Long ago, in the city of Baghdad, lived a brave sailor named Sindbad. Once, on a voyage, his ship was wrecked by a couple of huge birds. Sindbad saved himself by holding onto a piece of wood and floating with the help of the tides. He finally reached an island.
Fortunately, Sindbad found some fruits and fresh water on the island. After resting for a while, Sindbad decided to explore the place. To his surprise, he saw an old man sitting near a stream of water. The old man looked weak and fragile. Sindbad asked, “How did you come to this island?”
But the old man made only signs to tell that he wanted Sindbad to carry him across the stream, so that he might eat some fruits and drink fresh water.
Pitying the old man, Sindbad carried him across the stream. But instead of getting down, the old man clasped his arms and legs firmly around Sindbad’s neck. Sindbad screamed in pain, “Let go of my neck; you are terribly strangling me.”
But the old man’s grip tightened further. Out of pain and fright, Sindbad fainted.
After regaining his consciousness, Sindbad realised that the old man was still holding onto him. He made Sindbad walk under the fruit trees and leisurely gathered as many fruits as he could. The old man continued to sit on Sindbad, refusing to leave him alone.
One day, Sindbad found a wild gourd called ‘Calabash’. After cleaning it, he squeezed it into the juice of grapes. He left it for days to ferment and found that it had turned into wine.
Sindbad enjoyed drinking the wine and said to the old man, “Drink this; it will help to forget your sorrows for a while.” Saying this, Sindbad began to sing.
The old man asked for the wine. He liked it so much that he drank all of it. Soon, he was intoxicated and fell down from Sindbad’s back and died.
Sindbad ran to the seashore and found a passing ship. He narrated his story to the captain. The captain said, “You were imprisoned by the ‘Old Man of the Sea’. Nobody could free himself from him; you are the first person who has ever escaped!”
The crew members helped Sindbad collect coconuts from the island. After collecting enough coconuts, Sindbad boarded the ship and sold the coconuts in Baghdad for rich profits.
