Antoine Galland

“ At this the pilot changed colour and, throwing his turban on the deck with one hand, and beating his breast with the other, cried, 'Oh, sir, we are all lost; not one of us will escape; and with all my skill it is not in my power to prevent it.' Having spoken thus, he fell a-crying like a man who foresaw unavoidable ruin: his despair put the whole ship's crew in fear. I asked him the reason. He told me that the tempest, which we had outlived, had brought us so far out of our course that to-morrow about noon we should come near to the black place, which was nothing else than the black mountain. ”

“ The history of each of us is so full of extraordinary adventures that a large volume would not contain them. But we must explain ourselves no further.'
When the gentlemen had ended, I wrapt myself in the sheep's skin, and held fast the knife which was given me; and after the young gentlemen had taken the trouble to sew the skin about me, they retired into the hall, and left me on the spot. The roc they spoke of was not long in coming; he fell upon me, took me in his talons like a sheep, and carried me up to the top of the mountain. ”

“ I then began to mount the steps, which were so narrow, rugged, and hard to get up that, had the wind blown ever so little, it would have thrown me down into the sea. But at last I got up to the top without any accident.
I passed the night under the dome; and in my sleep a grave old man appeared to me, and said, 'Hearken, Agib; as soon as thou art awake, dig up the ground under thy feet: thou shalt find a bow of brass, and three arrows of lead, that are made under certain constellations, to deliver mankind from the many calamities that threaten them. ”

“ This city is situated on the sea coast; it has one of the finest and safest harbours in the world, an arsenal capable of fitting out for sea one hundred and fifty men of war that are always ready, and fifty merchantmen, besides light frigates and pleasure-boats. My kingdom consists of several fine provinces upon the mainland, and a number of spacious islands, every one of which lies almost in sight of my capital. ”

“ Before we depart we will leave you the keys of everything, especially those belonging to the hundred doors, where you will find enough to satisfy your curiosity, and to sweeten your solitude during our absence; but for your own welfare we recommend you to forbear opening the golden door, for if you do we shall never see you again, and the fear of this increases our grief. We hope, nevertheless, that you will follow the advice we give you, as you value your own peace and the happiness of your life ”

“ But let not that frighten you; he will come down again, and lay you on the top of a mountain. When you find yourself upon the ground, cut the skin with the knife, and throw it off. As soon as the roc sees you, he will fly away in fear, and leave you at liberty: do not stay, but walk on till you come to a prodigiously large castle, covered with plates of gold, large emeralds, and other precious stones. Go up to the gate, which always stands open, and walk in. We were in the castle as long as we have been here ”

“ It may happen that we shall never see you again; but if you are so minded, and possess sufficient self-control, it is not impossible for us to meet.'
'Ladies,' said I, 'I understand not your meaning; pray explain yourselves more clearly.'
'Then,' said one of them, 'we must tell you that we are all princesses, daughters of kings; we live here together, as you have seen. But at the end of every year we are obliged to be absent forty days upon indispensable duties, which we are not permitted to reveal, and afterwards we return again to this castle. ”

“ I had scarcely done when, casting my eyes upon the sea towards the mainland, I perceived the vessel coming to fetch the young man home. I began then to consider what I had better do. I said to myself, 'If I am seen by the old man, he will certainly lay hold of me, and perhaps cause me to be massacred by his slaves, when he has seen that his son is killed: all that I can allege to justify myself will not persuade him of my innocence. ”

“ The roses, jessamines, violets, daffodils, hyacinths, anemones, tulips, crowsfoots, pinks, lilies, and an infinite number of flowers which do not grow in other places except at certain times, were there flourishing all at once, and nothing could be more delicious than the fragrant scent of this garden. ”

“ Sir, the tradition is that this statue is the chief reason why so many ships and men have been lost and sunk in this place, and that it will ever continue to be fatal to all who have the misfortune to come near to it, until it is thrown down.'
The pilot, having ended his explanation, began to weep afresh, and all the rest of the ship's company did the like. ”

“ Then I began to remember the predictions of the ten young gentlemen. The horse flew out of sight. I got up very much troubled at the misfortune I had brought upon myself; I walked upon the terrace, covering my eye with one of my hands, for it pained me exceedingly, and then came down and entered into a hall, which I knew immediately by the ten sofas in a circle, and the eleventh in the middle, lower than the rest, to be in the same castle from whence I had been taken away by the roc. ”

“ Just then I saw a vessel coming from the mainland, before the wind, direct to the island, I doubted not that they were coming to anchor there, and being uncertain what sort of people they might be, whether friends or foes, I thought it not safe for me to be seen, so I got up into a very thick tree, from whence I might safely look at them. The vessel came into a little creek. Ten slaves landed, carrying a spade and other instruments for digging. ”

“ We passed that day in conversation on indifferent subjects; and when night was come and every man had finished his supper, the old man brought in the blue basins, and the young gentlemen bedaubed their faces, wept and beat themselves, crying, 'This is the fruit of our idleness and wickedness,' as before, and continued the same actions the following night. At last, not being able to resist my curiosity, I earnestly prayed them to satisfy me, or to show me how to return to my own kingdom ”

“ The young lad was startled at the sight of me, but to rid him of his fear I said as I came in, 'Whoever you are, sir, do not fear anything: a king, and the son of a king, as I am, is not capable of doing you any harm. ”

“ The old man and his slaves landed immediately, and advanced towards the subterranean dwelling, with a countenance that showed some hope; but when they saw that the earth had been newly removed, they changed colour, particularly the old man. They lifted up the stone and went down; they called the young man by his name, but as he did not answer, their fears increased. They went down to seek him, and at length, found him lying upon the bed with the knife in his heart, for I had not power to draw it out. ”

“ Then the slaves brought up his son's corpse, dressed in his best apparel; they made a grave, and put him into it. The old man, supported by two slaves, and his face wet with tears, threw the first earth upon him, after which the slaves filled up the grave.
This being done, all the furniture was brought up from underground, and, with the remaining provisions, put on board the vessel. The old man, overcome with sorrow, and not being able to stand, was laid upon a sort of litter, and carried to the ship, which stood out to sea, and in a short time was out of sight. ”

“ In the meantime every one began to provide for his own safety, and took all imaginable precautions, and all made one another their heirs, by virtue of a will, for the benefit of those that should happen to be saved. ”

“ We had time enough to contract a friendship. I found the boy loved me; and for my part, I had so great a respect for him that I often said to myself, 'Those astrologers who predicted to his father that his son should die by my hand were impostors ”

“ They all went down at the trapdoor. When they came up again they let down the trap-door, and covered it over with earth, and returned to the creek where the ship lay. But I saw not the young man in their company; this made me believe that he remained behind in that place underground, at which I could not but be extremely astonished.
The old man and the slaves went aboard again, and the vessel being got under sail, steered its course towards the mainland. ”