SINDBAD
SINDBAD THE SEAMAN AND SINDBAD THE LANDSMAN
THERE lived in the city of Baghdad during the reign of the Commander
of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, a man named Sindbad the Hammal,
one in poor case who bore burdens on his head for hire. It happened to
him one day of great heat that
whilst he was carrying a heavy load, he
became
exceeding weary and sweated profusely, the heat and the
weight alike oppressing him. Presently, as he was passing the gate
of a merchant's house before which the ground was swept and watered,
and there the air was
temperate, he sighted a broad bench beside the
door, so he set his load thereon, to take rest and smell the air. He
sat down on the edge of the bench, and at once heard from within the
melodious sound of lutes and other stringed instruments, and
mirth-exciting voices singing and reciting, together with the song
of birds warbling and glorifying Almighty Allah in various tunes and
tonguess- turtles, mocking birds, merles, nightingales, cushats, and
stone curlews-
whereat he marveled in himself and was moved to mighty
joy and
solace.
Then he went up to the gate and saw within a great flower garden
wherein were pages and black slaves and such a train of servants and
attendants and so forth as is found only with kings and sultans. And
his nostrils were greeted with the savory odours of an manner meats
rich and
delicate, and
delicious and
generous wines. So he raised
his eyes heavenward and said, "Glory to Thee, O Lord, O Creator and
Provider, Who providest whomso Thou wilt without count or stint! O
mine Holy One, I cry Thee
pardon for an sins and turn to Thee
repenting of all offenses!
"How many by my labors, that
evermore endure,
All goods of life enjoy and in cooly shade recline?
Each morn that dawns I wake in travail and in woe,
And strange is my condition and my burden gars me pine.
Many others are in luck and from miseries are free,
And Fortune never load them with loads the like o' mine.
They live their happy days in all
solace and delight,
Eat, drink, and dwell in honor 'mid the noble and the digne.
All living things were made of a little drop of sperm,
Thine
origin is mine and my provenance is thine,
Yet the difference and distance 'twixt the twain of us are far
As the difference of savor 'twixt
vinegar and wine.
But at Thee, O God All-wise! I
venture not to rail,
Whose
ordinance is just and whose justice cannot fail."
When Sindbad the Porter had made an end of reciting his verses, he
bore up his burden and was about to fare on when there came forth to
him from the gate a little foot page, fair of face and shapely of
shape and
dainty of dress, who caught him by the hand
saying, "Come in
and speak with my lord, for he calleth for thee." The
porter would
have excused himself to the page, but the lad would take no refusal,
so he left his load with the doorkeeper in the vestibule and
followed the boy into the house, which he found to be a goodly
mansion,
radiant and full of
majesty, till he brought him to a grand
sitting room
wherein he saw a company of nobles and great lords seated
at tables garnished with all manner of flowers and sweet-scented
herbs, besides great plenty of
dainty viands and fruits dried and
fresh and confections and wines of the choicest vintages. There also
were instruments of music and mirth and lovely slave girls playing and
singing. All the company was ranged according to rank, and in the
highest place sat a man of
worshipful and noble
aspect whose beard
sides hoariness had
stricken, and he was
stately of
stature and fair
of favor,
agreeable of
aspect and full of
gravity and
dignity and
majesty. So Sindbad the Porter was confounded at that which he
beheld and said in himself, "By Allah, this must be either a piece
of Paradise or some king's palace!"
Then he saluted the company with much respect, praying for their
prosperity, and kissing the ground before them, stood with his head
bowed down in
humble attitude. The master of the house bade him draw
near and be seated and bespoke him kindly, bidding him
welcome. Then
he set before him various kinds of viands, rich and
delicate and
delicious, and the
porter, after
saying his Bismillah, fell to and ate
his fill, after which he exclaimed, "Praised be Allah, whatso be our
case!" and, washing his hands, returned thanks to the company for
his
entertainment. Quoth the host: "Thou art
welcome, and thy day is a
blessed. But what thy name and calling?" Quoth the other, "O my
lord, my name is Sindbad the Hammal, and I carry folk's goods on my
head for hire." The housemaster smiled and rejoined: "Know, O
Porter, that thy name is even as mine, for I am Sindbad the Seaman.
And now, O Porter, I would have thee let me hear the couplets thou
recitedst at the gate anon.' The
porter was abashed and replied:
"Allah upon thee! Excuse me, for toil and travail and lack of luck
when the hand is empty teach a man ill manners and boorish ways." Said
the host: "Be not
ashamed. Thou art become my brother. But repeat to
me the verses, for they pleased me whenas I heard thee
recite them
at the gate."
Hereupon the Porter
repeated the couplets and they
delighted the
merchant, who said to him: "Know, O Hammal, that my story is a
wonderful one, and thou shalt hear all that
befell me and all I
underwent ere I rose to this state of
prosperity and became the lord
of this place
wherein thou seest me. For I came not to this high
estate save after travail sore and perils galore, and how much toil
and trouble have I not suffered in days of yore! I have made seven
voyages, by each of which hangeth a
marvelous tale, such as
confoundeth the reason, and all this came to pass by doom of Fortune
and Fate. For from what Destiny doth write there is neither
refuge nor
flight. Know, then, good my lords," continued he, "that I am about
to
relate the