The First Voyage

The First Voyage :

My father passed away when I was still a young boy. He left behind considerable wealth. Like all young boys, I was thrilled to get so much wealth. I enjoyed myself with my friends. I drank good wines, visited the best places for food and spent my money buying fine silk garments and luxury items. I enjoyed all this for nearly a year but then I got into a routine. I dislike the same old friends, the same parties all over every day. I wanted a change in life.


One day, I took some money and bought some goods which I decided to trade. For this, I made contacts with a group of merchants who travelled from port to port in their merchant ship. One fine day, I set sail in a merchant ship carrying my goods to Indian Ocean.


As we sailed on, we did not see land anywhere for days. One morning we discovered an island. It was a deserted island. No vegetation grew there and we found no signs of humans or animals whatsoever. We explored it and were returning to our ship when there was a loud rumble and the earth shook. It was an earthquake. The merchants on the ship sent some boats to us who were exploring the island. All of us scrambled to the boats. But Alas! Just as I was about to get into a boat, there was a huge sea wave, the earth shook once more and the island sank into the sea. All of my friends were safe on the boats and had reached the ship while I was left in the rough sea waters. When I looked around, I realized that we had mistaken the back of a giant whale to be an island. When it went into water, we had thought there was an earthquake.


I tried to swim to save myself. The merchants in the ship took me to be dead and soon the ship set sail and went away. I saw a log floating by and clung to it till I reached a tiny island. I lay on the beach of the island for a while. Then I got up to explore the island. I found some wild fruit trees. I took some fruits to feed myself and walked on. I came to an opening where I saw a large green meadow. A horse was grazing there. As I approached the horse, a came to me and asked, "Who are you, my friend?


I replied, "I am Sindbad, the sailor." Then I told him my tale.


The man introduced himself, "King Mihrage is the owner of this and I work as a stable groom for him. Let's go to meet him."


I went with the stable groom to King Mihrage's palace. There he, too, heard my tale and said, "You are our guest, Sindbad. Stay here for as long as you want to."


I stayed in the palace and had a luxurious life. I went around exploring the other nearby islands. On one island, a ghost resided. All night long I could hear him beating drums. Then one day as I was sitting on the beach I saw fish in the sea waters. They were no ordinary fish. Each one was nearly a hundred and twenty feet in length.


On King Mihrage's island, I befriended many merchants. Once when I was on the islands port, I watched the merchant ships anchored there. I happened to see packages of goods that were addressed in my name. I realised they were the goods I had carried in the ship that had left without me. I looked around carefully and to my joyful surprise, I saw the merchant ship. I went onto the ship and surely there were my merchant friends. They welcomed me with open arms. They were happy to learn that I was alive. Then the Captain gave me tea and refreshments. He invited me to join him and the merchants again. He told me that the ship would set sail that evening.


I left the ship and rushed to the palace. There I informed King Mihrage of my good luck at finding the merchant ship. I took his leave. He was sad to let me go but I made him happy when I gave him gifts. The gifts were my goods that I had found in the ship and at the port. I then bought some goods from the islanders and loaded with the ship that took me back to Baghdad.


In Baghdad, I sold the exclusive goods from the islands at a great price. I made a lot of money. Then I bought a large mansion with luxurious interiors. I saved some wealth for the future and enjoyed myself for a few years."


Then Sindbad turned to his guests and said, "So, my friends, that was the tale of my first voyage. All of you and my dear friend, Hindbad, too, must come for a feast tomorrow evening. Then I'll tell you about my second voyage."


As the guests left, Sindbad called Hindbad and gave him a hundred gold coins as a goodwill gift. Hindbad was joyous to receive so much money. He thanked Sindbad for his generosity and promised to come the next evening.

The Sailor Sindbad

The Sailor Sindbad :

Sindbad was a hardworking but poor porter. He lived in Baghdad and earned his living by carrying various packages to given addresses. All his toil from early morning till late at night earned him just enough to get by. He was very bitter about his condition.


One day as he was carrying a large package to a far away place he felt very tired. He saw a shady tree outside the door of a large mansion. As he rested under the tree for a while, he heard a lot of voices and laughter coming from the open windows.


