After my first visit, I had decided to spend my remaining years in peace in Baghdad, but one day I began to get bored of that monotonous life and again felt like sailing. I bought goods to sell or exchange and went with other traders. We board a good ship, ask for God’s protection and set sail.
We went from island to island doing very profitable trade. One day we stopped at a small island. While my companions were gathering flowers and fruits, I sat by a stream, ate food and then slept.
When I woke up, I saw that our ship had left me alone in that unknown place! I thought I would die of pain and despair, deeply regretting not being satisfied with my first trip. Ultimately, I accepted God’s will and climbed a big tree to see if I could see anything that could give me hope of salvation.
Looking towards the sea, my eyes saw only water and sky. But suddenly I saw something white on the ground and decided to go near it. I got down from the tree and walked towards him.
When I reached a certain distance I saw that it was a globe whose height and diameter were astonishing. I looked for a way to get there, but there was no way. I thought about climbing that globe, but it was too smooth.
The sun was already setting on the horizon, when suddenly there was darkness, as if a huge cloud had covered its light. I was even more surprised when I discovered the reason for the sudden darkness: a huge bird was flying towards me! I remembered that sailors used to talk about a bird whose name was Rukh. Then I understood that the white globe was the egg of that bird.
I was in a valley surrounded by very high mountains. Walking around, I noticed there were diamonds everywhere, some surprisingly large. There was not much time to be happy with those stones, when suddenly I saw monstrous creatures: huge snakes, capable of swallowing an elephant. To try to escape the Rukhs, they would hide in caves during the day and only come out at night.
I continued walking in the valley until evening. So I hid in a cave which seemed safe to me. To avoid the snakes, I closed the entrance with a stone and from there I heard a terrible whistling sound coming from outside. Scared, I spent a not very pleasant night.
When morning came the snakes went away. I came out of the cave trembling with fear and walked among the diamonds and did not feel the slightest desire to pick them up. I was not able to close my eyes inside the cave, and so, feeling very sleepy, I fell asleep after eating a little. But suddenly something fell near me and woke me up.
It was a big piece of meat. I immediately saw other pieces falling from the rocks at various places in the valley.
“So what the sailors told me was true!” I thought. That valley was a real rock; It was impossible to get down into it. To be able to catch some diamonds, sailors waited for the time when the eagles would give birth.
The eagles at that place were very big and powerful. The sailors threw huge pieces of meat which fell on the tips of the diamonds and got stuck in them. The eagles took the pieces of meat to their nests among the rocks to feed their children. The traders ran to the nests, scared the birds with their screams and picked up the diamonds stuck in the meat.
Then the thought came to my mind to run away from that rock and save my life. I filled my leather bag with the largest diamonds I could find, then I took a very large piece of meat and tied myself very tightly to it with my turban. I lay down on my stomach and tied the bag around my waist.
I had just finished when the eagles arrived. Each took a piece of meat. One of the strongest grabbed the piece I was on and I went there, lifted into the air until I reached the top of the mountain, inside her nest.
Then the traders started scaring the birds with their screams. After they ran away, one of them approached the nest I was in and when he saw me, he got scared.
Then, calming down, he accused me of stealing his diamonds. But I answered him:
do not be rude. I have diamonds for both of us, and more than all the other merchants can get. I personally selected the best stones, which I keep in my bag.
Saying this he showed the diamonds to the man. Other people surrounded me, they were amazed at my story of how I managed to save my life. They took me to the camp where they were and after seeing my diamonds they said that they had never seen the like of them, not even in the courts of the richest and most powerful kings. I urged the merchant who had found me:
Please take as many diamonds as you want!
No, he replied, I am content with just choosing one of the stones: it is so precious that it is enough to support me all my life.
Happy to have escaped so many dangers, I spent the night with those traders; I could hardly believe that there was nothing left to fear. We remained on the island for several days and, when everyone seemed pleased with the diamonds they had received, we left. We passed through very high mountains and finally reached the island of Roha, where the tree from which camphor is extracted grows.
On this island there are animals called rhinos which fight with elephants. The rhinoceros tears the elephant’s stomach with its horn, picks it up and places it on its head.
The elephant’s fat and blood falls into the rhinoceros’s eyes and blinds him. The animal falls to the ground and then Rukh appears and takes both of them to his nest to feed the babies in his claws.
On that island I exchanged some of my diamonds for fine goods. After this, we visited other islands until we reached the port of Basra, from where I headed towards Baghdad. As soon as I arrived, I gave a lot of alms to the poor and lived a decent life with the help of the immense wealth acquired through so much hard work.
Sinbad finished his story and over the following days he told other adventures to his guests; Coolie Hindbad was always present among them, who was enthralled by those stories and forgot his sorrow.
When he finished telling everything he had gone through in his busy life, Sinbad said to Hindbad:
So, my dear friend, have you ever heard of anyone who has suffered more than I have? Don’t I deserve a good, peaceful life after what I’ve been through?
In response Hindabad kissed Sinbad’s hand and said:
After going through such terrible situations you not only deserve a peaceful life but also all the benefits that are possible to imagine, because you use your money well and are very generous. Be happy till the end of your days!
Sinbad considered the porter a friend and gave him a hundred coins. Then he asked him to leave his profession and come to the palace and dine with him every day.
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