When I had finished the recital of this story to the genie, the murderer of the princess of the isle of Ebene, I made an application of it to himself:  “O genie!” said I, “this bountiful sultan was not satisfied with merely overlooking the design of the envious man to take away his life, but also treated him kindly, and sent him back loaded with the favours I have enumerated.”  In short, I employed all my eloquence to persuade him to imitate so good an example, and to grant me pardon; but it was impossible to move his compassion.

“All that I can do for thee,” said he, “is, to grant thee thy life; but do not flatter thyself that I will allow thee to return safe and well; I must let thee feel what I am able to do by my enchantments.”  So saying, he seized me violently, and carried me through the arched roof of the subterraneous palace, which opened to give him passage; he ascended with me into the air to such a height, that the earth appeared like a little white cloud; he then descended again like lightning, and alighted upon the summit of a mountain.

Here he took up a handful of earth, and pronouncing, or rather muttering, some words which I did not understand, threw it upon me.  “Quit,” said he, “the form of a man, and take that of an ape.”  He instantly disappeared, and left me alone, transformed into an ape, and overwhelmed with sorrow in a strange country, not knowing whether I was near or far from my father’s dominions.

I descended the mountain, and entered a plain level country, which took me a month to travel over, and then I came to the sea-side.  It happened at the time to be perfectly calm, and I espied a vessel about half a league from the shore:  unwilling to lose so good an opportunity, I broke off a large branch from a tree, carried it into the sea, and placed myself astride upon it, with a stick in each hand to serve me for oars.

I launched out in this posture, and rowed towards the ship.  When I had approached sufficiently near to be seen, I exhibited to the seamen and passengers on the deck an extraordinary spectacle, and all of them regarded me with astonishment.  In the meantime I got on board, and laying hold of a rope, jumped upon the deck, but having lost my speech I found myself in great perplexity:  and indeed the risk I ran was not less than when I was at the mercy of the genie.

The merchants, being both superstitious and scrupulous, thought if they received me on board I should be the occasion of some misfortune to them during their voyage.  On this account one of them said, “I will destroy him with a blow of this handspike;” another, “I will shoot an arrow through his body;” and a third, “Let us throw him into the sea.”  Some one of them would not have failed to carry his threat into execution had I not gone to the captain, thrown myself at his feet, and taken hold of his skirt in a supplicating posture.  This action, together with the tears which he saw gush from my eyes, moved his compassion.  He took me under his protection, threatened to be revenged on any one that would do me the least hurt, and loaded me with a thousand caresses.  On my part, though I had not power to speak, I showed by my gestures every mark of gratitude in my power.