which lay in great heaps before him.
Seeing that he looked at them with interest, I ventured to say that I
myself and all that I had were at his disposal, but he answered me
smiling:

"Nay, Sindbad. Heaven forbid that I should covet your riches; I will
rather add to them, for I desire that you shall not leave my kingdom
without some tokens of my good will." He then commanded his officers
to provide me with a suitable lodging at his expense, and sent slaves
to wait upon me and carry my raft and my bales to my new dwelling
place. You may imagine that I praised his generosity and gave him
grateful thanks, nor did I fail to present myself daily in his audience
chamber, and for the rest of my time I amused myself in seeing all that
was most worthy of attention in the city. The island of Serendib being
situated on the equinoctial line, the days and nights there are of
equal length. The chief city is placed at the end of a beautiful
valley, formed by the highest mountain in the world, which is in the
middle of the island. I had the curiosity to ascend to its very
summit, for this was the place to which Adam was banished out of
Paradise. Here are found rubies and many precious things, and rare
plants grow abundantly, with cedar trees and cocoa palms. On the
seashore and at the mouths of the rivers the divers seek for pearls,
and in some valleys diamonds are plentiful. After many days I
petitioned the king that I might return to my own country, to which he
graciously consented. Moreover, he loaded me with rich gifts, and when
I went to take leave of him he entrusted me with a royal present and a
letter to the Commander of the Faithful, our sovereign lord, saying, "I
pray you give these to the Caliph Haroun al Raschid, and assure him of
my friendship."

I accepted the charge respectfully, and soon embarked upon the vessel
which the king himself had chosen for me. The king's letter was
written in blue characters upon a rare and precious skin of yellowish
colour, and these were the words of it: "The King of the Indies, before
whom walk a thousand elephants, who lives in a palace, of which the
roof blazes with a hundred thousand rubies, and whose treasure house
contains twenty thousand diamond crowns, to the Caliph Haroun al
Raschid sends greeting. Though the offering we present to you is
unworthy of your notice, we pray you to accept it as a mark of the
esteem and friendship which we cherish for you, and of which we g