Sinbad and the Elephant Cemetery

During his seventh and final voyage, Sinbad was captured by a group of men and sold to a wealthy merchant in a distant land. The merchant, desperate for ivory, commanded Sinbad to sit in a tall tree each night and shoot any elephant that passed below. For many days, Sinbad complied, though his heart grew heavy with the slaughter. One night, a massive elephant surrounded his tree with its herd. Instead of trampling him, the great beast uprooted the tree with its trunk and carried a terrified Sinbad deep into the jungle. They arrived at a vast clearing hidden among the mountains, filled with the bones and tusks of countless elephants—a legendary cemetery. Sinbad realized the elephants were showing him that they need not be killed for their ivory; there was enough wealth in the clearing to last a lifetime. He shared this discovery with the merchant, who was so moved by the elephants' wisdom and Sinbad's honesty that he granted the sailor his freedom and a rich portion of the ivory, allowing Sinbad to return to Baghdad in peace.