Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sindbad, Part A

Sindbad: First Voyage

Story Source: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford (1898).

My first thought of this story is the fact the it is written in first person which is very different than what I have been reading in the past. A little background information is that the sailor Sindbad is telling all of these stories to another guy named Sindbad that he has no relation to or does not have anything in common.

The First Voyage is about the sailor Sindbad's first voyage. Sindbad inherited his wealth from his parents even thought he was very foolish as a child. At first, the riches made him find reckless pleasure and he handled the money poorly. However, he began to think on what he could really do with the riches and he decided to sell all of his household goods. He joined a company of merchants who were traders by sea and embarked on a ship with them. They set sail out towards the East Indies through the Persian Gulf. At first, Sindbad was very bothered by the motion of the ship and often got sea-sick, but soon he became used to the motion of the ocean. As the trip continued the merchants and Sindbad landed at a variety of islands where they spent their time trading and selling merchandise. One day, the wind changed directions, and the ship sailed very close to a small island with a huge green meadow. The captain allowed Sindbad and the merchants to get off and explore the island if they pleased. In an instance, the island began to suddenly move and the merchants and Sindbad realized they were actually sitting on a whale! Sinbad was thrown off the whale and into the ocean and clung to a piece of wood to keep him afloat. He floated all day just clinging to the piece of wood that was the only thing keeping him alive. He eventually floated up to an island and climbed up a cliff. He was laying there disoriented when he heard voices. One of the grooms of Mirage, the king of the island, had found him and taken him back to the cave in which they were staying in. Sinbad was very lucky because the people of the island were only on that part of the island for one day feeding the masters horses. Soon they would head back to the other part of the island where they lived.

Sindbad: The First Voyage (cont.)

Story Source: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford (1898).

I decided to also take notes about the continued version of the story because I think this will be a good story I can use in the future and I want to have all of the details behind it.

The next morning Sindbad set out with the grooms to reach the capital. He was graciously received by the kind and others of the town. He was taken care of and given anything he needed. During this time Sindbad was trying to find men of his own profession, merchant, so that he could maybe find his way back home at some point or another. He also spent a lot of time exploring a little island named Cassel. The island of Cassel was supposivley inhabited by a spirit called Deggial but during Singbad's trips over to the island he saw nothing unusual. One day Sindbad saw that a merchant boat was tied to the shore and he seemed to recognize this boat. He went down and sure enough this was the same boat in which Singbad began his journey on. He told the captain it was him, however, the captain did not believe him at first. After explaining the whole story, the captain rejoiced that Singbad was still alive. Sinbad prepared a gift for King Mihrage and exchanged merchandise and then headed home. When we arrived home he was treated with so much joy. He bought land and slaves and built a big house for him and his family and he was very very happy.


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