6. Sinbad the Sailor (The Sixth Voyage)

But a little time passed, and Sindbad again felt the desire to travel to foreign lands. Quickly, Sindbad prepared himself and set off for Basra. Once again, he chose a good ship, gathered a crew of sailors, and embarked on his journey.

For twenty days and twenty nights, his ship sailed, driven by a favorable wind. But on the twenty-first day, a storm arose, and heavy rain began to fall, soaking the cargo stored on the deck. The ship was tossed from side to side like a feather. Sindbad and his companions were terrified. They approached the captain and asked him:

"O captain, tell us, where are we, and how far is the land?"

The ship's captain tightened his belt, climbed up the mast, and looked around in all directions. Suddenly, he quickly descended from the mast, tore off his turban, and began to cry out loudly and weep.

"O captain, what is the matter?" asked Sindbad.

"Know this," replied the captain, "that our final hour has come. The wind has driven our ship and cast it into an unknown sea. To every ship that reaches this sea, a fish emerges from the water and swallows it whole, along with everything on it."

Before he could even finish speaking, Sindbad's ship began to rise and fall on the waves, and the travelers heard a terrible roar. Suddenly, a fish as tall as a mountain approached the ship, followed by another, even larger than the first, and then a third—so enormous that the other two seemed tiny in comparison. Sindbad stopped understanding what was happening and prepared himself for death.

The third fish opened its mouth to swallow the ship and everyone on board, but suddenly a strong wind arose, and a wave lifted the ship, carrying it forward. For a long time, the ship raced on, driven by the wind, until it finally crashed onto a rocky shore and shattered. All the sailors and merchants fell into the water and drowned. Only Sindbad managed to grab onto a rock protruding from the water near the shore and climb onto dry land.

He looked around and saw that he was on an island with many trees, birds, and flowers. For a long time, Sindbad wandered the island in search of fresh water, and finally, he saw a small stream flowing through a meadow overgrown with thick grass. Sindbad drank from the stream and ate some roots. After resting for a while, he followed the stream, which led him to a large, fast, and turbulent river. On the riverbanks grew tall, spreading trees—teak, aloe, and sandalwood.

Sindbad lay down under a tree and fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, he refreshed himself with fruits and roots, then walked to the river and stood on the bank, watching its swift current.

"This river," he said to himself, "must have a beginning and an end. If I make a small raft and float down the river, the water might carry me to some city."

He gathered thick branches and vines from under the trees, tied them together, and placed a few planks—remnants of ships that had wrecked on the shore—on top. In this way, he made an excellent raft. Sindbad pushed the raft into the river, stood on it, and set off. The current carried the raft swiftly, and soon Sindbad saw a high mountain ahead, through which the water had carved a narrow passage. Sindbad wanted to stop the raft or turn it back, but the water was stronger than he was and pulled the raft under the mountain. At first, it was still light under the mountain, but the farther the current carried the raft, the darker it became. Finally, deep darkness fell. Suddenly, Sindbad hit his head painfully on a rock. The passage became lower and narrower, and the raft scraped against the sides of the mountain. Soon, Sindbad had to kneel, then crawl on all fours: the raft barely moved forward.

"What if it stops?" Sindbad thought. "What will I do under this dark mountain?"

Sindbad didn't realize that the current was still pushing the raft forward.

He lay face down on the planks and closed his eyes—it seemed to him that the walls of the mountain were about to crush him along with his raft.

He lay like this for a long time, every moment expecting death, and finally, exhausted from fear and fatigue, he fell asleep.

When he awoke, it was light, and the raft was motionless. It was tied to a long pole stuck in the riverbed near the shore. And on the shore stood a crowd of people. They pointed at Sindbad with their fingers and spoke loudly among themselves in some incomprehensible language.

Seeing that Sindbad had awoken, the people on the shore parted, and from the crowd emerged a tall old man with a long gray beard, dressed in an expensive robe. He greeted Sindbad warmly, extending his hand, but Sindbad shook his head several times to indicate that he didn't understand and said:

"Who are you, and what is the name of your country?"

Then everyone on the shore shouted, "Arab, Arab!" and another old man, dressed even more finely than the first, approached the water's edge and said to Sindbad in clear Arabic:

"Peace be upon you, stranger! Who are you, and where have you come from? For what reason have you arrived here, and how did you find your way?"

"And who are you, and what land is this?"
- O my brother, - replied the old man, - we are peaceful farmers. We came to fetch water to irrigate our crops, and we saw you sleeping on the raft, so we caught your raft and tied it to our shore. Tell me, where are you from and why have you come to us?

- O master, - replied Sinbad, - I beg you, give me something to eat and drink, and then ask me whatever you wish.

- Come with me to my house, - said the old man.

He took Sinbad to his home, fed him, and Sinbad stayed with him for several days. Then one morning, the old man said to him:

- O my brother, would you like to come with me to the riverbank and sell your goods?

"What goods do I have?" - thought Sinbad, but he decided to go with the old man to the river anyway.

