But soon Sinbad got tired of sitting in one place, and he wanted to swim the seas again. He bought goods again, went to Basra and chose a large, strong ship. For two days the sailors put goods in the hold, and on the third day the captain ordered the anchor to be raised, and the ship set off, driven by a fair wind.
Sinbad saw many islands, cities and countries on this journey, and finally his ship landed on an unknown beautiful island, where clear streams flowed and thick trees grew, hung with heavy fruits.
Sinbad and his companions, merchants from Baghdad, went ashore for a walk and scattered around the island. Sinbad chose a shady place and sat down to rest under a thick apple tree. Soon he felt hungry. He took a roast chicken from his travel bag and some cakes that he had taken from the ship, and ate it, and then lay down on the grass and immediately fell asleep.
When he woke up, the sun was already low. Sinbad jumped to his feet and ran to the sea, but the ship was no longer there. He sailed away, and everyone who was on it - the captain, the merchants, and the sailors - forgot about Sinbad.
Poor Sinbad was left alone on the island. He cried bitterly and said to himself:
“If on my first trip I escaped and met people who brought me back to Baghdad, now no one will find me on this deserted island.
Until nightfall, Sinbad stood on the shore, watching to see if a ship was sailing in the distance, and when it got dark, he lay down on the ground and fell fast asleep.
In the morning, at sunrise, Sinbad woke up and went deep into the island to look for food and fresh water. From time to time he climbed the trees and looked around, but saw nothing but forest, land and water.
He felt sad and scared. Do you really have to live your whole life on this deserted island? But then, trying to cheer himself up, he said:
- What's the use of sitting and grieving! No one will save me if I don't save myself. I’ll go further and maybe I’ll get to the place where people live.
Several days passed. And then one day Sinbad climbed a tree and saw in the distance a large white dome that sparkled dazzlingly in the sun. Sinbad was very happy and thought: “This is probably the roof of the palace in which the king of this island lives. I will go to him and he will help me get to Baghdad."
Sinbad quickly descended from the tree and walked forward, not taking his eyes off the white dome. Approaching a close distance, he saw that it was not a palace, but a white ball - so huge that its top was not visible.
Sinbad walked around him, but did not see any windows or doors. He tried to climb onto the top of the ball, but the walls were so slippery and smooth that Sinbad had nothing to grab onto.
“What a miracle,” thought Sinbad. “What kind of ball is this?”
Suddenly everything around went dark. Sinbad looked up and saw that a huge bird was flying above him and its wings, like clouds, were blocking the sun. Sinbad was frightened at first, but then he remembered that the captain of his ship said that on the distant islands there lives a bird called Ruhkh, which feeds its chicks with elephants. Sinbad immediately realized that the white ball was the egg of the Rukh bird. He hid and waited to see what would happen next. The Rukh bird, circling in the air, landed on the egg, covered it with its wings and fell asleep. She didn't even notice Sinbad.
And Sinbad lay motionless near the egg and thought: “I found a way to get out of here. If only the bird didn’t wake up.”
He waited a little and, seeing that the bird was fast asleep, quickly took off the turban from his head, unwound it and tied it to the leg of the Rukh bird. She didn’t move - after all, in comparison with her, Sinbad was no more than an ant. Having become attached, Sinbad lay down on the bird's leg and said to himself:
“Tomorrow she will fly away with me and, perhaps, will take me to a country where there are people and cities. But even if I fall and break, it’s still better to die right away than to wait for death on this uninhabited island.”
Early in the morning, just before dawn, the Ruhkh bird woke up, noisily spread its wings, screamed loudly and protractedly, and soared into the air. Sinbad closed his eyes in fear and tightly grabbed the bird's leg. She rose to the very clouds and flew for a long time over the waters and lands, and Sinbad hung tied to her leg and was afraid to look down. Finally, the Rukh bird began to descend and, sitting on the ground, folded its wings. Then Sinbad quickly and carefully untied his turban, trembling for fear that Rukh would notice him and kill him. But the bird never saw Sinbad. She suddenly grabbed something long and thick from the ground with her claws and flew away. Sinbad looked after her and saw that Rukh was carrying away in his claws a huge snake, longer and thicker than the largest palm tree.
Sinbad rested a little and looked around - and it turned out that the bird Rukh had brought him to a deep and wide valley. Huge mountains stood around like a wall, so high that their peaks rested on the clouds, and there was no way out of this valley.
“I got rid of one misfortune and found myself in another, even worse one,” said Sinbad, sighing heavily. “On the island there were at least fruits and fresh water, but here there is neither water nor trees.”
