The following night, there was again feasting and merriment inside the house of Sinbad the Merchant. He spoke to his namesake the porter and said:
“You see all around you that my house is bright and full of fun and laughter. When you have heard the story of my fourth voyage, you will know that in order to reach this happy state I had to crawl through a grim place more dead than alive.”
Once again I journeyed down to the Port of Basrah and boarded a merchant ship. We sailed through the straits of Hormuz and beyond. As before, we sailed from place to place doing brisk and profitable business. Then one day, the wind blew against us and and the captain cast out his anchors and brought the ship to a standstill, fearing lest she should founder in mid-ocean.
Then we all fell to prayer and humbling ourselves before the Most High, but as we did this we were hit by a furious squall which tore the sails to rags and tatters. The anchor cable snapped and the ship rolled this way and that until we were cast into the sea, goods and all.
The waves washed some of us ashore, almost dead with weariness and lack of sleep, cold, hungry, thirsty and fearful.
And so we walked about the island until we came to the gate of a fine house. A number of men came out. They did not speak our language, but they bowed and greeted us in a way that was welcoming and not at all threatening. We believed that we had been fortunate.
They led us through gardens and courtyards and into a great hall where they presented us to their king. He too proved to be most courteous and friendly, and signalled to us to sit down at the table. Servants brought plates full of delicious fruits and bread and placed them before us. Our men began to eat, but they had forgotten their good manners. They could not help themselves, but they greedily grabbed more and more food with their hands and stuffed it into their mouths. They chomped and slavered like animals. This rude behaviour was most unusual in them. It was as if they had been possessed by an evil spirit.
Our hosts did not seem to mind. They brought coconut milk and when the men had drunk this, they became still more greedy. Only after they had eaten enough to burst did they eventually cease to gobble the food. Now sated and drowsy, they allowed themselves to be led out to a pen where they were kept like cattle. For the next few weeks, they wandered amongst the trees and rested at will, growing fatter and fatter. But I, who had no interest in this animal behaviour, wasted away with lack of food and fear. I had by now realised the true intention was of our hosts. We had fallen into the hands of cannibals. The men were being fattened up to be eaten.
But one day, when the shepherds drove the men out onto the fields to graze, an old shepherd saw that I was standing apart from them. I understood from the look in his eye that he would make no objection if i made my escape. In fact, he pointed me the way to go. I left and found a road, which I followed for several days. I walked and walked, and lived on berries and herbs. Thanks to Almighty Allah for all his favours, I eventually saw the walls of a magnificent city.
When I was close to the city I fell in with some travellers who asked my name and where I was from. When they heard how I had escaped the cannibals' farm, they marvelled and said that my story proved the greatness of Allah. Fate had once again favoured me, for these people were well connected and promised to introduce me to their king.
We entered the city and I was impressed by the fine houses, the prosperous people, and the markets well stocked with food. I saw that all the citizens, great and small, rode fine horses, high-priced and thoroughbred, but oddly they lacked saddles.
"Well now," I thought, "these people lack for nothing but a comfortable seat to travel on. I see a gap in the market - a fine opportunity for a man of business to make money."
When I met the king, he received me kindly. I told him my story, and he listened with great interest and amazement. When I had finished, he asked me my station in life in the city of Baghdad:
“Sire, I am a merchant,” I said. “When I am at home, I live a quiet life and have a great many friends. But let me say, I have an idea to remain in your fine city and set up a business. I have noticed how your citizens ride horses but make no use of saddles.”
“Saddles?” asked the king. “What are they?”
I described the leather seat and the other equipment that we use to ride a horse in comfort, and his Majesty was most interested. Indeed he asked if I could make one to show him. I answered that I would gladly do so.
I sought out a clever carpenter to make the frame, and a tanner to produce a comfortable leather seat and fine reins, and a blacksmith to hammer out the stirrups and bit. Moreover, I made beautiful fringes of silk.
I presented the work to the king, and demonstrated how to make use of it to ride a horse. He was greatly impressed by the comfort of this arrangement - so much less bruising than riding bareback. He paid me a fine price for my equipment, and his officials and all the nobility in the land wished to imitate him. A great number of wealthy people ordered saddles and horse equipment from me, and I soon became quite wealthy. One day the king called me to his office and said:
“Your industry and business have improved the quality of life in our city. I have in mind to reward you with a beautiful and wealthy wife, so that you will wish to stay in our country and continue your work.”
So he summoned the prime minister and witnesses and married me straightway to a lady of a noble family, the flower of an ancient race of beauty and grace, and the owner of farms and estates and many houses.
I said to myself: "When I return to my native land, I will take her with me." But I should not have tempted fate, for no one knows what destiny has in store for them.
From then on, my ease and prosperity, already great, continued to grow. Then about a year after I was married, ill-fortune struck my neighbour’s house. My friend, who lived next door, lost his wife to illness
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