The tale of Sinbad the Porter
But when the ninth night had come;
After dispensing justice and listening to petitions King Shahzaman retired to his chamber to do that which he every night with Dunyazad. After satisfying his desires he turned to Dunyazad and said, ‘Now tell me the tale of Sinbad the Porter.’ Dunyazad consented and began telling the tale of Sinbad the porter.
She began:
After spending many years by Sinbad the Sailor’s side, and having served the old sailor as his major-domo faithfully and dutifully, the time soon came when the old sailor’s soul gave up his body and entered unto the peace of Allah, glory be to his name!
After the mourning period had ended, and alms were given to the widows and orphans, Sinbad the Porter decided it was time to fulfil a long desired wish in his heart which was to travel and trade as his namesake had done, to become rich in his own right and to see such sights as his master and friend had seen. Thus using the generous beneficiaries left to him by Sinbad the Sailor, Sinbad the Porter immediately began purchasing such goods as would make him a most handsome profit in far off lands. Having done this he set out for Basrah, that great port city at the mouth of those two mighty rivers in the land of Al-Irak, and found himself an excellent captain named Muhammad al-Jameel whose ship was headed for the famous isles of Ceylon and who gladly welcomed Sinbad onboard for a small fee.
Over the next few days at sea Sinbad often dined with the Captain and the other merchants onboard, all of whom found Sinbad to be a most charming and eloquent individual and praised him often as such. It was in this mood of friendship and the growing excitement of profitable trading ahead that the Captain decided to anchor his ship so that the crew and the merchants could enjoy the coolness of the ocean to combat the intense heat of the midday sun. All of the crew and the merchants, with the exception of the Captain and Sinbad both of whom preferred the cleansing waters of the hammam to the salty waters of the sea, began swimming in the ocean enjoying the coolness beneath the waves to the heat of the surface. Whilst this was going on the Captain had moved to the stern of the ship and was squinting in the distance when suddenly he proclaimed, ‘There is a ship in the distance Sinbad, but I cannot see any flag upon its mast.’ Coming to where the Captain was standing Sinbad too peered out to the horizon and watched as the ship gradually made its way to them.
‘By the mercy of Allah!’ the Captain suddenly cried.
‘What is it?’ asked Sinbad fearfully, ‘Pirates?’
‘This is a sight I thought I never would see though I have heard tales, my dear Sinbad I believe we are lost for the ship sailing towards us seems to be none other than the ship of Apes!’
‘A ship commanded by Apes? Ya’ Allah! I have heard that tale too,’ replied Sinbad who now gave up any hope and reproached himself for wasting the generous beneficiary that Sinbad the Sailor had given him on this doomed, foolish voyage when he could have used the money to live in luxury until the end of his days.
Before long the ape ship drew alongside the merchant ship. The crew and the other merchants had by now finished their swim and were all standing on deck looking onward, aghast at the hideous sight that now presented itself before their eyes.
They were the ugliest things that Sinbad had ever seen in his life, uglier than the most ugliest, hideous Ifrīt . With yellow eyes dotted with brown blemishes, black matted hair that covered every aspect of their body and with razor sharp teeth that now ground against one another in a mockery of a civilised tongue.
The apes quickly clambered aboard the merchant vessel whilst the merchants and the crew stayed still, afraid even to move an inch. As the great number of apes made their way around the ship some of them began to look at the crews belongings with interest, and others the merchants’ goods that were stowed in the bows of the ship, whilst others began examining the crew with equally great interest observing the similarities and differences between the two species, shrieking and making such a loud noise that was terrible to behold when they noticed certain things that had been bestowed more generously upon the apes than the men. When one of them came upon the first mate who, although a strong man and the best sailor on the ship bar the captain, had been unfortunate enough to have been blessed with these skills in place of a large zabb, the ape mocked him so ruthlessly that soon the man’s temper gave way and he punched the ape. As soon as this happened a great roar went up amongst them and soon the man was swamped by a horde of apes who proceeded to tear his limbs out from their sockets and squash his eyes back into his skull with their large thumbs so that soon the deck ran red with blood. Whilst the apes were momentarily distracted in this slaughter Sinbad quickly seized his chance and jumped into the sea with the other merchants and crew close behind. They soon swam away until the ships were out of sight and then, exhausted, gave themselves up to the sea.
However at that moment a great storm blew up with waves as tall as the minarets on mosques crashing down on the survivors. Some drowned whilst the rest were carried by the waves over a great distance before finally being hurtled down upon an island. Exhausted by their trials, and the horrors that they had seen, the survivors of the storm, including Sinbad among them, fell into a deep sleep.
When they awoke on the island the men beat their heads with their hands in despair at their misfortune and for their lost merchandise and ship. This continued for a while until Sinbad finally took control and said, ‘Are we to weep here all day? Come there must be food and shelter to be found here.’
‘Sinbad is right,’ replied the Captain, ‘we can find wild fruits, and perhaps even wild animals to hunt in the interior, as well as wood to build shelters from.’
The island in which they found themselves on was an extremely small island with a low and narrow cave that had a river running through it as the only source of fresh water. The interior was heavy with jungle and did indeed contain a small number of fruit trees as well as a number of wild boars, much to Sinbad and his companions delight. They soon managed to craft spears from the wood of the jungle trees with their own knives and swords that had survived the storm and used them to hunt.
This kept them largely satisfied for the next few days as they feasted every night on cooked boar, supplemented with the fruits of the trees and washed down with cold fresh water from the stream in the cave. Things continued like this until one day-
But at this Dunyazad, seeing the first rays of dawn coming through the window, fell silent.
But when the tenth night had come.....
Copyright N.R.Trussler (2011)
