“I was born into a rich family,” began Sindbad, “But I was a very stupid fellow and wasted the wealth that I had inherited completely.” The adventure story of his first voyage ran as follows:
Sindbad sold what was left of his property and used the money to buy up some goods. Then he joined a group of merchants who had a ship and were going to sail to the East Indies through the Persian Gulf. They went from Baghdad to the port of Balsora from where they set sail. On the way they stopped to sell their goods at various ports and towns.
One day, they stopped at an island that was full of lush greenery and some of them decided to rest awhile. They lit a fire. Suddenly, they saw their companions shouting and waving to them and signalling from the ship, but were too far away to hear what they were saying.
Their shipmates were trying to tell them that the island on which they sat was actually a huge whale! Before they could understand, the whale heaved and they were thrown off its back into the sea, scattering wildly.
Sindbad grabbed one of the large pieces of wood that had been used for the fire as he slid off the back of the whale. The whale dived into the sea and Sindbad hung on to the wood as he drifted off. He was unaware of what happened to his companions.
Floating and drifting, he was exhausted by the time he reached an island. It had high cliffs that were very steep. Looking around, he found tree roots growing out of its sides and realised that he could clutch them and climb up to a grassy patch at the top.
With great effort he reached the top. Exhausted, he fell asleep there. The bright noon sun awoke him finally. He looked around and found some herbs that he ate hungrily and drank some fresh water he found at a spring near by.
Then he set off to explore. Hearing some voices coming from below the ground, he followed them and came upon a man. The man told him that he and his friends were grooms who had brought the horses of Mihrage, King of the island, to graze at the island. They came there every year and were to return the next day to their master.
The men took Sindbad along with them to the city and presented him to the King. The King welcomed Sindbad courteously and was very hospitable.
Soon Sindbad was telling him all about his adventure. The King was very interested and gave Sindbad a place to stay. He met other merchants in the city and was keen to find out how he could return to his own land.
Meanwhile, he explored the kingdom. He found a wonderful island named Cassel which had a genie named Deggial guarding it! He found strange fish that he had never seen before in his life, even some with faces like owls!
One day, he saw a ship in the harbour and a merchant who was directing some cargo to be carried to the shore. Sindbad recognised the merchant. He was the captain of the ship he had sailed in! And when he looked at the cargo, he found that it contained the goods he had carried!
The captain was delighted to see him alive and well. Sindbad told him about all his adventures and the captain in turn told him how sad they had been, thinking he had died at sea. He happily and without any hesitation gave all his goods back to Sindbad.
Sindbad did a lot of brisk business and then returned to his land a rich man. He built the fabulous mansion and lived there with his family and servants.
Sindbad gave Hindbad a gift of a hundred sequins and asked him to come the next day to hear more of his stories if he wished.
