all of a sudden the
sky became as dark as if it had been covered with a thick cloud.
I was much astonished at this sudden darkness, but much more when
I found it occasioned by a bird of a monstrous size, that came
flying toward me. I remembered that I had often heard mariners
speak of a miraculous bird called Roc, and conceived that the
great dome which I so much admired must be its egg. In short, the
bird alighted, and sat over the egg. As I perceived her coming, I
crept to the egg, so that I had before me one of the legs of the
bird, which was as big as the trunk of a tree. I tied myself
strongly to it with my turban, in hopes that the roc next morning
would carry me with her out of this desert island. After having
passed the night in this condition, the bird flew away as soon as
it was daylight, and carried me so high, that I could not discern
the earth; she afterwards descended with so much rapidity that I
lost my senses. But when I found myself on the ground, I speedily
untied the knot, and had scarcely done so, when the roc, having
taken up a serpent of a monstrous length in her bill, flew away.

The spot where it left me was encompassed on all sides by
mountains, that seemed to reach above the clouds, and so steep
that there was no possibility of getting out of the valley. This
was a new perplexity: so that when I compared this place with the
desert island from which the roc had brought me, I found that I
had gained nothing by the change.

As I walked through this valley, I perceived it was strewed with
diamonds, some of which were of a surprising bigness. I took
pleasure in looking upon them; but shortly saw at a distance such
objects as greatly diminished my satisfaction, and which I could
not view without terror, namely, a great number of serpents, so
monstrous, that the least of them was capable of swallowing an
elephant. They retired in the day-time to their dens, where they
hid themselves from the roc their enemy, and came out only in the
night.

I spent the day in walking about in the valley, resting myself at
times in such places as I thought most convenient. When night
came on, I went into a cave, where I thought I might repose in
safety. I secured the entrance, which was low and narrow, with a
great stone to preserve me from the serpents; but not so far as
to exclude the light. I supped on part of my provisions, but the
serpents, which began hissing round me, put me into such extreme
fear, that y