“Now I was able to give the King a handsome present, and after I had traded with my goods for sandal-wood, nutmegs, ginger, pepper and cloves, I set sail once more with the kind old captain.  On the way home I was able to sell all my spices at a good price, so that when I landed I found I had a hundred thousand sequins.

“My family were delighted to see me again, and I soon bought some land and built a splendid house, in which I meant to live happily and forget all the troubles through which I had passed.”

Here Sindbad ended the story of his first voyage.  He ordered the music to strike up and the feast to go on, and when it was over he gave the poor porter Hindbad a hundred gold pieces and told him to come back at the same time next evening if he wished to hear the tale of the second voyage.

Hindbad went joyfully home, and you can imagine how happy the poor family were that night.

Next evening he set out once more for Sindbad’s house, dressed in his best clothes.  There he enjoyed a splendid supper as before, and when it was over Sindbad said: 

“I was very happy for some time at home, but before long I began to grow weary of leading an idle life.  I longed to be upon the sea again, to feel the good ship bounding over the waves, and to hear the wind whistling through the rigging.

“So I set to work at once and bought all kinds of goods that I might sell again in foreign lands, and then, having found a suitable ship, I set sail with other merchants, and so began my second voyage.

“We stopped at many places, and sold our goods at a great profit, and all went well until one day when we landed on a new island.  It was a most beautiful place, fair as the garden of Eden, where exquisite flowers made a perfect rainbow of color and delicious fruits hung in ripe clusters above.

“Here, under the shadow of the tree, I sat down to rest and to feast my eyes upon all the loveliness around.  I ate the food I had brought with me, drank my wine, and then closed my eyes.  The soft music of the stream which flowed close by was like a song in my ears, and, before I knew what I was doing, I fell asleep.

“I cannot tell how long I slept, but when at last I opened my eyes, I could not see my companions anywhere, and when I looked towards the sea, to my horror I found the ship was gone.  It was sailing away, a white speck in the distance, and here was I, left alone upon this desert island.  I cried aloud and wrung my hands with grief, and wished with all my heart that I had stayed safely at home.  But what was the use of wishing that now?

“So I climbed into a high tree, and looked around to see if I could by any means find a way of escape from the island.  First I looked towards the sea, but there was no hope for me there, and then I turned and looked inland.  The first thing that caught my eye was a huge white dome, that seemed to rise from the center of the island, unlike anything I had ever seen before.