1. Marco Polo’s Travel
By ROGER DUVOISIN
In the year 1260, two merchant brothers of Venice named Maffeo and Nicolo Polo sailed from the city of
Constantinople to trade in the land of the tartars. They carried with them a great many beautiful jewels
which they hoped to exchange for a chestful of gold.
They could not have been afraid to adventures, or danger, for after selling and buying and selling the
jewels and other articles of trade, they traveled far beyond the Black Sea, until they finally came to the
great city of Bokhara, in Asia.
“Well, Mafeo,” said to Nicolo,” “I do not think any European merchant has ever come so far into this
unknown land.”
“Certainly not, Nicolo. And if what we are told is true about bandits making the country behind us
unsafe for travelers, we may have to remain in this city a long time.”
Indeed three long years went by, and the bandits still made travel very dangerous. But now Nicolo
and Maffeo, who were still living in Bokhara, could speak the language of the tartars as well as their own.
So they had not entirely wasted their time.
One day, there came into Bokhara a very important looking gentleman, dressed in a long silk robe
embroidered with gold. One hundred horsemen rode behind him, their lances held straight up, like the
pickets of a fence. This stranger was an ambassador from Persia on his way to Peking, in China. Of
course, Nicolo and Maffeo could not help noticing him and before long they became such good friends
that said to them:
“Why don’t you come with me to Peking where the new Khan of the Tartars has built his new Palace?
The Khan will be pleased to see you. He will give you lots of presents and you will do some good trading
in his capital. Do not fear the bandits. My cavalrymen will keep them away.”
Thus it came about that Nicolo and Maffeo, instead of going home, went in quite the opposite
direction.
The great new Khan, whose name was Kublai, was truly glad to see the merchants from Venice. After
their long journey, he received and feasted them like princes.
As Europe was as mysterious to Kublai Khan as Chine was to Nicolo and Maffeo, he asked them to
tell all they could about their homeland.
“How great is it?” he asked. “As great as China? How many kings are there in Europe? Are they fair
to their people? Are they skillful in war? Tell me about the Pope!”
All these questions and many others Nicolo and Maffeo answered so well that the Khan, judging
them to be very clever men, asked them to go back as his ambassador to the Pope.
“I shall be pleased,” he said, “if his holiness will send me one hundred wise men to teach us thr faith of
the Christians; also some oil from the lamp that burns over the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.”
Then he gave them a gold tablet with his seal on it to insure their safe conduct. Robbers did not dare
attack him who carried this tablet, but on the contrary, offered him help.
And so Nicolo and Maffeo, who had come to China as traders, now left it as ambassadors.
During their journey homeward, the heat in the dessert, the ice and snow in the mountains, and the
flooded rivers in the valleys brought them so much hardships that three more years elapsed before they
got back among their countrymen.

2. There they were told that the Pope had just died and so they had no one to whom to give the Khan’s
letter.
Nicolo’s wife also died. But the merchant’s grief was made less by the sight of the fine-looking son,
Marco, who had been born during his absence
Marco was already fifteen years old, so long had Nicolo’s trading trip lasted.
Nicolo and Maffeo were very impatient to return to China with the one hundred learned men to send
away to these far countries. But I think I know two friars whom you can very well take with you. I will
also give you two beautiful crystal vases and my benediction for the Khan.”
“Two friars to teach the story of Christ to millions of Tartars? That that’s not much,” thought Nicolo and
Maffeo.
“Kublai Khan will be disappointed. But since there is nothing we can do, let’s go!”
The merchants then set out for China with the two friars, some oil from the lamp that hung over the Holy
Sepulchre, and the crystal vases. And what was more important, they also took with them Marco,
Nicolo’s son.
Marco was now seventeen years old and very bright boy who enjoyed looking at people and things
about him.
During the trip through Asia he kept his eyes wide open so he wouldn’t miss the wonders of the lands
he passed through: strange costumes and ways of the people; animals and trees unlike anything he had
ever seen or heard of; palaces and cities more marvelous than those in dreams.
Because he observed so well, and even took notes of what he saw, he was able, later, to write a book
about China which reads like the most beautiful fairy tale
The two friars who followed the Venetians were not courageous men. They soon lost heart.
“What an idea to send two peaceful men like us through these dangerous countries!” they grumbled to
each other.
“If cold, heat, or hunger does not kill us, surly some wild tribesmen will. And what good will that does to
Kublai Khan!”
They pretended to be ill and let Nicolo, Maffeo, and Marco continue alone into Persia.
In traveling across Persia, now on horseback, now on camels, now astride donkeys, Marco, who liked
animals, did not forget to write about the strong Persian ox which had a lump on his back and kneeled
down like the camel to let himself be loaded; about the big sheep, as big as donkeys, whose tails were so
thick and fat that they seemed to have heads, one in front and one behind; and about the wild asses which
browsed among groves of date trees.
Since he wanted to be a merchant like his father, Marco was much interested in the beautiful things
the Persian craftsmen made in their open shops; decorated saddles, bridles, finely chiseled swords, vases,
embroideries of silk and gold, many other wares.
But there were also unpleasant things in Persia-among them, many robbers. They were so bold that
the Persians in these parts had built thick walls of mud all around their towns to protect themselves.
As Marco, Nicolo, and Maffeo wre traveling through this region in a long caravan which they had
joined for safety, a great band of robber’s attacked them. They killed many of the men of the caravan or
captured them and carried them off to sell into slavery. But the three Venetians were lucky enough to
escape.
Beyond Persia, they climbed up into the mountains of Afghanistan where many towns had been torn
down by Alexander’s soldiers, and destroyed again later by Genghis Khan’s horsemen. The Venetians

