The Crazy Man

I clambered upon the island as I barely managed to fight off the exhaustion and fatigue that had taken over my body. I had been floating in the ocean for hours in the unrelenting sunlight. The heat had become unbearable and my spirit was broken. All of my comrades had been taken out by the giant birds that hurled boulders upon our ships. I managed to find a shaded tree on the island to rest under as I recovered from my unfortunate travels. I awoke in the morning and scavenged for food and water to the best of my ability.

As I quenched my thirst from a nearby stream, I saw an old and beaten man in the corner of my eye. I walked over to him to see if something had happened to him. He could barely speak, and he looked parched and dehydrated. He begged me for a lift to the nearby stream. I picked him up and carried him on my back to take him to the stream for water. I took it upon myself to help this man in need despite the poor state of my own current health. I thought that he might be able to help me in return because I was now desperate for help. As I neared the stream, I felt a tug on my neck. In an instant the old man clambered upon my neck and put me in a chokehold. I could not even manage to fight. He took me to my knees, and I could not move. I could not even manage to breathe. I gasped for air and put myself at the mercy of the old man. He dug his claws into my back and slowly loosened the grip around my neck. I fell to all fours and gasped for breath. He tugged on my hair and forced me to stand. I knew I was in trouble, but I could not escape. I was now his horse and he was a jockey.

Over the next few days he forced me to walk all over the island. I took him everywhere. I managed to spot a location for my possible escape during one of the walks down to the river. I noticed that there was a tree with a large spiked branch protruding from the center of the trunk. I plotted my point of attack for days. I took the same route to the river every day for a week. Each day, I walked closer and closer to the tree with the spiked mass. I decided to attack when the old man had let his guard down and had become used to the routine of walking to the river. I impaled the old man in the back as I forced him into the spiked tree. He screeched and loosened the grip around my neck as he gasped for air. The spike impaled his backside and caused him to brace his freshly oozing wound. I wasted no time in taking advantage of the moment. I kicked the old man to the ground and put as much distance between us as possible.

On the shore of the island I found a boat of merchants docked in their ship. I yelled for them to come help and they sent a rescue party my direction. I told them the story of my misfortune and travels, and they gladly welcomed me aboard. They took me back to Bagdad and concluded my fifth voyage on the seas.

(A photo of the old man on Sindbad's back. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Author's Note: The story I told is based on one of the voyages of the merchant adventurer Sindbad. The Voyages of Sindbad come from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments. There are seven different voyages, and each one follows Sindbad as he embarks on a journey away from his home of Bagdad. The story I told was a retelling of the fifth voyage of Sindbad. It was not based on the full fifth voyage, but rather a portion of voyage five. Sindbad finds himself on the shores of an island after his whole crew had been displaced. They were attacked by a flock of Rocs (large mythical birds) that destroyed all of their ships. By clinging to a piece of wood, Sindbad survived and made it to the island. He happened upon an old man that he thought was helpless. The old man tricked Sindbad into carrying him across the river on his back. Instead, the old man put Sindbad into a chokehold and forced Sindbad to carry him around the island. Sindbad, using his wits, created wine in an empty gourd. He tricked the old man into drinking it and seized his escape when the old man was drunk. Sindbad became free of the old man and found a ride with mariners back to his home of Bagdad. I changed a few details in the story, but I kept it mostly close to the source.

Bibliography: The Voyages of Sindbad from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang. Source: UnTextbook