The First Voyage Sindbad the Sailor lived in Baghdad in the time of the great Khalif, Harun al-Rashid. Sindbad was a very rich man. He had a beautiful house in the best street in the city.The sun was very hot in the afternoons Then he and his friends sat under the trees in the garden I am rich now. he told his friends. But after my father died, I made mistakes. So I went to sea. Listen! I will tell you about my first voyage. When I came back, I was a rich man. But on this voyage I was really afraid. I was a young man then, and I was not careful with money. So my father's money went quickly. I sold everything and, with the money, I bought the best goods. The next day, I took them to Basra. There, on the river, was an Arab ship, and I spoke to its captain. He answered me kindly. We are going to sail next week. There will be six merchants with their goods on the ship, and we will sail to the countries and lands of the east. There the merchants will sell their goods and buy other rich goods. They will sell them in their countries when they come back. Can you take another merchant I asked. I want to sell some boxes of goods. I will give you a lot of money when I sell them. Yes, said the captain," I can take you. And so the next week, we sailed down the great river, the Shatt al-Arab, and through the Gulf, and then to the east. We sailed for very many days and nights, and we stopped at cities and islands. There we sold and bought goods. One day we came to a very beautiful island, with trees and flowers and birds of many colours