3. rested for a year in a cool mountain spot, for the hard trip through the hot plains and deserts of Persia had
made Marco ill.
This was as Far East as Alexander had come with his tired army. For Marco, his father, and his uncle,
it was just half of their journey. Ahead of them lay a land which had never before been heard of by
Europeans: a treeless country of mountains and plains, which is called the “Roof of the World.”
”The Mountains are so high,” wrote Marco, “that no birds fly near their summits; on their sides live big
sheep with horns four feet long. Out of these horns the shepherds make ladles, and vessels to hold their
food, and even fences to keep wolves from getting at their sheep and goats.”
After many months of travel over dangerous mountains and deserts, Marco, Nicolo, and Maffeo
finally came into China.
It was summertime when they arrived at the city of Shangto where the Khan waited for them in his
marble palace. He received them surrounded by his officers and guards all dressed in green, purple, red,
yellow, and blue silk robes. With the gilded and painted walls, and the polished swords and spears, the
scene glittered like a box full of jewels.
“Rise up, my friends,” the Khan, as Nicolo, Maffeo and Marco kneeled before him, “and tell me
about your travels.”
Nicolo recounted their adventures and gave Kublai Khan the vases and the oil from the Holy
Sepulchre.
“And who is this young man who is with you?” asked the Khan.
“He is your servant, and my son,” answered Nicolo.
“He is welcome. Because he pleases me I shall give him a place among my officers.”
The Kublai Khan ordered a great feast and there was much rejoicing in honor of Nicolo, Maffeo, and
Marco.
Marco now put aside his Italian dress of wool and his tight fitting trousers, for the long silk robe of
the Tartar officers. He also learned to speak and write the Tartar language and four others besides.
“This young stranger is very wise,” thought the Khan one morning as twelve valets helped him put on
his gold embroidered robe. “Tomorrow I shall send him to my distant city Karazan to see how my people
are behaving. And if he does well, I’ll send him on other important missions.”
In setting out to Karazan the next day, followed by one hundred horsemen, Marco remembered that
Kublai Khan liked to hear stories about his faraway peoples and kingdoms.
“The Khan’s officers never find anything interesting to tell him when they come back from long
trips,” he said to himself. “They talk only about their business and the Khan yawns with boredom. I do
not want to be silly. I shall put down in my notes the strange and amusing things I have observed on my
way: how people dress and talk: the new animals and trees and flowers. The Khan will be happy to hear
my stories.”
And truly, the Khan took so much delight in listening to Marco upon his return from Karazan that he
sent him again and again on long journeys to the far corners of his empire. He even made him governor of
the city of Yangchow for three years.
Thus Marco learned all about many of the unknown countries of Asia, countries which had never
been drawn on any map.
He who had never before let Europe and so had come to think that it was the richest, the most learned
part of the world, was surprised to find that the Europe he had left behind him was almost crude, poor,
and ignorant compared to China. Civilization in Europe was new, but in China it was very old.

4. “How polite the Chinese are!” he thought. “They seldom quarrel among themselves. And how honest!
Why, one can leave one’s door open without fear that thieves will come in and rob one. And they know so
many things that we don’t know anything about in Europe.”
The Chinese knew how to dig coal and burn it to keep warm. Marco had never even seen coal. He
was astonished that black “stones” could burn like wood.
In Europe, when a man had written a book, it was copied by hand so that a few more people could
read it. But long before that time, the Chinese had already learned how to print their books; and millions
of people could read them. The Chinese also printed paper money which was easier to carry than heavy
gold and silver coins.
The Chinese post seemed very wonderful to Marco. Along the roads bordered by shade trees, fast
massagers ran from post-house to post-house with letters and packages. Little bells tied to a messenger’s
belt tinkled to warn the next messenger at the post-house ahead to get ready to take up the message and
speed it on. There were larger stations too in which four hundred relay horses were kept to carry travelers
along the post roads.
How rich this China was! The craftsmen were busy making their beautiful wares in the cities, while
above the gold roofs of the temples shone in the sun. On the rivers and canals, boats were as many as the
ants around an ant hill. Marco could not open his eyes wide enough.
Some time before Marco’s arrival, Kublai Khan had finished conquering China with his Tartar
horsemen, so he had decided to build his capital city in Peking.
“The king of such a great civilized country cannot live like a rude tartar chief,” he had said. I shall
call the best architects, sculptors, painters, and gardeners so they can build me the largest and richest
palace that was ever seen.”
His palace was built of marble, decorated inside and out with sculptures and paintings of dragons,
birds, beasts, and flowers. The roof was painted in green, red, blue, and violet, and glistened like crystal.
The palace grounds, with their parks and gardens, were all enclosed within a high wall. They were so
large that it took a horseman all day to ride around them. Musk deer, goats, and stags browsed in the
flowery meadows, while fish of all kinds filled the ponds.
About the grounds were many painted buildings, some for the Khan’s ten thousand horses, some for
his saddles, spurs, and bridles; some for his wardrobe-robes of silk and gold and precious stones.
As the Khan wanted his twelve thousand officers to be as rich looking as his palace, thirteen times a
year he gave those robes of silk with only a little less gold and jewels on them than on his own.
When he ate, dozens of pages served him, their faces covered with veils, so that their breath might not
soil his food. A page brought him the wine cup and kneeled down while an orchestra played as the cup
came to his lips.
The Khan loved to hunt with falcons; and since it was also a good occasion to show how great an
Emperor he was, he did not walk to the hunt, or ride a horse, or even an elephant. He rode four elephants
at once. A little house carved in wood and painted with gold was put on the back of the four elephants, for
him to ride in. He could even lie down if he cared to!
He took with him ten thousand men, dressed in blue robes to carry the falcons; and ten thousand
dressed in red robes to catch the falcons after the hunt.
Sometimes he went hunting with dogs. On these days five thousand dogs followed his little painted
house on the four elephants. Marco, of course, put all this down carefully in his notebook.
During all the years he spent in Asia, traveling for his friend the Khan Marco never forgot to write
about the marvelous things he saw or heard: the crocodiles, which he took for snakes, with four legs and

