TALES FROM THE ARABIAN NIGHTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 11 August 1928, Page 10

TALES FROM THE ARABIAN NIGHTS

"SINBAD THE SAILOR”

(Continued)

“As I have already told you,” continued Sinbad, “after the .terrible experiences of my first voyage, I had intended to settle down in- Baghdad fqr the remainder of my life, but I soon grew restless, and decided tx>. take another voyage. I, therefore, embarked with* some merchants of my acquaintance. One day we landed upon an island. While the bthers walked round to view the place, I sat down under a tree and fell asleep. How long I. slept.,l cannot.tell you, but when I awoke the ship was gone, and I was alone upon the island.”

“In this sad condition I was ready to die .with grief, I wished_thetGl had not been so foolish as to leave the safety of my home in Baghdad, At length I resigned myself to ,my fate, and set out to discover, ,if .possible, oh what sort of place I had been cast, and whether or not it was inhabited. As I progressed over the island I beheld a huge white dome in front of me,. I reached it I touched it, and found it hard and smooth. The more I examined its huge sides, the more mystified I became as to what this smooth white object could be. Suddenly a great shadow was cast upon, the ground.”

“You can imagine how astonished I was to discover that the shadow was cast by a monstrous bird. The most wonderful bird you could ever imagine. Nearer and nearer it came at a tremendous pace, until I wondered what was going to happen. Finally it settled on the white mound. Then I remembered the stories that had been told me about these-.wondrous birds,, and decided that the huge white mound must be an egg. Crouching near the leg of the big bird I thought of a wonderful idea to get awgy from the island. I would tie myself to its leg and be carried away when the huge bird flew off.”

“I tied myself securely to the leg of the monster uird,i,All night I remained in this position. Immediately the sun rose next morning, the bird flew into the air and carried me so high that I could not discern the earth. The speed at which we moved through the air made it almost impossible for mepto breathe, and I was, therefore, pleased when I found myself descending rapidly towards the ground. Immediately we touched the earth* I untied myself, and crept behind a boulder. When the bird had flown away, I came out and discovered that I was in a huge valley with mountains on all sides. The knowledge that I was worse off than on the desert island threw me into great despair.”

“you will understand how unhappy I was to find I had .taken such a grant risk only to exchange the island for a more, barren spot, ;and' I continued, .to walk along plunged in ;the deepest gloom. Then suddenly I made a great discovery. The floor of ;the valley was simply covered with, stones of all sizes, and as I ; gazed at them they sparkled and glittered in the sunlight. I perceived they were diamonds of the finest quality: The huge bird had carried me into the fabled valley of diamonds, and all around me was scattered wealth greater than you could ever imagine. For the moment I forgot my fears, and gloated over the precious stones.”

“My joy, however, did: not last long.vl- realised that, although the vast wealth that littered the floor of the valley was all mine, I could, perhaps, never take it away, as there appeared no possible means of leaving the desolate place. All day I wandered, about, but. could find no way of escape. As the evening drew near my terror was increased:by the, sight of .huge serpents. Discovering that they feared the great bird, and only emerged from their caves at night, I decided to hide until the morning, and then make a-fresh attempt to escape frem my prison.”