2. Sinbad the Sailor (The Second Voyage)

But soon Sinbad grew tired of sitting in one place and wanted to sail the seas again. He bought goods once more, set off for Basra, and chose a large, sturdy ship. For two days, the sailors loaded the goods into the hold, and on the third day, the captain ordered the anchor to be raised. The ship set sail, driven by a favorable wind.

During this journey, Sinbad saw many islands, cities, and countries. Finally, his ship docked at an unknown, beautiful island where clear streams flowed and dense trees grew, heavy with fruit.

Sinbad and his companions, merchants from Baghdad, went ashore to stroll and scattered across the island. Sinbad chose a shady spot and sat down to rest under a thick apple tree. Soon, he grew hungry. He took a roasted chicken and some flatbreads from his travel bag, which he had brought from the ship, ate, and then lay down on the grass and immediately fell asleep.

When he woke up, the sun was already low. Sinbad jumped to his feet and ran to the sea, but the ship was gone. It had sailed away, and everyone on board—the captain, the merchants, and the sailors—had forgotten about Sinbad.

Poor Sinbad was left alone on the island. He wept bitterly and said to himself:

"If in my first journey I was saved and met people who brought me back to Baghdad, now no one will find me on this deserted island."

Sinbad stood on the shore until nightfall, watching to see if a ship might appear in the distance. When it grew dark, he lay down on the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

In the morning, at sunrise, Sinbad woke up and went inland to search for food and fresh water. From time to time, he climbed trees and looked around, but he saw nothing except forest, land, and water.

He grew melancholy and afraid. Would he have to spend the rest of his life on this deserted island? But then, trying to cheer himself up, he said:

"What good is it to sit and grieve! No one will save me if I don't save myself. I'll keep going, and maybe I'll reach a place where people live."

Several days passed. Then one day, Sinbad climbed a tree and saw in the distance a large white dome that sparkled dazzlingly in the sun. Sinbad was overjoyed and thought, "This must be the roof of a palace where the king of this island lives. I will go to him, and he will help me get back to Baghdad."

Sinbad quickly climbed down from the tree and walked forward, keeping his eyes on the white dome. As he approached, he saw that it was not a palace but a white sphere—so enormous that its top was not visible.

Sinbad walked around it but saw no windows or doors. He tried to climb to the top of the sphere, but the walls were so slippery and smooth that Sinbad couldn't find anything to hold onto.

"What a wonder," thought Sinbad. "What is this sphere?"

Suddenly, everything around him grew dark. Sinbad looked up and saw a huge bird flying above him, its wings like clouds blocking the sun. At first, Sinbad was frightened, but then he remembered that the captain of his ship had once told him about a bird called the Roc, which lived on distant islands and fed its young elephants. Sinbad immediately realized that the white sphere was the Roc's egg. He hid and waited to see what would happen next. The Roc, circling in the air, descended onto the egg, covered it with its wings, and fell asleep. It didn't notice Sinbad.

Sinbad lay motionless near the egg and thought, "I've found a way to escape from here. If only the bird doesn't wake up."

He waited a little longer and, seeing that the bird was fast asleep, quickly took off his turban, unwound it, and tied it to the Roc's leg. The bird didn't stir—compared to it, Sinbad was no bigger than an ant. Once tied, Sinbad lay down on the bird's leg and said to himself:

"Tomorrow it will fly away with me, and perhaps it will carry me to a land where there are people and cities. But even if I fall and die, it's still better to die quickly than to wait for death on this uninhabited island."

Early in the morning, just before dawn, the Roc woke up, noisily spread its wings, let out a loud, drawn-out cry, and soared into the air. Sinbad, terrified, closed his eyes and clung tightly to the bird's leg. It rose to the clouds and flew for a long time over waters and lands, while Sinbad hung, tied to its leg, afraid to look down. Finally, the Roc began to descend and, landing on the ground, folded its wings. Then Sinbad quickly and carefully untied the turban, trembling with fear that the Roc would notice him and kill him. But the bird never saw Sinbad. Suddenly, it grabbed something long and thick from the ground with its talons and flew away. Sinbad watched it go and saw that the Roc was carrying an enormous snake in its claws, longer and thicker than the tallest palm tree.
Sindbad rested for a while and looked around—it turned out that the bird Rukh had brought him to a deep and wide valley. Massive mountains surrounded it like a wall, so high that their peaks touched the clouds, and there was no way out of this valley.

"I escaped one misfortune only to fall into another, even worse one," said Sindbad, breathing heavily. "At least on the island, there were fruits and fresh water, but here there is neither water nor trees."

