d pass. In two days a ship came out of the harbor, and passed
by that part of the coast. I made a signal, and a boat took me on board.
I was obliged to say that I had been wrecked; for, had they known my
real story, I should have been carried back, as the captain was a
native of this country. We touched at several islands, and at the port
of Kela, where I found a ship ready to sail for Balsora; and having
presented some jewels to the captain who had brought me to Kela, I
sailed, and at last arrived at Bagdad.

[Illustration]

THE FIFTH VOYAGE

[Illustration]

Having forgotten my former perils, I built a ship at my own expense,
loaded it with a rich cargo, and, taking with me other merchants, once
more set sail. We were much driven about by a storm, and at length
landed upon a desert island to search for fresh water. There we found a
roc's egg, equal in size to the one I had seen before. The merchants and
sailors gathered round it, and though I advised them not to meddle with
it, they nevertheless made a hole in it with their hatchets, and picked
out the young roc, piece after piece, and roasted it. They had scarcely
finished when two of the old birds appeared in the air. We hurried on
board ship and set sail, but had not gone far before we saw the immense
birds approaching us, and soon after they hovered over the ship. One of
them let fall an enormous fragment of stone, which fell into the sea
close beside the ship, but the other let fall a piece which split our
ship. I caught hold of a bit of the wreck, on which I was borne by the
wind and tide to an island, the shore of which was very steep. I reached
the dry land, and found the most delicious fruits and excellent water,
which refreshed me. Farther in the island I saw a feeble old man sitting
near a rivulet. When I enquired of him how he came there, he only
answered by signs for me to carry him over the rivulet, that he might
eat some fruit. I took him on my back, and crossed the brook, but
instead of getting down, he clasped his legs so firmly round my throat
that I thought he would strangle me. I soon fainted with pain and
fright. When I recovered, the old fellow was still sitting on my neck,
and he quickly made me rise up and walk under the trees, while he
gathered the fruit at his ease. This lasted a long time. One day, while
carrying him about, I picked up a large gourd called a calabash, and,
having cleared out the inside, I pressed into it the juice of gr