they saw I understood them not and made them no answer, one of
them came forward and said to me in Arabic, "Peace be with thee,
O my brother! Who art thou and whence faredst thou thither? How
camest thou into this river and what manner of land lies behind
yonder mountains, for never knew we any one make his way thence
to us?" Quoth I, "And upon thee be peace and the ruth of Allah
and his blessing! Who are ye and what country is this?" "O my
brother," answered he, "we are husbandmen and tillers of the
soil, who came out to water our fields and plantations; and,
finding thee asleep on this raft, laid hold of it and made it
fast by us, against thou shouldst awake at thy leisure. So tell
us how thou camest hither?" I answered, "For Allah's sake, O my
lord, ere I speak give me somewhat to eat, for I am starving, and
after ask me what thou wilt." So he hastened to fetch me food and
I ate my fill, till I was refreshed and my fear was calmed by a
good belly-full and my life returned to me. Then I rendered
thanks to the Most High for mercies great and small, glad to be
out of the river and rejoicing to be amongst them, and I told
them all my adventures from first to last, especially my troubles
in the narrow channel.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-second Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued:--When I landed and found myself amongst the
Indians and Abyssinians and had taken some rest, they consulted
among themselves and said to one another, "There is no help for
it but we carry him with us and present him to our King, that he
may acquaint him with his adventures." So they took me, together