Not knowing what to do, he wandered sadly through the valley, his head lowered. Meanwhile, the sun rose over the mountains and illuminated the valley. Suddenly, the entire valley sparkled brightly. Every stone on the ground glittered and shimmered with blue, red, and yellow lights. Sindbad picked up one stone and saw that it was a precious diamond, the hardest stone in the world, used to drill through metal and cut glass. The valley was full of diamonds, and the ground itself was made of diamonds.

Suddenly, a hissing sound came from all directions. Huge snakes crawled out from under the stones to bask in the sun. Each of these snakes was taller than the tallest tree, and if an elephant had entered the valley, the snakes would likely have swallowed it whole.

Sindbad trembled with fear and wanted to run, but there was nowhere to run and no place to hide. He darted in all directions and suddenly noticed a small cave. He crawled inside and found himself face to face with a massive snake coiled up and hissing menacingly. Sindbad was even more terrified. He crawled out of the cave and pressed his back against the rock, trying not to move. He saw that there was no salvation for him.

And then, right in front of him, a large piece of meat fell. Sindbad looked up, but there was nothing above him except the sky and the rocks. Soon, another piece of meat fell from above, followed by a third. Then Sindbad realized where he was and what kind of valley this was.

Long ago in Baghdad, he had heard a traveler’s tale about the Valley of Diamonds. "This valley," the traveler had said, "is located in a distant land between mountains, and no one can reach it because there is no road. But the merchants who trade in diamonds have devised a trick to extract the stones. They kill a sheep, cut it into pieces, and throw the meat into the valley. The diamonds stick to the meat, and at noon, predatory birds—eagles and hawks—descend into the valley, grab the meat, and fly up to the mountain. Then the merchants drive the birds away with noise and shouts, and they collect the diamonds stuck to the meat, leaving the meat for the birds and beasts."

Sindbad remembered this story and rejoiced. He figured out how to save himself. Quickly, he gathered as many large diamonds as he could carry, then unwound his turban, lay on the ground, placed a large piece of meat on himself, and tied it tightly to his body. Not a minute had passed before a mountain eagle descended into the valley, grabbed the meat with its talons, and soared into the air. Reaching a high mountain, the eagle began to peck at the meat, but suddenly loud shouts and banging noises came from behind. Startled, the eagle dropped its prey and flew away, and Sindbad untied the turban and stood up. The noise and commotion grew closer, and soon an old, stout, bearded man in merchant’s clothing emerged from behind the trees. He was banging a stick against a wooden shield and shouting at the top of his lungs to scare off the eagle. Without even glancing at Sindbad, the merchant rushed to the meat and examined it from all sides, but found no diamonds. Then he sat on the ground, grabbed his head, and exclaimed:

"What misfortune! I’ve already thrown a whole ox into the valley, but the eagles carried all the pieces of meat to their nests. They left only one piece, and, as if on purpose, it’s the one without a single stone. Oh, woe! Oh, bad luck!"

Then he noticed Sindbad, who stood beside him, covered in blood and dust, barefoot, and in torn clothes. The merchant immediately stopped shouting and froze in fear. Then he raised his stick, shielded himself, and asked:

"Who are you, and how did you get here?"

"Do not fear me, honorable merchant. I mean you no harm," replied Sindbad. "I, too, was a merchant like you, but I have endured many misfortunes and terrible adventures. Help me escape from here and return to my homeland, and I will give you as many diamonds as you have never seen before."

"Do you truly have diamonds?" asked the merchant. "Show me."

Sindbad showed him the stones and gave him the finest ones. The merchant was overjoyed and thanked Sindbad profusely, then called the other merchants who were also gathering diamonds, and Sindbad told them all about his misfortunes.

The merchants congratulated him on his rescue, gave him good clothes, and took him with them.

They traveled for a long time through steppes, deserts, plains, and mountains, and Sindbad saw many wonders and marvels before he finally reached his homeland.

On one island, he saw a beast called the karkadann. The karkadann resembles a large cow, with a single thick horn in the middle of its head. It is so strong that it can carry a large elephant on its horn. The elephant’s fat melts in the sun and blinds the karkadann, which then lies down on the ground. The bird Rukh then swoops down and carries it away in its talons, along with the elephant, to its nest. After a long journey, Sindbad finally reached Baghdad. His family joyfully welcomed him and held a celebration in honor of his return. They had thought him dead and had given up hope of ever seeing him again. Sindbad sold his diamonds and resumed trading as before.

And so ended the second voyage of Sindbad the Sailor.

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2. Sinbad the Sailor (The Second Voyage)

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