The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor 4

It was a huge piece of fresh meat, and as I stared at it several more pieces rolled over the cliffs in different places. I had always thought that the stories the sailors told of the famous valley of diamonds, and of the cunning way which some merchants had devised for getting at the precious stones, were mere¹ travellers' tales invented to give pleasure to the hearers, but now I perceived that they were surely true. These merchants came to the valley at the time when the eagles, which keep their eyries（雏，巢） in the rocks, had hatched their young. The merchants then threw great lumps of meat into the valley. These, falling with so much force upon the diamonds, were sure to take up some of the precious stones with them, when the eagles pounced² upon the meat and carried it off to their nests to feed their hungry broods. Then the merchants, scaring away the parent birds with shouts and outcries, would secure their treasures. Until this moment I had looked upon the valley as my grave, for I had seen no possibility of getting out of it alive, but now I took courage and began to devise a means of escape. I began by picking up all the largest diamonds I could find and storing them carefully in the leathern wallet which had held my provisions（规定，食品）; this I tied securely to my belt. I then chose the piece of meat which seemed most suited to my purpose, and with the aid of my turban bound it firmly to my back; this done I laid down upon my face and awaited the coming of the eagles. I soon heard the flapping of their mighty³ wings above me, and had the satisfaction of feeling one of them seize upon my piece of meat, and me with it, and rise slowly towards his nest, into which he presently dropped me. Luckily for me the merchants were on the watch, and setting up their usual outcries they rushed to the nest scaring away the eagle. Their amazement⁴ was great when they discovered me, and also their disappointment, and with one accord they fell to abusing me for having robbed them of their usual profit. Addressing myself to the one who seemed most aggrieved⁵, I said: "I am sure, if you knew all that I have suffered, you would show more kindness towards me, and as for diamonds, I have enough here of the very best for you and me and all your company." So saying I showed them to him. The others all crowded round me, wondering at my adventures and admiring the device by which I had escaped from the valley, and when they had led me to their camp and examined my diamonds, they assured me that in all the years that they had carried on their trade they had seen no stones to be compared with them for size and beauty. 

 

I found that each merchant chose a particular nest, and took his chance of what he might find in it. So I begged the one who owned the nest to which I had been carried to take as much as he would of my treasure, but he contented⁶ himself with one stone, and that by no means the largest, assuring me that with such a gem⁷ his fortune was made, and he need toil⁸ no more. I stayed with the merchants several days, and then as they were journeying homewards I gladly accompanied them. Our way lay across high mountains infested⁹ with frightful¹⁰ serpents（巨蛇）, but we had the good luck to escape them and came at last to the seashore. Thence we sailed to the isle¹² of Rohat where the camphor trees grow to such a size that a hundred men could shelter under one of them with ease. The sap flows from an incision¹³ made high up in the tree into a vessel¹⁴ hung there to receive it, and soon hardens into the substance called camphor（樟脑）, but the tree itself withers¹⁵ up and dies when it has been so treated. 

 

In this same island we saw the rhinoceros¹⁶（犀牛）, an animal which is smaller than the elephant and larger than the buffalo¹⁷. It has one horn about a cubit long which is solid, but has a furrow¹⁸（皱纹，犁沟） from the base to the tip. Upon it is traced in white lines the figure of a man. The rhinoceros fights with the elephant, and transfixing him with his horn carries him off upon his head, but becoming blinded with the blood of his enemy, he falls helpless to the ground, and then comes the roc, and clutches them both up in his talons¹⁹ and takes them to feed his young. This doubtless astonishes you, but if you do not believe my tale go to Rohat and see for yourself. For fear of wearying you I pass over in silence many other wonderful things which we saw in this island. Before we left I exchanged one of my diamonds for much goodly merchandise by which I profited greatly on our homeward way. At last we reached Balsora, whence I hastened to Bagdad, where my first action was to bestow²⁰ large sums of money upon the poor, after which I settled down to enjoy tranquilly²¹ the riches I had gained with so much toil and pain. 

 

Having thus related the adventures of his second voyage, Sindbad again bestowed²² a hundred sequins（亮片） upon Hindbad, inviting²³ him to come again on the following day and hear how he fared upon his third voyage. The other guests also departed to their homes, but all returned at the same hour next day, including the porter, whose former life of hard work and poverty had already begun to seem to him like a bad dream. Again after the feast was over did Sindbad claim the attention of his guests and began the account of his third voyage. 

 

After a very short time the pleasant easy life I led made me quite forget the perils²⁴ of my two voyages. Moreover, as I was still in the prime of life, it pleased me better to be up and doing. So once more providing myself with the rarest and choicest merchandise of Bagdad, I conveyed it to Balsora, and set sail with other merchants of my acquaintance for distant lands. We had touched at many ports and made much profit, when one day upon the open sea we were caught by a terrible wind which blew us completely out of our reckoning, and lasting²⁵ for several days finally drove us into harbour on a strange island. 

 

"I would rather have come to anchor anywhere than here," quoth our captain. "This island and all adjoining it are inhabited by hairy savages²⁶, who are certain to attack us, and whatever these dwarfs²⁷ may do we dare not resist, since they swarm²⁸（挤满，爬） like locusts²⁹, and if one of them is killed the rest will fall upon us, and speedily make an end of us." 

 

These words caused great consternation³⁰（惊愕，恐怖） among all the ship's company, and only too soon we were to find out that the captain spoke³¹ truly. There appeared a vast multitude of hideous³² savages, not more than two feet high and covered with reddish fur. Throwing themselves into the waves they surrounded our vessel. Chattering³³ meanwhile in a language we could not understand, and clutching at ropes and gangways, they swarmed³⁴ up the ship's side with such speed and agility³⁵ that they almost seemed to fly. 

 

You may imagine the rage and terror that seized us as we watched them, neither daring to hinder them nor able to speak a word to deter³⁶ them from their purpose, whatever it might be. Of this we were not left long in doubt. Hoisting³⁷ the sails, and cutting the cable of the anchor, they sailed our vessel to an island which lay a little further off, where they drove us ashore¹¹; then taking possession of her, they made off to the place from which they had come, leaving us helpless upon a shore avoided with horror by all mariners³⁸（水手） for a reason which you will soon learn.

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