Hindbad, the porter was excited since he was back at the home of Sindbad, the sailor, for another feast and another story. Sindbad, one of the richest men in Baghdad, came by his wealth during his voyages by sheer grit, determination and luck.

The previous days, Sindbad had told Hindbad the adventures during his first three voyages. Today, Sindbad was going to describe his fourth voyage.

This story starts a few years after the third one. Like before, Sindbad enjoyed a leisurely life for a while. It did not take long before he began yearning for some adventure. He also wanted to increase his wealth through trade.

Carrying some goods, he set sail, this time to the eastern part of the world. As they reached somewhere in the Indian Ocean, a big gush of wind destroyed the ship. The cargo was lost, and all except five men drowned. Sindbad was one of the survivors.

Sindbad, along with the other men, swam to safety to an island where they met the inhabitants of the island. They gave the men delicious food. The men dying of hunger devoured the food.

Only Sindbad was suspicious, “These men are feeding us without eating anything themselves. I wonder why? I will not eat this food since I need to keep my wits.”

The inhabitants were cannibals fattening the men up to eat them. The cannibals first ate the healthiest of them all.

Seeing this, Sindbad mused, “I should avoid eating their food as much as possible. Hopefully, they will not eat me if I look weak.”

Just as he thought, the cannibals ate all the men except Sindbad since, instead of gaining weight, Sindbad seemed to have become weaker.

Since he was not worthy of being eaten, the cannibals began to ignore Sindbad who soon escaped when they were not looking.

Escaping,Sindbad reached another part of the island where he heard some voices. He was overjoyed and thought, “I can hear men speaking his native Arabic language. Hopefully, they will help me get back home.”

When Sindbad introduced himself to the men and narrated his story, the men were very impressed. “Your experiences are quite riveting. It is a surprise you were able to escape those cannibals. Come with us to our King. He will be interested in your stories.”

They took Sindbad to their King, who instantly like him and allowed him to live in his court.

One day, the King called Sindbad and said, “Sindbad, you know how fond I am of you. I wish for you to get married to a noble lady and settle down in life.”

Sindbad replied, “As you say, your majesty.” He married a woman chosen by the King and lived a few years happily.

Unfortunately, Sindbad’s wife fell sick and died.

The King called Sindbad and said, “I am very sorry for your loss. But do not worry. You will join your wife very soon.

Sindbad asked anxiously, “I do not understand what you mean, your majesty.”

The King replied, “As per the laws of this land, when one spouse dies, the other spouse must be buried along with them.”

Sindbad was shocked. “But your majesty, this is such a barbaric rule. Do you mean to say just because my wife died, I will have to die with her?”

Insulted with the term ‘barbaric’, the King replied angrily, “Yes, you have to. The law of our land is clear, and even I have to follow it. You don’t have a choice.”

Saying this, the King ordered, “Dress up Sindbad’s wife in the best clothing and expensive jewellery and put her in a coffin. Take Sindbad along and bid him farewell.”

As commanded, the courtiers took Sindbad and threw him along with his wife’s coffin into a bottomless pit.

Before pushing Sindbad, one of them said, “Take these loaves of bread and water with you. You may survive a few days using them.

They gave Sindbad seven loaves of bread and a vessel with water to survive and pushed him into the pit.

Sindbad was scared out of his wits. “How long can I survive with just seven loaves of bread and a small vessel of water? I need to quickly escape this place. Else, I will join my wife and reach the heavens.”

He searched for a route to escape, but all he saw was gold, diamonds and precious stones everywhere buried along with the other dead people who were thrown into the pit.

Sindbad stated, “I will conserve my bread and water, eating a little at a time. Hopefully, I will soon be able to escape this place.”

After a few days, he had almost give up hope and lamented, “I have escaped death so many times, but maybe I pushed my luck too many times.”

Just then he noticed a pair of eyes in the dark. “That looks like some animal. Let me follow it. He must have come into this cave by another route searching for food.”

Thinking thus, he followed the creature and finally to his relief, found daylight.

“Thank the Lord. I have escaped that prison. Let me go in and collect some of the treasure I found in the cave. With luck, I can escape this island safe and sound.”

Sindbad went back to the cave to pick up as much of the gold and diamonds as possible and returned to the seashore.

After a couple of days, he saw a ship passing the island and flagged it using his turban. Sindbad returned to Baghdad with immense riches. He re-joined society enjoying the entertainments and celebrations and liberally contributed to helping the needy.

With this Sindbad completed the account of his fourth voyage.

Addressing Hindbad, Sindbad said, “Take these hundred gold coins home and come back tomorrow to hear about my fifth voyage.”

“I do not need more gold. The joy of listening to your adventures is more than enough,” said Hindbad.

Sindbad persisted, “Nevertheless, take these coins. I have a lot of them and you could use a few more.”

Reluctantly, Hindbad took the coins and went home. He could not wait to return the next day to hear from Sindbad about another new adventure.