Second Voyage

The narrator, tired of a quiet life in Bagdad, embarks on a second sea voyage with fellow merchants to trade goods. Their journey takes them to an uninhabited island where the group gathers fruit and flowers while the narrator rests by a stream. He wakes up in panic to find his companions and ship have vanished, leaving him stranded alone. Desperate for escape, he climbs a tree and spots a massive white object that turns out to be a giant roc egg. He binds himself to the bird's leg with his turban and is carried high into the air to a remote valley filled with diamonds. The valley is dangerous, inhabited by enormous snakes that emerge at night to hunt. The narrator survives by hiding in a cave during the dark hours while the serpents prowl outside. He soon discovers that merchants drop meat into the valley for eagles to carry up to their nests. He ties a large diamond-studded meat chunk to his back and is lifted out of the valley by one of these birds. The merchants below are amazed when they find him alive among their stolen gems. They examine his treasure, which they deem superior to anything they have ever collected. The narrator shares some stones with the group before continuing his journey home. He travels across dangerous mountains and visits an island known for its giant camphor trees and rhinoceroses. Finally, he returns to Bagdad wealthy and generous, ready to recount his next adventure.