the ocean, whereupon I said to myself, "Whatso freeth me from one

great calamity casteth me into a greater!"



But while I was pondering my case and longing for death, behold, I

saw afar off a ship making for the island, so I clomb a tree and hid



myself among the branches. Presently the ship anchored and landed

ten slaves, blackamoors, bearing iron hoes and baskets, who walked



on till they reached the middle of the island. Here they dug deep into

the ground until they uncovered a plate of metal, which they lifted,



thereby opening a trapdoor. After this they returned to the ship and

thence brought bread and flour, honey and fruits, clarified butter,



leather bottles containing liquors, and many household stuffs; also

furniture, table service, and mirrors; rugs, carpets, and in fact



all needed to furnish a dwelling. And they kept going to and fro,

and descending by the trapdoor, till they had transported into the



dwelling all that was in the ship.

After this the slaves again went on board and brought back with them



garments as rich as may be, and in the midst of them came an old old

man, of whom very little was left, for Time had dealt hardly and



harshly with him, and all that remained of him was a bone wrapped in a

rag of blue stuff, through which the winds whistled west and east.



As saith the poet of him:

Time gars me tremble. Ah, how sore the balk!



While Time in pride of strength doth ever stalk.

Time was I walked nor ever felt I tired,



Now am I tired albe' I never walk!

And the Sheikh held by the hand a youth cast in beauty's mold, all



elegance and perfect grace, so fair that his comeliness deserved to be

proverbial, for he was as a green bough or the tender young of the



roe, ravishing every heart with his loveliness and subduing every soul

with his coquetry and amorous ways. They stinted not their going, O my



lady, till all went down by the trapdoor and did not reappear for an

hour, or rather more; at the end of which time the slaves and the



old man came up without the youth and, replacing the iron plate and

carefully closing the door slab as it was before, they returned to the



ship and made sail and were lost to my sight.

When they turned away to depart, I came down from the tree and,



going to the place I had seen them fin up, scraped off and removed the

earth, and in patience possessed my soul till I had cleared the



whole of it away. Then appeared the trapdoor, which was of wood, in

shape and size like a millstone, and when I lifted it up, it disclosed



a winding staircase of stone. At this I marveled and, descending the

steps tier I reached the last, found a fair hall, spread with



various kinds of carpets and silk stuffs, wherein was a youth

sitting upon a raised couch and leaning back on a round cushion with a



fan in his hand and nosegays and posies of sweet scented herbs and

flowers before him. But he was alone and not a soul near him in the



great vault. When he saw me he turned pale, but I saluted him

courteously and said: "Set thy mind at ease and calm thy fears. No



harm shall come near thee. I am a man like thyself and the son of a

king to boot, whom the decrees of Destiny have sent to bear thee



company and cheer thee in thy loneliness. But now tell me, what is thy

story and what causeth thee to dwell thus in solitude under the



ground?"

When he was assured that I was of his kind and no Jinni, he rejoiced



and his fine color returned, and, making me draw near to him, he said:

"O my brother, my story is a strange story and 'tis this. My father is



a merchant jeweler possessed of great wealth, who hath white and black

slaves traveling and trading on his account in ships and on camels,



and trafficking with the most distant cities, but he was not blessed

with a child, not even one. Now on a certain night he dreamed a



dream that he should be favored with a son, who would be

short-lived, so the morning dawned on my father, bringing him woe



and weeping. On the following night my mother conceived and my

father noted down the date of her becoming pregnant. Her time being



fulfilled, she bare me, whereat my father rejoiced and made banquets

and called together the neighbors and fed the fakirs and the poor, for



that he had been blessed with issue near the end of his days. Then

he assembled the astrologers and astronomers who knew the places of



the planets, and the wizards and wise ones of the time, and men

learned in horoscopes and nativities, and they drew out my birth



scheme and said to my father: "Thy son shall live to fifteen years,

but in his fifteenth there is a sinisteraspect. An he safely tide



it over, he shall attain a great age. And the cause that threateneth

him with death is this. In the Sea of Peril standeth the Mountain

• voyage [´vɔi-idʒ] n.&vi.航海；航程；旅行 (初中英语单词)


• presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)


• thither [´ðiðə] ad.到那里 a.那边的 (初中英语单词)


• mysterious [mi´stiəriəs] a.神秘的；难以理解的 (初中英语单词)


• virtue [´və:tʃu:] n.美德；贞操；长处 (初中英语单词)


• violent [´vaiələnt] a.强暴的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)


• thence [ðens] ad.从那里；因此 (初中英语单词)


• thereupon [,ðeərə´pɔn] ad.因此；于是 (初中英语单词)


• swimmer [´swimə] n.游泳者 (初中英语单词)


• violence [´vaiələns] n.猛烈；暴力(行) (初中英语单词)


• sunshine [´sʌnʃain] n.日光，阳光 (初中英语单词)


• opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)