Sindbad turned to see and there was a guard who stood by the doorway. Hindbad enquired, "What's going on in this house? Who lives here?" To this the guard said, "Oh! Don't you know? This is Sindbad the sailor's mansion. He is the one who has been around the world on voyages."


"So, Sindbad lives here. I've heard much about him. But what difference does it make. The rich enjoys comfortable and lives in luxurious mansions while the poor works hard all day for a piece of bread. Oh! it's not fair at all." With these words, Hindbad burst into tears. He started wailing loudly.


Just then his loud cries reached indoors. Sindbad called the guard to enquire who was crying at his door. The guard told him about Hindbad and why he was crying. Sindbad felt pity on hearing about Sindbad. He asked the guard to fetch Hindbad inside. Hindbad went into the mansion reluctantly. He greeted Sindbad and said, “I am sorry to disturb you, sir. You must be angry. Please permit me to leave. I have to go to deliver a package outside the town."


Sindbad smiled and said, "My friend, do not worry. Join me and take some food. You can stay and enjoy yourself here. My servants will deliver the package to the address."


Hindbad relaxed a little and Sindbad offered him a plate full of delicious food. As he ate, Hindbad observed his surroundings. He saw articles of costly furniture, silk curtains, fancy chandeliers and food in silver plates on the table. Sindbad himself was an old man with a long white beard yet a handsome and charming personality for his age. Even the guests around him were richly personality for his age. Even the guests around him were richly attired and were enjoying themselves. Then Sindbad addressed his guests, "Friends, many of you may think that I was born rich and had all the luxuries provided by my parents. But this is not true. What you see all around you is the result of my hard work and many trials and troubles that I faced in the seven voyages I took up in my lifetime. Please take your seats and if you want I'll tell you all about my adventurous voyages."


There was a murmur of agreement and all the guests took their seats. Hindbad, too, got eager to hear Sindbad, the sailor's story to success.

The Little Hunchbacked

The Little Hunchbacked:

Once upon a time in ancient Kashgar, on the borders of great territory, a tailor lived with his wife. The couple were deep in love with each other.


One morning the tailor was working busily in his shop. A little hunchbacked came and sat by the shop's door. He held a tambour that he played and sang many sweet songs. The tailor was very impressed by the talents of the little hunchbacked.


He thought, "I'll take him home. When I am at the shop my wife is lonely at home. He will entertain my wife well."


So the tailor took the little hunchbacked house in the evening. His wife had already arranged hot dinner on the table. On seeing a guest, she brought a plate and soon they were introduced. Three of them had a good dinner and joked with each other. The little hunchbacked ate a fish. But, as ill-luck would have it, he swallowed a fish-bone. Soon enough, the little hunchbacked started choking. The tailor patted his back hard while his wife gave water to him to drink but the little hunchbacked did not recover. He choked on the fish-bone and soon lay dead by the dinner table.


The tailor and his wife felt very sorry at their guest's demise. Then they grew worried. They feared that the guards of the king would come to accuse them of murder. They were scared to go to prison. So the couple thought that they would make a plan so that it would be appeared that someone other had caused his death.


After thinking for a long time, they decided to leave the hunchbacked at a Jewish doctor's clinic-cum-residence. After a while, the tailor and his wife carried the dead body of hunchbacked to the doctor's house. They knocked at the door which led to a steep stairway to the doctor's house. As it was dark a maid came down the stairway with halting steps. On enquiry, the tailor said, "We have brought a man who is very ill. Here take this advance money for the Jewish doctor. Tell him to rush down here." The maid went upstairs to call her master. Meanwhile, the tailor and his wife put the dead body of the hunchbacked on the stairs in a sitting position at the top stair. Then they ran away from the spot.


Now the young Jewish doctor came out running to see the ill patient whose advance payment he had received. As he ran out, he tripped over the body of the hunchbacked which he could not see in the dark. The collision caused the body of the hunchbacked to on down the stairs. As the Jewish doctor reached the hunchbacked, he thought that he had killed him when he rolled down the stairs. Now it was the turn of the Jewish doctor to fear. He quickly carried the dead body straight to his wife's chamber. There he told his wife what had happened. His wife started crying bitterly. The Jewish doctor thought that he would now have to surrender and confess to the murder of the little hunchbacked. But his clever wife stopped him. She said, "You'll be foolish to confess and go to prison. Do as I tell you. Both of us will carry this corpse to our roof. From there we'll step on to our neighbour's roof. I know that our Muslim neighbour is not at home now. We'll throw the body into his house by lowering it in through the chimney." The doctor agreed and soon he and his wife carried out their plan successfully.