Not knowing what to do, he sadly wandered around the valley, head down. Meanwhile, the sun rose over the mountains and illuminated the valley. And suddenly she all sparkled brightly. Every stone on the ground sparkled and shimmered with blue, red, yellow lights. Sinbad picked up one stone and saw that it was a precious diamond, the hardest stone in the world, which is used to drill metals and cut glass. The valley was full of diamonds, and the land in it was diamond.
And suddenly a hiss was heard from everywhere. Huge snakes crawled out from under the stones to bask in the sun. Each of these snakes was larger than the tallest tree, and if an elephant came into the valley, the snakes would probably swallow it whole.
Sinbad trembled with horror and wanted to run, but there was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Sinbad rushed in all directions and suddenly noticed a small cave. He crawled into it and found himself right in front of a huge snake, which curled up into a ball and hissed menacingly. Sinbad became even more frightened. He crawled out of the cave and pressed his back against the rock, trying not to move. He saw that there was no salvation for him.
And suddenly a large piece of meat fell right in front of him. Sinbad raised his head, but there was nothing above him except the sky and rocks. Soon another piece of meat fell from above, followed by a third. Then Sinbad realized where he was and what kind of valley it was.
Long ago, in Baghdad, he heard from a traveler a story about the Valley of Diamonds. “This valley,” said the traveler, “is located in a distant country between the mountains, and no one can get into it, because there is no road there. But the merchants who trade in diamonds came up with a trick to extract the stones. They kill a sheep, cut it into pieces and throw the meat into the valley. Diamonds stick to the meat, and at noon birds of prey - eagles and hawks - descend into the valley, grab the meat and fly up the mountain with it. Then the merchants, knocking and shouting, drive the birds away from the meat and tear off the stuck diamonds; they leave the meat for the birds and beasts.”
Sinbad remembered this story and was happy. He figured out how to save himself. He quickly collected as many large diamonds as he could carry with him, and then unraveled his turban, lay down on the ground, put a large piece of meat on himself and tied it tightly to himself. Not even a minute had passed before a mountain eagle descended into the valley, grabbed the meat with its claws and rose into the air. Having reached a high mountain, he began to peck at the meat, but suddenly loud screams and knocking were heard from behind him. The alarmed eagle abandoned its prey and flew away, and Sinbad untied his turban and stood up. The knocking and rumble was heard getting closer, and soon an old, fat, bearded man in merchant's clothes ran out from behind the trees. He beat the wooden shield with a stick and shouted at the top of his voice to drive away the eagle; Without even looking at Sinbad, the merchant rushed to the meat and examined it from all sides, but did not find a single diamond. Then he sat down on the ground, grabbed his head with his hands and exclaimed:
- What kind of misfortune is this! I had already thrown a whole bull into the valley, but the eagles took all the pieces of meat to their nests. They left only one piece and, as if on purpose, one to which not a single pebble stuck. Oh woe! O failure!
Then he saw Sinbad, who was standing next to him, covered in blood and dust, barefoot and in torn clothes. The merchant immediately stopped screaming and froze in fear. Then he raised his stick, covered himself with a shield and asked:
-Who are you and how did you get here?
- Don't be afraid of me, venerable merchant. “I will not harm you,” answered Sinbad. “I, too, was a merchant, like you, but I experienced many troubles and terrible adventures.” Help me get out of here and get to my homeland, and I will give you as many diamonds as you have ever had.
“Do you really have diamonds?” asked the merchant. “Show me.”
Sinbad showed him his stones and gave him the best ones. The merchant was delighted and thanked Sinbad for a long time, and then he called other merchants who also mined diamonds, and Sinbad told them about all his misfortunes.
The merchants congratulated him on his rescue, gave him good clothes and took him with them.
They walked for a long time through the steppes, deserts, plains and mountains, and Sinbad had to see many miracles and wonders before he reached his homeland.
On one island he saw a beast called karkadann. Karkadann looks like a large cow and has one thick horn in the middle of its head. He is so strong that he can carry a large elephant on his horn. From the sun, the elephant's fat begins to melt and floods the carcass's eyes. Karkadann goes blind and lies down on the ground. Then the bird Rukh flies to him and carries him in its claws along with the elephant to its nest. After a long journey, Sinbad finally reached Baghdad. His family greeted him with joy and organized a celebration for his return. They thought that Sinbad was dead and did not hope to see him again. Sinbad sold his diamonds and began trading again as before.
Thus ended the second voyage of Sinbad the Sailor.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru