'
One of the blacks, who understood Arabic, hearing me speak thus,
came towards me and said, 'Brother, be not surprised to see us; we
are inhabitants of this country, and came hither to-day to water
our fields, by digging little canals from this river, which comes
out of the neighbouring mountain. We saw something floating upon
the water, went speedily to find out what it was, and perceiving
your raft, one of us swam into the river, and brought it hither,
where we fastened it, as you see, until you should awake. Pray tell
us your history, for it must be extraordinary; how did you venture
into this river, and whence did you come?'
I begged of them first to give me something to eat, and then I
would satisfy their curiosity. They gave me several sorts of food;
and when I had satisfied my hunger, I gave them a true account of
all that had befallen me, which they listened to with wonder. As
soon as I had finished my discourse, they told me, by the person
who spoke Arabic and interpreted to them what I said, that it was
one of the most surprising stories they ever heard, and that I must
go along with them, and tell it to their king myself; the story was
too extraordinary to be told by any other than the person to whom
it happened.
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