hunder. Though I had made a vow
never to leave Bagdad, I saw that I must obey. The Caliph was well
pleased, and ordered me a sum of money ample for my needs.

In a few days I departed with the letter and present, and, after a
safe voyage, reached the isle of Serendib.

"Sindbad," said the king, when I was brought before him with great
pomp, and had bowed to the earth, "you are welcome; I have many times
thought of you. I bless the day on which I see you once more."

I thanked him for his kindness, and delivered the gifts from my august
master. The Caliph's letter was as follows:--

"Greeting, in the name of the Sovereign Guide of the Right Way, from
the Servant of God, Haroun Al-Raschid, whom God hath set in the place
of viceregent to his Prophet, after his ancestors of happy memory, to
the potent and esteemed king of Serendib.

"We received your letter with joy, and send you this from our imperial
residence, the garden of superior wits. We hope when you look upon it
you will perceive our good will, and be pleased with it. Farewell."

The Caliph's present was a complete suit of cloth of gold, fifty robes
of rich stuff, a hundred of white cloth, the finest of Cairo, Suez,
and Alexandria; a vessel of agate, half a foot wide, on the bottom of
which was carved a man with one knee on the ground, who held a bow and
an arrow, ready to discharge at a lion. He sent also a rich tablet,
which, according to tradition, belonged to the great Solomon.

The king of Serendib was highly pleased. Soon I obtained leave to
depart, though not easily. Dismissed with a large present, I sailed at
once for Bagdad, but had not the good fortune to arrive there so soon
as I had hoped. God ordered it otherwise.

Three or four days after sailing, we were attacked by pirates. Some of
the crew were killed, and I, with others who did not resist, was taken
to a remote island and sold.

I fell into the hands of a rich merchant, who treated me well, and
dressed me handsomely as a slave. In a few days he asked me if I knew
any trade. I told him I was a merchant, robbed of all I possessed.
"Tell me," said he, "can you shoot with a bow?" I said it had been one
of the exercises of my youth. Then he gave me a bow and arrow, took me
behind him on an elephant, and carried me to a thick forest. Stopping
before a great tree, he said, "Climb up that, and shoot at the
elephants, of which there are many in this forest, as you see them
pass by, and if any of