At length I resigned myself to the will of Heaven; and not knowing what would become of me, I ascended a high tree, from whence I looked on all sides, to see if I could not discover some object to inspire me with hope. Casting my eyes towards the sea, I could discern only water and sky; but perceiving on the land side something white, I descended from the tree, and taking with me the remainder of my provisions, I walked towards the object, which was so distant that at first I could not distinguish what it was. As I approached, I perceived it to be a white ball of a prodigious size, and when I got near enough to touch it, I found it was soft. I walked round it, to see if there was an opening, but could find none; and it appeared so even, that it was impossible to get up it. The circumference might be about fifty paces. The sun was then near setting; the air grew suddenly dark, as if obscured by a thick cloud. I was surprised at this change, but much more so, when I perceived it to be occasioned by a bird of a most extraordinary size, which was flying towards me. I recollected having heard sailors speak of a bird called a roc; and I conceived that the great white ball which had drawn my attention, must be the egg of this bird. I was not mistaken; for, shortly after, it lighted on it, and placed itself as if to sit upon it. When I saw it coming I drew near to the egg, so that I had one of the claws of the bird just before me; this claw was as big as the trunk of a large tree. I tied myself to it with the linen of my turban, in hopes that the roc, when it took its flight the next morning, would carry me with it out of that desert island. My project succeeded, for at break of day the roc flew away, and carried me to such a height, that I could not distinguish the earth; then it descended with such rapidity, that I almost lost my senses. When the roc had alighted, I quickly untied the knot, that confined me to its foot, and had scarcely loosed myself, when it darted on a serpent of an immeasurable length, and seizing it in its beak, flew away. The place in which the roc left me, was a very deep valley, surrounded on all sides with mountains of such a height, that the tops of them were lost in the clouds, and so steep that there was no possibility of climbing them. This was a fresh embarrassment; for I had no reason to be satisfied with my change of situation, when I compared it with the island I had left.