Seriously, there are some weird fish in this story...
- I like the way that he just casually mentions some really strange things:
- Fish that were "two hundred cubits long"
- Fish that had the heads of owls
- Huge snakes that could swallow an elephant
- A valley full of diamonds.
- Camphor trees big enough to shade a hundred men.
- Fish that looked like a camel
- Fish that was "like a cow" with skin thick enough to make shields out of
- The cavern he was trapped in just happened to have diamonds and rubies and emeralds strewn about the floor
- Lots of bird riding.
The Roc |
- Honestly, Sindbad is incredibly lucky. Or he's making a lot of things up. Either way, it's a good story.
- Tells a story of how rhinoceros fight elephants, transfix them on their horns, get elephant blood in their eyes, and then get carried away by a roc. He then suggests that if the listener doesn't believe this story they should "go to Rohat and see for yourself."
- I feel like this is either him bluffing about a lie or a subtle dig at people who criticize without experience.
- He always seems to make it home a rich man.
- There is a great sense of hospitality among all the people he meets after some unfortunate accident. This is reminiscent of the Greek idea of xenia.
- Despite his fortune in always returning home with great wealth, he is never satisfied with a quiet life.
Unit: The Voyages of Sindbad
From: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments
By: Andrew Lang
Illustrator: H.J. Ford
From: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments
By: Andrew Lang
Illustrator: H.J. Ford
Photo Credits:
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