7. The Adventures of Sinbad the sailor - 001.

Chapter 1.

Sinbad's first voyage.

Long ago, in the city of Baghdad, Sinbad lived with his father, a rich merchant. When the merchant died, he left Sinbad his whole fortune. 

Sinbad was so rich, he didn't need to work. Instead, he spent his money on fine cloths and wild parties. 

One day, he was shocked to find his purse empty. "I can't believe I've spent my fortune!" he said to himself.

He decide to follow in his father's footsteps and sell things for a living. First, he sold his house. Then he bought some expensive silks and spices and went down to the port.

A group of merchants were busy loading the ship. They invited Sinbad to join them and he jumped on board.

After a week at sea, they dropped and anchor by a sandy island. They were cooking supper over a fire, when the ground began to tremble.

"We're on a whale!" cried the captain and swam to the ship. 

The others were flung into the sea as the whale flipped its tail and dived underwater.

Many men drowned, but Sinbad was lucky. He clung on to a wooden chest and floated through the night. At dawn, he landed on the shore of a distant island.

A man on horseback spotted Sinbad and took him to see his ruler, King Mahrajan.

Sinbad told the king about the whale. "Now I'm stranded far from home," he sighed.

"Work for me and I'll look after you," said the king.

One day, Sinbad was on duty at the port, when a captain came up to him.

"Sir, where can I sell these silks and spices?" he asked.

Sinbad was amazed. "I had some silk like that..." he said.

"Well, these silks belonged to a merchant called Sinbad," said the captain.

"I am Sinbad," cried Sinbad.

The captain gave Sinbad his silks and spices. After selling them at an excellent price, Sinbad joined the captain's ship and set sail for Baghdad.

Chapter 2.

Itchy feet

At first, Sinbad was delighted to be home. But soon he had itchy feet. He wanted to visit new places. So he bought more silks and spices to trade.

A friendly captain welcomed him on board his ship and they headed for the high seas.

One day, they stopped at a deserted island to collect fresh water. Sinbad sat down in a shady spot and fell asleep.

An hour later, he woke in a panic. The ship had set sail without him. He was stranded.

Sinbad climbed a tree and looked over the island. All he could see was one huge, white egg. As Sinbad watched, a gigantic bird flew onto the egg and settled down to sleep.

Sinbad knew the roc bird was very strong. Maybe it could rescue him. He unwound his turban, crept up to the bird and tied himself to its leg.

When the roc woke up, it stretched its giant wings and soared into the sky.

Sinbad found himself dangling high above the clouds.

Before long, the roc dived down into a deep valley.

Sinbad felt hard ground beneath his feet and quickly untied himself.

The roc caught a sheep in its claws and flew away. Sinbad stared in fear at the steep-side a valley. It was squirming with snakes, which slithered over dead sheep.

Then Sinbad noticed the ground was studded with jewels. He was stuffing some in his pockets, when he saw a vicious snake eyeing him hungrily.

Sinbad ducked down. How could he escape? Seeing the rocs circling overhead gave him an idea...

Quickly, he tied himself to a sheep and waited. In no time, a roc swooped down and grabbed the sheep in its claws. It flew out of the valley, with Sinbad trailing below.

The roc landed on a cliff. It was about to eat the sheep, when a group of men charged at the bird, scaring it away.

"Bother!" said one. "No jewels in this sheep's wool."

Then they spotted Sinbad. His escape from snake valley amazed them. In return for some jewels, they put him on a ship bound for Baghdad.