• dwelling [´dweliŋ] n.住所；寓所 (初中英语单词)


• patience [´peiʃəns] n.忍耐(力)；耐心；坚韧 (初中英语单词)


• cushion [´kuʃən] n.垫子，坐褥 (初中英语单词)


• wealth [welθ] n.财富，财产 (初中英语单词)


• account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)


• aspect [´æspekt] n.面貌；神色；方向 (初中英语单词)


• safely [´seifli] ad.安全地；平安地 (初中英语单词)


• attain [ə´tein] v.取得；到达；成为 (初中英语单词)


• stillness [´stilnis] n.不动；无声，寂静 (高中英语单词)


• heartily [´hɑ:tili] ad.衷心地；亲切地 (高中英语单词)


• counter [´kauntə] n.计算者；柜台；计算机 (高中英语单词)


• summit [´sʌmit] n.顶(点)；绝顶 (高中英语单词)


• tablet [´tæblit] n.碑；牌；匾额 (高中英语单词)


• hardship [´hɑ:dʃip] n.受苦，吃苦；苦难 (高中英语单词)


• ascent [ə´sent] n.上升；攀登；上坡路 (高中英语单词)


• thanksgiving [´θæŋks,giviŋ] 感恩节 (高中英语单词)


• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)


• horseman [´hɔ:smən] n.骑手，马术师 (高中英语单词)


• beware [bi´weə] v.(用于祈使句)谨防 (高中英语单词)


• whilst [wailst] conj.当…时候；虽然 (高中英语单词)


• fatigue [fə´ti:g] n.&vt.(使)疲劳(劳累) (高中英语单词)


• naught [nɔ:t] n.无；零 (高中英语单词)


• bearing [´beəriŋ] n.举止；忍耐；关系 (高中英语单词)


• longing [´lɔŋiŋ] n.&a.渴望(的) (高中英语单词)


• wherein [weər´in] ad.那里面 (高中英语单词)


• destiny [´destini] n.命运 (高中英语单词)


• loneliness [´ləunliniz] n.孤独，寂寞 (高中英语单词)


• solitude [´sɔlitju:d] n.孤独；寂寞；荒凉 (高中英语单词)


• besought [bi´sɔ:t] beseech过去式(分词) (英语四级单词)


• lookout [´lukaut] n.警戒；景色；前途 (英语四级单词)


• morrow [´mɔrəu] n.翌日 (英语四级单词)


• astray [ə´strei] ad.&a.在歧途上(的) (英语四级单词)


• magnet [´mægnit] n.磁体；磁石；磁铁 (英语四级单词)


• almighty [ɔ:l´maiti] a.万能的；全能的 (英语四级单词)


• gifted [´giftid] a.有天赋的，有才华的 (英语四级单词)


• exceeding [ik´si:diŋ] a.超越的，非常的 (英语四级单词)


• testament [´testəment] n.契约，誓约；遗嘱 (英语四级单词)


• network [´netwə:k] n.网状物 vt.联播 (英语四级单词)


• calamity [kə´læmiti] n.灾害，大灾难 (英语四级单词)


• embark [im´bɑ:k] v.上船；装载；开始 (英语四级单词)


• gladness [´glædnis] n.愉快，高兴，喜悦 (英语四级单词)


• boatman [´bəutmən] n.船夫；出租游艇者 (英语四级单词)


• whereat [weər´æt] ad.对于…；在这里 (英语四级单词)


• billow [´biləu] n.巨浪 v.(使)翻腾 (英语四级单词)


• raiment [´reimənt] n.衣饰 (英语四级单词)


• whereupon [,weərə´pɔn] ad.在什么上面；因此 (英语四级单词)


• loveliness [´lʌvlinis] n.美丽，可爱 (英语四级单词)


• reappear [,ri:ə´piə] vi.再(出)现 (英语四级单词)


• staircase [´steəkeis] n.楼梯 =stairway (英语四级单词)


• blessed [´blesid] a.享福的；神圣的 (英语四级单词)


• sinister [´sinistə] a.阴险的；不吉的 (英语四级单词)


• victual [´vitl] n.食物 v.供应食物 (英语六级单词)


• sorely [´sɔ:li] ad.痛苦地；剧烈地 (英语六级单词)


• reckoning [´rekəniŋ] n.计算；算帐；估计 (英语六级单词)


• weeping [´wi:piŋ] a.&n.哭泣(的) (英语六级单词)


• practicable [´præktikəbəl] a.可实行的；适用的 (英语六级单词)


• whereon [weər´ɔn] ad.在什么上面；因此 (英语六级单词)


• millstone [´milstəun] n.磨石；重担 (英语六级单词)


• assured [ə´ʃuəd] a.确实的 n.被保险人 (英语六级单词)


• jeweler [´dʒu:ələ] n.珠宝商；宝石工人 (英语六级单词)


• pregnant [´pregnənt] a.怀孕的；含蓄的 (英语六级单词)