The Adventures Of Sinbad full story is a fantastical story about a sailor named Sinbad who goes on sea adventures. The story is from the Arabian Nights and features a protagonist who constantly gets into danger on his adventures but manages to find his way out of them, richer than before each time. Read The Adventures Of Sinbad story in English to find out what happens next!
Origin And History Of The Adventures Of Sinbad
The tale of Sinbad the Sailor is a relatively late addition to One Thousand and One Nights. The tale reflects on the trends of the Abbasid realm of Arab and Muslim sailors exploring the world. The story is set in the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786–809).
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Story Type Of The Adventures Of Sinbad
The Adventures of Sinbad is a fantastical story with imaginary creatures.
Story Characters
- Sinbad the Porter
- Sinbad the Sailor
- Merchants
- Kings
- Fishermen
- Sinbad the Sailor’s Wives
- Fantastical Beasts
- Sailors
- Ship Captains
The Adventures Of Sinbad Story For Children
The Beginning
Sinbad, the porter, was tired and hungry, so he decided to take a break on a bench outside a mansion. As he sat on the bench, he complained to Allah that it was not fair that some enjoyed luxuries while others were poor. The owner of the house, also named Sinbad, who was a Sailor, heard this and called out. The sailor told the porter that he too used to be poor once, and that he became wealthy only by fate and destiny.
The First Voyage – The Whale Island
After spending the little fortune that his father had left him, Sinbad decided to recreate his wealth as a merchant. “I will set sail and become wealthy!” he said to himself. So, he set sail on a ship with other traders. “Let’s go to that island,” said one of the merchants. Unbeknownst to them, the island was actually a resting whale on which trees had grown.
The sleeping whale woke up when the sailors started a small fire on the land to keep themselves warm. The whale dived deep into the ocean to destroy the fire, and Sinbad, along with the other sailors, was pulled into the water. However, Sinbad managed to hold onto a wooden log. Luck had other plans as Sinbad watched the ship depart without him.
Using the log, Sinbad reached another island where he helped save the King’s horse from a supernatural sea monster. The grateful King offered Sinbad a place in his court. Soon, Sinbad became one of the King’s favourites and climbed in rank and wealth.
After a few months, the ship that abandoned Sinbad came to the port. Sinbad expressed his desire to go back home. “Your Honour, I would like to go back home now. I have served you as much as I could.” The King approved Sinbad’s request, gave him a few gold coins and sent him on his way back home.
The Second Voyage – The Rocs
Sinbad the Sailor had a lot of leisure time on his hands now, thanks to the wealth he had made during his first voyage. However, he was bored and wanted to further discover the world. So, he set off on another voyage, and during one of the breaks, his crew accidentally abandoned him on an island.
On the island, Sinbad found a giant Roc (a giant bird) egg and attached himself to it. The giant mother bird came along and picked up the egg and Sinbad and flew to the nest. Sinbad passed a valley of giant snakes big enough to swallow an elephant. The snakes protect the diamonds and gems in the valley. “Hmmm, seems like the snakes kill anyone that tries to enter the valley to steal the diamonds and gems,” wondered Sinbad. The snakes were the Roc’s food.
In order to get to the diamonds in the valley, smart merchants would throw large chunks of meat on the diamonds in the valley to lure the Roc. The diamonds would get stuck to the meat that the bird would carry. When the bird came out of the valley with the meat (with the diamonds stuck to it), the merchants would trick them into leaving the diamonds there and then collect them.
Sinbad too smartly strapped himself to one of the meat pieces when a Roc picked one up. Sinbad collected a bag full of diamonds and gems. The merchants then rescued Sinbad from the Roc’s nest and took him back home with the riches he got from the valley.
The Third Voyage – The Monstrous Giants And Giant Snakes
Sinbad would always crave another adventure or journey as he always wanted to see more of the world. As fate loved to mess with Sinbad, he and his shipmates ended up on an island where there was a castle. The castle belonged to a giant monster who had canine teeth, fiery eyes, a gaping mouth, and extremely dark skin. The giant captured the sailors and decided to eat them. The giant decided that he would eat one man a day, starting with the captain, a fat man.
Sinbad and his shipmates decided to trick the giant. They successfully tricked the monster and escaped on a raft made from wood on the island. However, the crew ends up on another dangerous island which is filled with fresh fruit and water. There were also huge serpents that attacked them.
Scared, the crew ran into the woods, where they found more of the large snakes. They all started running and got scattered. Sinbad was now left alone, and so he built himself a shelter with wooden sticks to keep the serpents away. He spent the night in fear and, in the morning, went to the shore, where he found another merchant ship sailing by.
The merchants on the ship rescued him and listened to his adventure stories. They are awed by his adventure stories. “Wait, isn’t this the same ship that abandoned me during my second voyage?” wondered Sinbad. The captain, an honest man, gave Sinbad the money they made from selling his merchandise. This makes Sinbad wealthier again.
The Fourth Voyage – Cannibals And Customs
It was time for another one of Sinbad’s adventures. This time, he and the sailors travelled from port to port peacefully for a while. One day, a storm made the sea wild and loud. The wind soon picked up and turned the ship upside down, throwing all the men and goods into the sea. The sailors barely made it to the island and reached a firehouse.
The residents of the house welcomed the crew and gave them food. The sailors ate as much as they could till the evening, when the hosts moved them into a barn-like place. The sailors would eat whatever the hosts fed them and then sleep for the rest of the day. “How can these people just eat and rest all day in a strange and unknown place?” wondered Sinbad. He soon realised that the hosts were fattening them up to eat them later.
With the help of one of the guards, Sinbad managed to escape the cannibals. He reached another part of the island inhabited by ordinary people. Being the merchant that he was, Sinbad soon found a way to make money on the island and impressed the king with his creativity. “Please live in my city, and I will marry you to a nobleman’s daughter,” said the King.
The kingdom had an unusual custom of burying widows or widowers with their spouses. Sinbad’s wife soon died of an illness, and he was forcefully buried in the pit with her. Along with him, they also buried a jug of water and seven pieces of bread. He survived in the pit for a few days, and one lucky night, he found a burrow dug by a fox. He had now become weak and malnourished, so he slowly and carefully crawled through the tunnel, which led him to the shore.
A merchant ship rescued him and took him home from there.
The Fifth Voyage – Angry Rocs And Old Man Parasite
Some may feel that Sinbad should have now given up on sailing after experiencing so many near-death experiences during his fourth journey. However, his love for the sea compelled him to head on another journey again. This time around, Sinbad bought a ship and hired an entire crew and a captain.
A few weeks into the journey, the sailors halted near an island, the one with the Roc eggs. Out of curiosity, some sailors break open the egg, thinking it to be a stone of some kind.
When Sinbad learnt what they had done, he sensed that they were in danger and must set sail immediately. A few hours into the journey, two giant Rocs used boulders to attack and sink the ship. Once again, Sinbad managed to escape and swim to the nearest shore. On exploring the land, he found that the island had sweet-smelling flowers and low-hanging fruits. He spent the night there.
The next morning, he found an old man dressed in a palm-leaf skirt sitting across him and watching him. “Please help me pluck fruits from the trees. Carry me on your shoulders!” Sinbad reluctantly agreed and took the old man from one tree to another until the evening.
The old man held on to Sinbad by wrapping his legs around Sinbad’s neck, almost strangling him. Sinbad carries the burden day after day; the man punched, kicked, and choked Sinbad when he asked the old man to get off.
The next day, Sinbad and the old man came across a gourd-like vegetable and some grapes. He broke the gourd vegetable in half and cleared the insides of it to make a cup. He then crushed the grapes and fermented the liquid in the vegetable bowl to make wine. He offers the wine to the old man. The old man drinks until he passes out. Somehow, Sinbad managed to free himself from the old man’s clutch and made his way to the shore, where a passing merchant ship rescued him.
