with a company of the townsfolk to whom I will give a charge
respecting thee. Do as they do and belike thou shalt gain what may

further thy return voyage to thy native land." Then he carried me to
the beach, where I filled my bag with pebbles large and small, and

presently we saw a company of folk issue from the town, each bearing a
bag like mine, filled with pebbles. To these he committed me,

commending me to their care, and saying: "This man is a stranger, so
take him with you and teach him how to gather, that he may get his

daily bread, and you will earn your reward and recompense in
Heaven." "On our head and eyes be it!" answered they, and bidding me

welcome, fared on with me till we came to a spacious wady, full of
lofty trees with trunks so smooth that none might climb them.

Now sleeping under these trees were many apes, which when they saw
us rose and fled from us and swarmed up among the branches,

whereupon my companions began to pelt them with what they had in their
bags, and the apes fell to plucking of the fruit of the trees and

casting them at the folk. I looked at the fruits they cast at us and
found them to be Indian or coconuts, so I chose out a great tree

full of apes, and going up to it, began to pelt them with stones,
and they in return pelted me with nuts, which I collected, as did

the rest. So that even before I had made an end of my bagful of
pebbles, I had gotten great plenty of nuts. And as soon as my

companions had in like manner gotten as many nuts as they could carry,
we returned to the city, where we arrived at the fag end of day.

Then I went in to the kindly man who had brought me in company with
the nut-gatherers and gave him all I had gotten, thanking him for

his kindness, but he would not accept them, saying, "Sell them and
make profit by the price," and presently he added (giving me the key

of a closet in his house): "Store thy nuts in this safe place and go
thou forth every morning and gather them as thou hast done today,

and choose out the worst for sale and supplying thyself; but lay up
the rest here, so haply thou mayst collect enough to serve thee for

thy return home." "Allah requite thee!" answered I, and did as he
advised me, going out daily with the coconut gatherers, who

commended me to one another and showed me the best-stocked trees. Thus
did I for some time, till I had laid up great store of excellent nuts,

besides a large sum of money, the price of those I had sold. I
became thus at my ease and bought all I saw and had a mind to, and

passed my time pleasantly, greatly enjoying my stay in the city,
till as I stood on the beach one day a great ship steering through the

heart of the sea presently cast anchor by the shore and landed a
company of merchants, who proceeded to sell and buy and barter their

goods for coconuts and other commodities.
Then I went to my friend and told him of the coming of the ship

and how I had a mind to return to my own country, and he said, "
'Tis for thee to decide." So I thanked him for his bounties and took

leave of him. Then, going to the captain of the ship, I agreed with
him for my passage and embarked my coconuts and what else I possessed.

We weighed anchor the same day and sailed from island to island and
sea to sea, and whenever we stopped, I sold and traded with my

coconuts, and the Lord requited me more than I erst had and lost.
Amongst other places, we came to an island abounding in cloves and

cinnamon and pepper, and the country people told me that by the side
of each pepper bunch groweth a great leaf which shadeth it from the

sun and casteth the water off it in the wet season; but when the
rain ceaseth, the leaf turneth over and droopeth down by the side of

the bunch. Here I took in great store of pepper and cloves and
cinnamon, in exchange for coconuts, and we passed thence to the Island

of Al-Usirat, whence cometh the Comorin aloes wood, and thence to
another island, five days' journey in length, where grows the

Chinese lign aloes, which is better than the Comorin. But the people
of this island are fouler of condition and religion than those of

the other, for that they love fornication and wine bibbing, and know
not prayer nor call to prayer.

Thence we came to the pearl fisheries, and I gave the divers some of
my coconuts and said to them, "Dive for my luck and lot!" They did

so and brought up from the deep bright great store of large and
priceless pearls, and they said to me, "By Allah, O my master, thy

luck is a lucky!" Then we sailed on, with the blessing of Allah (Whose
name be exalted!), and ceased not sailing till we arrived safely at

Bassorah. There I abode a little and then went on to Baghdad, where
I entered my quarter and found my house and forgathered with my family

and saluted my friends, who gave me joy of my safe return, and I
laid up all my goods and valuables in my storehouses. Then I

distributed alms and largess and clothed the widow and the orphan
and made presents to my relations and comrades, for the Lord had

requited me fourfold that I had lost. After which I returned to my old
merry way of life and forgot all I had suffered in the great profit

and gain I had made.
Such, then, is the history of my fifth voyage and its wonderments,

and now to supper, and tomorrow, come again and I will tell you what
befell me in my sixth voyage, for it was still more wonderful than

this. (Saith he who telleth the tale): Then he called for food, and
the servants spread the table, and when they had eaten the evening

meal, he bade give Sindbad the Porter a hundred golden dinars and
the landsman returned home and lay him down to sleep, much marveling

at all he had heard. Next morning, as soon as it was light, he
prayed the dawn prayer, and, after blessing Mohammed the Cream of

all creatures, betook himself to the house of Sindbad the Seaman and
wished him a good day. The merchant bade him sit, and talked with

him till the rest of the company arrived. Then the servants spread the
table, and when they had well eaten and drunken and were mirthful

and merry, Sindbad the Seaman began in these words the narrative of

• voyage [´vɔi-idʒ] n.&vi.航海；航程；旅行 (初中英语单词)
• reward [ri´wɔ:d] n.&v.报答；报酬；奖赏 (初中英语单词)
• sleeping [´sli:piŋ] n.&a.睡着(的) (初中英语单词)
• indian [´indiən] a.印度的 n.印度人 (初中英语单词)
• presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)
• closet [´klɔzit] n.橱；私室；盥洗室 (初中英语单词)
• anchor [´æŋkə] n.锚 v.抛锚 (初中英语单词)
• whenever [wen´evə] conj.&ad.无论何时 (初中英语单词)
• pepper [´pepə] n.胡椒 vt.加胡椒 (初中英语单词)
• thence [ðens] ad.从那里；因此 (初中英语单词)
• blessing [´blesiŋ] n.祝福 (初中英语单词)
• safely [´seifli] ad.安全地；平安地 (初中英语单词)
• drunken [´drʌŋkən] a.喝醉的；常醉的 (初中英语单词)
• bearing [´beəriŋ] n.举止；忍耐；关系 (高中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
• spacious [´speiʃəs] a.广阔的，宽敞的 (高中英语单词)
• pleasantly [´plezntli] ad.令人愉快地；舒适地 (高中英语单词)
• porter [´pɔ:tə] n.守门人；勤杂工人 (高中英语单词)
• narrative [´nærətiv] a.叙述的 n.记事 (高中英语单词)
• recompense [´rekəmpens] n.&vt.回报；补偿 (英语四级单词)
• gotten [´gɔtn] get的过去分词 (英语四级单词)
• coconut [´kəukənʌt] n.椰子(果)；头 (英语四级单词)
• whence [wens] ad.从何处；从那里 (英语四级单词)
• barter [´bɑ:tə] v.交换(货物) n.互换品 (英语六级单词)
• divers [´daivə(:)z] a.&pron.若干个 (英语六级单词)
• seaman [´si:mən] n.海员，水手 (英语六级单词)