Sailor

Sixth Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor

Sinbad during sixth voyage

"My soul yearned for travel and traffic". Sinbad is shipwrecked yet again, this
time quite violently as his ship is dashed to pieces on tall cliffs. There is no
food to be had anywhere, and Sinbad's companions die of starvation until only he is
left. He builds a raft and discovers a river running out of a cavern beneath the
cliffs. The stream proves to be filled with precious stones and becomes apparent
that the island's streams flow with ambergris. He falls asleep as he journeys
through the darkness and awakens in the city of the king of Serendib (Ceylon, Sri
Lanka), "diamonds are in its rivers and pearls are in its valleys". The king
marvels at what Sinbad tells him of the great Haroun al-Rashid, and asks that he
take a present back to Baghdad on his behalf, a cup carved from a single ruby, with
other gifts including a bed made from the skin of the serpent that swallowed the
elephant[a] ("and whoso sitteth upon it never sickeneth"), and "a hundred thousand
miskals of Sindh lign-aloesa", and a slave-girl "like a shining moon". And so
Sinbad returns to Baghdad, where the Caliph wonders greatly at the reports Sinbad
gives of the land of Ceylon.
Seventh and Last Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor
"The Caravan" from "Sinbad's Seventh and Last Voyage."

The ever-restless Sinbad sets sail once more, with the usual result. Cast up on a
desolate shore, he constructs a raft and floats down a nearby river to a great
city. Here the chief of the merchants weds Sinbad to his daughter, names him his
heir, and conveniently dies. The inhabitants of this city are transformed once a
month into birds, and Sinbad has one of the bird-people carry him to the uppermost
reaches of the sky, where he hears the angels glorifying God, "whereat I wondered
and exclaimed, 'Praised be God! Extolled be the perfection of God!'" But no sooner
are the words out than there comes fire from heaven which all but consumes the
bird-men. The bird-people are angry with Sinbad and set him down on a mountain-top,
where he meets two youths who are the servants of God and who give him a golden
staff; returning to the city, Sinbad learns from his wife that the bird-men are
devils, although she and her father are not of their number. And so, at his wife's
suggestion, Sinbad sells all his possessions and returns with her to Baghdad, where
at last he resolves to live quietly in the enjoyment of his wealth, and to seek no
more adventures.

Burton includes a variant of the seventh tale, in which Haroun al-Rashid asks
Sinbad to carry a return gift to the king of Serendib. Sinbad replies, "By Allah
the Omnipotent, O my lord, I have taken a loathing to wayfare, and when I hear the
words 'Voyage' or 'Travel,' my limbs tremble". He then tells the Caliph of his
misfortune-filled voyages; Haroun agrees that with such a history "thou dost only
right never even to talk of travel". Nevertheless, a command of the Caliph is not
to be negated, and Sinbad sets forth on this, his uniquely diplomatic voyage. The
king of Serendib is well pleased with the Caliph's gifts (which include, among
other things, the food tray of King Solomon) and showers Sinbad with his favour. On
the return voyage the usual catastrophe strikes: Sinbad is captured and sold into
slavery. His master sets him to shooting elephants with a bow and arrow, which he
does until the king of the elephants carries him off to the elephants' graveyard.
Sinbad's master is so pleased with the huge quantities of ivory in the graveyard
that he sets Sinbad free, and Sinbad returns to Baghdad, rich with ivory and gold.
"Here I went in to the Caliph and, after saluting him and kissing hands, informed
him of all that had befallen me; whereupon he rejoiced in my safety and thanked
Almighty Allah; and he made my story be written in letters of gold. I then entered
my house and met my family and brethren: and such is the end of the history that
happened to me during my seven voyages. Praise be to Allah, the One, the Creator,
the Maker of all things in Heaven and Earth!".
In some versions we return to the frame story, in which Sinbad the Porter may
receive a final generous gift from Sinbad the Sailor. In other versions the story
cycle ends here, and there is no further mention of Sinbad the Porter.
Sinbad in popular culture