天方夜谭英文故事：The Seventh Voyage

"After my sixth voyage, I felt that I had enough of travel. I had decided¹ to settle down because I was much older now. But alas²! 

 

 

That was not to be. 

 

 

One fine morning, a royal messenger knocked at my door. He told me that the Caliph had asked for me. I went to the palace immediately. Once there the Caliph said, "Dear Sindbad, you brought many great gifts from the wealthy King of Serendib. Now I want you to take some gifts in return to him." 

 

 

I said, "Sir, I am old now. I can't take much of sea travel any more." 

 

 

But the Caliph insisted that I was the only person fit for the task. .~ 

 

 

"You can lead a restful life on your return. Moreover, I am giving you a thousand gold coins for this voyage." 

 

 

I accepted that proposal with great reluctance³. So a few days later, I was on the sea with the Caliph's ship and crewmen. I carried a letter from the Caliph to the King of Serendib. Gold clothes, silk garments, emerald-studded pots and plates, two large, finely carved royal beds and a rare tablet once possessed⁴ by King Solomon made up the list of gifts I carried for the King of Serendib. 

 

 

After a peaceful trip, I anchored at the port of Serendib. I delivered the letter and the gifts to the king. He asked me to stay but I was eager to get back to Baghdad. So he gave me a wonderful gift and bid me a tearful farewell. As my ship sailed away we were attacked by pirates. They took hold of all our precious treasures and gifts and then took all of us prisoners. They took us onto their ships and left us in a strange land where they had sold all of us as slaves. 

 

 

Due to God's blessings⁵, I had a kind and rich merchant as my master. I served him well as he treated me well. In time he learnt that I was good at shooting with a bow and arrow. He asked me to accompany him to the forest. There he showed me a tall tree and said, "Sindbad, go up the tree. Soon a herd⁶ of elephants will come by. You must shoot as many as you can." With these instructions, he left me in the forest.  

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

3 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

4 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

5 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。