The Jewish doctor's neighbour, the Muslim, worked at the Sultan's palace. He provided oil and butter for the royal kitchen. He had a store-room in his house where he kept his goods and many rats and mice roamed in freely. When the doctor and his wife lowered the dead body of the hunchbacked through the chimney, it went straight into the store-room.


That night when the Muslim-neighbour entered the storeroom with his lantern, he saw a thief standing by the wall, the roof above where the chimney was. He thought that the thief had entered through the chimney. He picked a stout stick and started beating the thief. He yelled, "You thief, you've been stealing my butter for months and I thought that the mice were doing it."


After a while when the thief did not respond and lay sideways on the floor, the neighbour went nearer. He was horrified to see that the thief was dead. His brutal beatings had killed the thief. Now the devout Muslim asked God for forgiveness and felt very guilty and afraid indeed. Then he thought of getting rid of the body in such a way that no one would suspect him at all. He thought for a while. Then, he picked the dead body of the hunchbacked and carried it in the market. As it was night time, no one saw him as he leant the body against one of the shop's wall and crept back home.


Just before dawn, a rich Christian merchant was returning from a feast where he had drunk a lot. He was going to the bath to fresh up. He walked hastily because if he was seen drunk by any other then he would be punished, according to the law of the land. As he walked fast, he jostled against a man who stood by a shop's wall. So by doing that, the hunchbacked fell on the ground. In his drunk state, the Christian thought that a thief was trying to attack him so he gave a full fisted blow to the man's face. The man fell on the ground. Then the Christian started calling loudly for help. Just then a guard patrolling the area came to him. He stopped the Christian and then called the fallen man to get up but he never moved.


Now the guard declared, "You are a Christian so you killed a Muslim devout. You will be punished for showing disrespect to another religion."


The guard called his assistants to carry the dead body of the hunchbacked. Then the Christian was put into prison.


After investigations, it was revealed that the little hunchbacked had been one of the royal jesters. As the Sultan liked him very much, the guards decided to present the case in the royal court. The Sult1an was enraged that his subjects were killing each other in the name of religion. So he sentenced the Christian to death to teach others a lesson, so that all can live in peace.


Soon the town crier announced that the merchant would be hanged publicly. The crowd gathered at the gallows to witness his death. Just as the hangman was about to tighten the rope around the Christian merchant's neck a man came rushing through the crowd. He cried, "Stop, please in God's name! It is me a Muslim who killed this Muslim brother. How can one kill a dead man? I can't let my hands be stained by the blood of an innocent Christian. Please let him go."


The crowd and guards then heard the Muslim's story. Thus the Christian stepped down and the guards got ready to hang the Muslim. As the Muslim went up to the gallows, someone screamed, "Guards, do stop right away. I confess to this crime."


There was a roar of confusion in the crowd. Then a man emerged.


He was the Jewish doctor. He said, "Please spare my Muslim friend's life for it is I who caused the jester's death."


On enquiry, the Jewish doctor narrated his story and confessed to the death of the hunchbacked caused by him on a dark staircase. The guards and the crowd were surprised at the turn of event. Then they again fell silent as the hangman tightened the noose around the Jewish doctor's neck.


Just then the tailor rushed to the gallows and held the .hangman's hand. He said, "Sir, this noose is for my neck and not for the innocent Jewish doctor. Please listen to what I have to say and you will learn that I am the real culprit."


As the tailor told his story, the hangman and the guards grew confused. The people murmured in surprise and confusion. Then the hangman freed the Jewish doctor as the tailor got ready to meet his death.


Meanwhile in the court, a guard told the Sultan about the drama that had unfolded at the gallows. The Sultan summoned all the accused to be present in the court.


Once, everyone reached the court. The Sultan heard everyone's story. The Sultan understood that the hunchbacked had died due to choking on the fish-bone and all the accused stood innocent. So he set all of them free. Then he ordered his historian to write this story for the generations to come for he had never known such an event to occur before.