RELATED as he told it. This concludes the sometimes jagged, sometimes not truly audible presentation of Sindbad's adventures attempted over the last salvageable episodes. The sole survivor (as usual) of an attack by enormous sea monsters, Sindbad the pragmatist manages to divert even this turn of misfortune to his favor. On a mission to the Sultan of Serendib (present-day Sri Lanka, traditionally called Ceylon), Sindbad somehow, after a while, ends up married and settled down in what turns out to be a city (mostly) inhabited by demons. Always some kind of unexpected problem... This story is found, of course, in that wonderful book THE ONE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT. Very soon after its publication in the West, there began a debate about the origins of many of these tales, including those of Sindbad the Sailor. Now, scholars agree today that the “Arabian Nights” were never a single work, but a composite of popular stories originating from different parts of the world (today’s Iraq, Iran, Egypt, India, Central Asia and China). At first they were transmitted orally, before being committed to writing, starting as early as the 10th century, it is supposed, and probably continuing for another 600 years to around the 16th century. And if you go to the “Encyclopedia Britannica,” the current edition will tell you “most of the tales best known in the West—- primarily those of Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sindbad -—were much later additions to the original corpus.” Such a process has often taken place to enlarge and yet adorn a received text. Beware of those (French inspired) snooty critics who disparage everything. Just as the shaping force of Convergent Evolution creates unrelated forms which nonetheless resemble each other, so this evolutionary process creates similitude among accounts within Epics. Then, too, there is a historical dimension these critics are not interested in. May you enjoy the narrative as presented here. Later, KrOB drops by...