Sinbad the Sailor

1001 Nights – Sinbad the Sailor -The fantastic adventures of a seafarer

The 1001 Nights fairy tales belong to an Arabian collection that first appeared around 900 BC. The beautiful Scheherazade told the Caliph of Baghdad these fascinating stories over 1001 nights and won the heart of the ruler this way.

Once upon a time, two men lived in Baghdad. One of them was called Sinbad the Sailor and the other one was called Sinbad the Load Carrier. One day the poor Sinbad the Load Carrier came to the house of the rich Sinbad the Sailor, who told him about his voyages.

"On a voyage I traded in all kinds of goods. One day we came to a green island where we rested. Suddenly the captain called from the ship, 'Come quickly on board! That is not an island, it is a big fish!' Hardly had he said that, the island moved and the fish dived with us into the stormy sea. I sank into the frothy waves, but was able to climb onto a large plank. I drifted in the sea all night until a wave threw me onto land. I found my ship again at the harbour and was happy to return home.

I soon bought new goods and embarked with some tradespeople. We travelled from island to island and did good business. One day the captain anchored in front of an island and everyone left the ship. I sat down by a bubbling brook and fell asleep. When I awoke the ship had left without me. I climbed up a tree and peered around, when I saw something white on the island – it was an enormous white ball. When the sun went down and the air became dark an unusually large bird flew towards me. It landed on the white ball, its egg, and sat on it. I tied myself firmly to its talons with my turban. As the sun rose the bird flew off and carried me into the clouds. When I felt the ground under my feet again, I untied myself and found that I was in a valley, the floor of which was made of diamonds. Suddenly a slaughtered animal fell down from the mountain. The diamonds got caught on the fresh meat. I then remembered an old legend. I collected the diamonds together and tied the meat onto my chest. Soon an eagle came and stuck its talons into the piece of meat I had tied to myself. It carried me onto the mountain to eat the meat, when tradespeople chased it a way with lots of noise to get to the diamonds. That is how I managed to get home again."