yearned after traffic and lucre and emolument, for that the human
heart is naturally prone to evil. So making up my mind I laid in
great plenty of goods suitable for a sea-voyage and repairing to
Bassorah, went down to the shore and found there a fine ship
ready to sail, with a full crew and a numerous company of
merchants, men of worth and substance; faith, piety and
consideration. I embarked with them and we set sail on the
blessing of Allah Almighty and on His aidance and His favour to
bring our voyage to a safe and prosperous issue and already we
congratulated one another on our good fortune and boon voyage. We
fared on from sea to sea and from island to island and city to
city, in all delight and contentment, buying and selling wherever
we touched, and taking our solace and our pleasure, till one day
when, as we sailed athwart the dashing sea, swollen with clashing
billows, behold, the master (who stood on the gunwale examining
the ocean in all directions) cried out with a great cry, and
buffeted his face and pluckt out his beard and rent his raiment,
and bade furl the sail and cast the anchors. So we said to him,
"O Rais, what is the matter?" "Know, O my brethren (Allah
preserve you!), that the wind hath gotten the better of us and
hath driven us out of our course into mid-ocean, and destiny, for
our ill luck, hath brought us to the Mountain of the Zughb, a
hairy folk like apes,[FN#26] among whom no man ever fell and came
forth alive; and my heart presageth that we all be dead men."
Hardly had the master made an end of his speech when the apes
were upon us. They surrounded the ship on all sides swarming like
locusts and crowding the shore. They were the most frightful of
wild creatures, covered with black hair like felt, foul of favour
and small of stature, being but four spans high, yellow-eyed and
black-faced; none knoweth their language nor what they are, and