“My family and friends pleaded with me not to travel into danger again,” said Sindbad, “But after one year I was very eager to travel again! This time I took an overland route all the way to a port in India from where I began my voyage by ship.” The story of his sixth voyage ran as follows:
Sindbad and his companions travelled safely all the way as they had planned and did brisk trade along the way. The ship sailed from an Indian port and things went well till they hit stormy weather. The storm carried their ship off its course and none of us had any idea where they were.
The Captain was worried that they were travelling through the most dangerous part of the sea and the current was sweeping them along to their destruction. They were swept to the foot of a mountain that rose steeply out of the sea and their ship was dashed to pieces.
The sailors had lost all their possessions and scrambled on to the shore. They were glad that they were alive. Looking around they saw the wrecks of hundreds of ships and the bones of dead mariners all around them. Even their old merchandise lay scattered, rotting on the shore. It seemed as if no one had ever returned safely from this shore!
Sindbad was a very observant man and that had helped to save him from many dangerous situations. He saw that a river was flowing near the shore, but it did not flow into the sea as rivers normally do. Instead, it flowed into an archway in the rocks. He explored the opening and found that the walls of the cavern were covered with diamonds, rubies and crystals. Big diamonds were lying on the river banks. There was a little food, so the Captain shared it out equally among the sailors. The food, however, was soon finished and one by one some of the sailors died of starvation.
Sindbad thought, ‘I too will surely die. So what is the harm if I take risk now? I can try to sail down the river and see where it goes.’
He made a raft out of the planks and driftwood lying around. Then, collecting as many precious stones from the walls of the cavern as he could carry, he made packets which he hoped he would carry home if he survived. Then getting on to his raft with the little food that he had left and the packets of precious stones, he floated down the river.
The raft went swiftly with the current. It was dark and there was only the sound of the rushing water. Sometimes the channel became so narrow that Sindbad had to duck down. For many days and nights he floated along like this. He ate very little and slept when he was exhausted.
When he awoke, he was surprised to see that the raft was tied to the river bank and dark faces clustered around him! They seemed friendly and eager to talk but they spoke a language he could not understand. Sindbad was thoroughly bewildered because he had just woken up and couldn’t understand a word that all the men were saying to him. When they bowed to him, he saluted them, saying a few words in Arabic. Luckily, one of the men understood him.
He explained, “We saw you floating on the raft and brought you here.”
Sindbad asked for some food and told the man what had happened to him. The man told his friends. They got a horse and, seating Sindbad on it, they led him to the King of the Indies in the city of Serendib. Some of the men hoisted the raft on their shoulders and carried it along too.
“I am Sindbad, the sailor,” said he, introducing himself.
The King was very courteous and hospitable. Sindbad told the story of his experiences to the King. His raft was brought into the palace to be shown to the King too. The King was so impressed that he asked that the story be written down in letters of gold and displayed as part of the history of the kingdom.
Sindbad was shown the King’s treasury and he was dazzled. He had never seen anything like it in his entire life. But when the King asked him to take whatever he liked, Sindbad refused politely. This further impressed the King and he presented many valuable gifts to Sindbad.
Sindbad found the kingdom beautiful. It had equally long days and nights. There was a lovely valley on the highest mountain in the world. Precious gems were found in abundance. There were rare plants, cocoa and cedar trees. The sea-shore was full of pearls and the valleys had diamonds! The King rode on a royal elephant and he personally meted out justice to his people.
The gracious King sent Sindbad in a special ship with a very courteous message for the Caliph. In addition, he sent rich gifts for the Caliph too. These included a vase made up of gold and rubies, a snake’s skin that had the marvellous capacity to protect anyone who slept on it from illness; aloeswood, camphor, pistachio nuts and slaves.
Sindbad journeyed to Baghdad in great comfort and went straight to the Caliph’s palace. He presented the gifts sent by the King of the Indies to the Caliph, who was touched. He was also deeply impressed by the description given by Sindbad of the grandeur of the King and his kingdom. He heard too the dangers Sindbad had faced and the adventures he had undergone. He too gave Sindbad many gifts and treated him with great courtesy.
Sindbad returned home rich and contented. He feasted with his family and friends who were very happy to see him safely back. Sindbad told the whole story of his sixth voyage to his guests. At the end of that day, he gave a hundred gold sequins to Hindbad before seeing him off.
