The Children's Hour, v 5. Stories From Seven Old Favorites

by Eva March Tappan

In this sad plight, I was ready to die with grief. I cried out in agony, beat my head and breast, and threw myself upon the ground, where I lay some time in despair. Why was I not content with the produce of my first voyage, which would have kept me in comfort all my life? But it was too late to repent. At last I resigned myself to the will of God. Not knowing what to do, I climbed to the top of a lofty tree, where I could look about on all sides for signs of hope. Towards the sea there was nothing but sky and water. Looking over the land, I saw something white, and, coming down, took some of the food I had left, and went towards it, not knowing at the great distance what it was.

As I drew near, I thought it to be a white dome of enormous size; and when I touched it I found it to be very smooth. There was no opening on any side, and there was no climbing to the top over the smooth surface. It was at least fifty paces round.

By this time the sun was about to set, and all of a sudden the sky became as dark as if it had been covered with a thick cloud. I was amazed at this sudden darkness, but much more when I found it was caused by a bird of monstrous size that came flying towards me. I remembered that I had often heard mariners speak of a marvelous bird called the roc, and felt sure that the great dome by which I stood must be its egg. In short, the bird alighted and sat over the egg. As I saw her coming, I crept close to the egg, so that I had before me one of the legs of the bird, which was as big as the trunk of a tree. I tied myself strongly to it with my turban, in hopes that the roc next morning would carry me with her out of this desert island. After having passed the night in this condition, the bird flew away as soon as it was daylight, and carried me so high that I could not see the earth. Then she descended with so much speed that I lost my senses. But when I found myself on the ground, I quickly untied the knot, and had scarcely done so when the roc, having taken up a serpent of monstrous length in her bill, flew away.

The spot where I was left was surrounded on all sides by mountains, that seemed to reach above the clouds, and so steep that I could not possibly get out of the valley. It seemed to me that the place was no better than the desert island from which the roc had brought me.

As I walked through the valley, I found it strewed with diamonds of a surprising bigness. But the pleasure of looking at them was soon destroyed by another sight, which filled me with terror, namely, a great number of serpents, so monstrous that the least of them could swallow an elephant. In the daytime they hid in their dens from their enemy, the roc, and came out only in the night.

I spent the day in walking about in the valley. When night came I went into a cave where I thought I might rest in safety. I closed the low and narrow entrance with a great stone, to preserve me from the serpents, but did not shut out all the light. Soon the serpents began hissing around me and put me in such extreme fear that I could not sleep. When day appeared the serpents retired, and I came out of the cave trembling. I can justly say that I walked upon diamonds without feeling any desire to touch them. At last I sat down, and ate some of my food, and, in spite of my fears, fell asleep, for I had not closed my eyes during the night. Scarcely were they shut when something that fell by me with a great noise awoke me. This was a large piece of raw meat; and at the same time, I saw several others fall down from the rocks in different places.

I had never believed what I had heard sailors and others tell of the valley of diamonds, and of the means employed by merchants to obtain jewels from it. But now I found that I had heard the truth. For the fact is, that merchants come to this valley when the eagles have young ones, and throw great joints of meat into it; the diamonds, upon whose points they fall, stick to them; the eagles, which are stronger in this country than anywhere else, pounce with great force upon these pieces of meat, and carry them to their nests on the edge of the rocks to feed their young; then the merchants run to their nests, drive off the eagles by their shouts, and take away the diamonds that stick to the meat.

In this device I saw the means of my escape.

I gathered the largest diamonds I could find, and put them into a leather bag fastened at my waist. Then I took the largest of the pieces of meat, tied it close around me with the cloth of my turban, and laid myself upon the ground, with my face downwards. I had scarcely placed myself thus when one of the eagles bore me, with the piece of meat to which I was fastened, to his nest on the top of the mountain. The merchants at once began their shouting to frighten the eagles, and when they had driven the birds away, one of them came to the nest where I was. He was much alarmed when he first saw me, but soon began to quarrel, and asked me why I stole his goods.

"Do not be uneasy," said I; "here are diamonds enough for you and me, more than all the others have together. They have to take what chance brings them, but I chose for myself, in the valley, those which you see in this bag."