- We will take your goods to the market, - continued the old man, - and if they offer you a good price, you can sell them, and if not, you can keep them.

- Alright, - said Sinbad and followed the old man. When they arrived at the riverbank, he looked at the spot where his raft had been tied and saw that the raft was gone.

- Where is my raft, on which I came to you? - he asked the old man.

- Here, - replied the old man and pointed to a pile of sticks lying on the shore. - This is your goods, and there is nothing more valuable in our lands. Know that your raft was made of pieces of precious wood.

- But how will I return to my homeland in Baghdad if I have no raft? - said Sinbad. - No, I will not sell it.

- O my friend, - said the old man, - forget about Baghdad and your homeland. We cannot let you go. If you return to your country, you will tell people about our land, and they will come and conquer us. Do not think about leaving. Live with us and be our guest until you die, and we will sell your raft at the market, and you will get enough food to last you a lifetime.

And poor Sinbad found himself a prisoner on the island. He sold the branches from which his raft was made at the market and received many valuable goods in return. But this did not make Sinbad happy. He could only think of how to return to his homeland.

He lived in the city on the island with the old man for many days; he made many friends among the island's inhabitants. Then one day, Sinbad went out for a walk and saw that the streets of the city were deserted. He did not meet a single man - only children and women crossed his path.

Sinbad stopped a boy and asked him:

- Where have all the men who live in the city gone? Is there a war?

- No, - replied the boy, - we are not at war. Don't you know that every year, all the grown men on our island grow wings and fly away from the island? And after six days, they return, and their wings fall off.

Indeed, after six days, all the men returned, and life in the city went on as before.

Sinbad also wanted very much to fly through the air. When another eleven months had passed, Sinbad decided to ask one of his friends to take him along. But no matter how much he asked, no one agreed. Only his best friend, the coppersmith from the main city market, finally decided to grant Sinbad's request and said to him:

- At the end of this month, come to the mountain near the city gates. I will wait for you there and take you with me.

On the appointed day, Sinbad came to the mountain early in the morning. The coppersmith was already waiting for him there. Instead of arms, he had wide wings made of shining white feathers.
He ordered Sinbad to sit on his back and said:

- Now I will fly with you over lands, mountains, and seas. But remember the condition I will tell you: while we are flying, remain silent and do not utter a single word. If you open your mouth, we will both perish.

- Alright, - said Sinbad. - I will remain silent. He climbed onto the shoulders of the coppersmith, who spread his wings and soared high into the air. He flew for a long time, rising higher and higher, and the earth below seemed to Sinbad no larger than a cup thrown into the sea. And Sinbad could not restrain himself and exclaimed:

- What a marvel!

No sooner had he uttered these words than the wings of the bird-man went limp, and he began to slowly fall downward.

Fortunately for Sinbad, they were just flying over a large river at that moment. Therefore, Sinbad did not crash but only bruised himself on the water. However, the coppersmith, his companion, fared poorly. The feathers on his wings got wet, and he sank like a stone to the bottom.

Sinbad managed to swim to the shore and climb onto dry land. He took off his wet clothes, wrung them out, and looked around, unsure of where on earth he was. Suddenly, from behind a stone lying on the road, a snake crawled out, holding in its mouth a man with a long gray beard. This man waved his arms and shouted loudly:

- Help! To whoever saves me, I will give half of my wealth!

Without hesitation, Sinbad picked up a heavy stone from the ground and threw it at the snake. The stone cut the snake in half, and it released its victim from its mouth. The man ran up to Sinbad and exclaimed, weeping with joy:

- Who are you, kind stranger? Tell me your name so that my children may know who saved their father.

- My name is Sinbad the Sailor, - replied Sinbad. - And you? What is your name, and in what land are we?

- My name is Hassan the Jeweler, - replied the man. - We are in the land of Egypt, not far from the glorious city of Cairo, and this river is the Nile. Come to my house, I want to reward you for your good deed. I will give you half of my goods and money, and it is not a small amount, as I have been trading in the main market for fifty years and have long been the chief of Cairo's merchants.

Hassan the Jeweler kept his word and gave Sinbad half of his money and goods. Other jewelers also wanted to reward Sinbad for saving their chief, and Sinbad ended up with as much money and jewels as he had never had before. He bought the finest Egyptian goods, loaded all his wealth onto camels, and left Cairo for Baghdad.

After a long journey, he returned to his hometown, where they had already given up hope of seeing him alive.

Sinbad's wife and friends calculated how many years he had traveled, and it turned out to be twenty-seven years.

- Enough of traveling to foreign lands, - said Sinbad's wife. - Stay with us and do not leave again.

Everyone persuaded Sinbad so much that he finally agreed and swore an oath to travel no more. For a long time, Baghdad merchants came to him to listen to the tales of his amazing adventures, and he lived happily until death came to him.

That is all that has reached us about the travels of Sinbad the Sailor.

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6. Sinbad the Sailor (The Sixth Voyage)

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