Sindbad The Sailor The Seventh And Last Voyage
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Favorite Fairy Tales.
The Caliph Haroun Alrashid one day sent for me, and told me I must bear
a present to the King of Serindib. I ventured to protest on account of
my age, but I could not persuade him to give up his plan. I arrived at
Serindib, and prayed an audience with the King. I was conducted to the
palace with great respect, and delivered to the monarch the Caliph's
letter and present. The present consisted of the most ingenious and
aluable works of art, with which the King was exceedingly delighted,
and he was also pleased to acknowledge how much he esteemed my services.
When I departed, the monarch bestowed on me some rich gifts; but the
ship had not long been at sea, before it was attacked by pirates, who
seized the vessel, and carried us away as slaves. I was sold to a
merchant. When my master found that I could use the bow and arrow with
skill, he took me upon an elephant, and carried me to a vast forest in
the country. My master ordered me to climb a high tree, and wait there
until I saw a troop of elephants pass by. I was then to shoot at them,
and if one of them fell, I was to go to the city and give the merchant
notice. Having given me these directions, and a bag of provisions, he
left me. On the morning of the second day, I saw a great number of
elephants. I succeeded in shooting one of them, upon which the others
went away, and I returned to the city and told my employer, who praised
my work. We went back to the forest and dug a hole, in which the
elephant was to remain until it decayed and left the teeth free. I
continued this trade nearly two months, and killed an elephant almost
every day. One morning all the elephants came up to the tree in which I
was and trumpeted dreadfully. One of them fastened his trunk round the
tree and tore it up by the roots. I fell with the tree; the animal took
me up with his trunk, and placed me on his back, and then, at the head
of his troop, he brought me to a place where he gently laid me on the
ground, and they all went away. I discovered that I was upon a large
broad hill, covered all over with the bones and teeth of elephants, and
was soon convinced that this was their burying-place. I reached the city
once more; my master thought I was lost, for he had seen the torn tree,
and found my bow and arrows. I told him what had happened, and led him
to the hill. We loaded the elephant on which we had come, and thus
collected more teeth than a man could have obtained in his whole life.
The merchant told me that not only he himself, but the whole city, was
indebted to me, and that I should return to my own country with
sufficient wealth to make me happy. My patron loaded a ship with ivory,
and the other merchants made me valuable presents. I reached Balsora
and landed my ivory, which I found to be more valuable than I had
expected. I set out with caravans to travel overland, and at last
reached Bagdad, where I presented myself to the Caliph, and gave an
account of my embassy. He was so astonished at my adventure with the
elephants that he ordered the narrative of it to be written in letters
of gold and to be deposited in his treasury.