On his way back home, Sinbad amassed money and went back home wealthier than before.
The Sixth Voyage – Lost At Sea & Sri Lanka
Sinbad had all the money and peace he wanted, but his mind tricked him into going on another trip; for the thrill and the adventure, it gave him. “I must go on another adventure. The sea is calling me!” He soon set sail on another ship with other merchants and traded at different ports, making money on the way. One day, the ship’s captain came wailing to the merchants. “We have gone off course, and I have no idea about the seas we are travelling on!” As the captain is pouring his heart out, the ship runs into some sea rocks and eventually crashes.
Many people on board drowned, leaving Sinbad and a few others on their own to survive. They reached an island which had precious stones and gems for pebbles. The others went crazy collecting all the treasure, and by the end of the day, they got really tired. Even though the island had treasures, it didn’t have a lot of food. Soon, Sinbad’s shipmates started dying of hunger.
Sinbad always had a strong will to live; he explored the island more and came across a river. He built a raft, placed all his collected treasure on it, and set sails on the river. He entered an opening in a wall, like a cave, and when he came out on the other side, he saw civilisation. On talking to the people, he realised he was in Sri Lanka. King Al Hind was happy to see Sinbad and hear his stories. He sent the sailor back home with more gold as a gift for the caliph and Sinbad.
The Seventh Voyage – One Last Adventure
Sinbad was not happy sitting idle and doing nothing after his last adventure. So, he joined a group of merchants and went on yet another adventure. All was well for some time, but then another fierce storm steered the ship in an entirely different direction. After the storm subsided, the captain checked to see where they had landed.
He came down and informed the others that they had reached the furthest corner of the world called The Sea of the King. This is where Solomon was buried, under the waves. The captain was sure that there was no way out and that they would all soon be killed by large fishes and sea monsters that inhabited the waters.
The ship soon crash-landed on a reef, leaving the sailors in dangerous waters. Sinbad grabbed a plank and used it to stay afloat for two days. He then reached an island. “I need to find some food and build a boat to return home,” says Sinbad. He reached a valley, and just before his boat was to go down a waterfall, he was rescued by a fisherman.
The fisherman took him into the town, where a wealthy merchant hosted Sinbad. Having heard of Sinbad and his adventures, the old man believed Sinbad was a prosperous businessman who had Allah’s blessing all the time as he had escaped the dangerous seas seven times! “Oh great sailor of seven seas, please marry my daughter!” pleaded the old merchant. Sinbad agrees!
During his stay there, Sinbad encountered evil bird-folk, a giant serpent, and servants of the Almighty. After a rather dangerous adventure with the bird people, Sinbad returns home. He and his wife then decided to move to Baghdad, and Sinbad vowed never to travel the seas again.
The End
After narrating the story of his last voyage, Sinbad asks the porter, “After hearing about the dangers and hardships I faced to become wealthy, do you still think it is unfair that I have these riches?” The porter apologised for his remarks, and they became good friends for life.
Story Summary
Summary of The Adventures Of Sinbad:
Sinbad the Sailor was an adventurous sailor who embarked on seven voyages where he faced difficult challenges and beasts. He narrates his voyages to Sinbad the Porter, who felt that it was unfair for some people to be poor and for some to be wealthy. He overcomes a lot of difficult situations and challenges, even being buried alive with his deceased spouse! Read the story to know more!
Moral of the Story
The moral of the story is that ‘one should not give up and should believe in themselves and their fortune’. After all, Fortune Favours The Brave!
How Can Children Apply The Lesson Of The Story In Their Real Life?
The Adventures Of Sinbad short story with pictures teaches children to never give up and to calmly deal with difficult situations. Sinbad’s persistence and will to overcome any challenge allowed him to overcome the most difficult situations.
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