5. eyes as big as loaves; the gold and silver towers of Burma which had bells on the top of them to make
music when the wind blew; the dog sleds and the big white bears of Siberia; the men of the North who
rode reindeer instead of horses; the fierce tigers of Tibet; the Island of Japan which was so far east that
even the Chinese did not know much about it, but said that it had more gold than stones; the Island of
Java where grew pepper, ginger, and cinnamon; and many, many, other wonders.
While Marco traveled, his father Nicolo and his uncle Maffeo who continued to trade in Peking had
become very rich. But their black beards had turned white, and they now began to think of their home
land more and more often.
“The time has come for us to leave China;” Nicolo sad to Maffeo one day. “Even my son Marco
would like to see his old friends in Venice.”
So one day when the great Khan seemed very cheerful, Nicolo told him of their desire to go home.
“It is now seventeen years since we came to visit Your Majesty,” he said. “We have been honored
and made happy beyond our dreams by your kindness and generosity. But we are old men now and we
long to see our homeland before we die,”
The great Khan frowned at hearing this.
“Whatever you hope to find in your country,” he asked, “is it worth the great dangers of the long
journey in which you might lose your lives? If it is gain which you seek, I can make you still richer. No,
the affection I have for you prevents me from granting your request.”
Nicolo, Maffeo, and Marco were sad. But they made up their minds to find a way, for they must
leave.
After a short while, three gentlemen from Persia came to China to fetch a wife for Argon, their king.
The Persian king wanted to marry a Tartar princess. Kublai Khan was pleased to help them choose a
young and beautiful princess whose name was Kogatin. And with the beautiful princess, the gentleman
from Persia started back home.
It was their bad luck that at that very time some tartar princes chose to start a war among them. They
made the country so unsafe for traveling that the gentlemen and the princess returned to Peking.
“What are we to do?” they lamented. “Our king is so anxious to see his new wife that he will be
displeased if we make him wait.”
“There is another way to Persia,” a friend told them, “by sea. The Venetians Marco Polo has just
returned from a long voyage to the island of Java and he says that it is a safe way to travel. Ask him to
advise you.”
Marco was quite interested in the story of the gentlemen from Persia. He saw at once that they might
help his father, his uncle, and himself to leave China.
“You wish to return home?” he said. “So do I. I can guide you to Persia by sea for I know the sea
route and I am skilled in navigation. My father and uncle who have traveled much can help too. But it is
necessary that you obtain the permission of our emperor.”
“Then we shall try,” replied the gentlemen from Persia, “for we are certain that you only can aid us in
taking Princess Kogatin to our king.”
Kublai Khan was not at all happy to have to choose between keeping the princess in China or parting
with Marco, Nicolo, and Maffeo. Once Marco had gone, who would tell him the amusing and interesting
stories about foreign countries, which he liked so much? Very grumblingly he finally consented.
Twelve ships were made ready, just enough for a party accompanying a princess, a future queen of
Persia. They were good ships-much better than the European ships Marco had known. Their holds were
divided into several parts so that only one part would fill with water, should the ship run into rocks or

6. whales. They had cabins too, to shelter the passengers from stormy seas. After bidding goodbye to old
Khan, Nicolo, Maffeo, and Marco at last sail from China.
On the way home Venetians sailed along many new coast of which even the names were unknown in
Europe. They first saw Indo-China, whose king sent twenty elephants each year to Kublai Khan; and Java
and Sumatra, where Marco found nuts big as a man’s head-coconuts-and rhinoceroses bathing in mud
pools.
In Sumatra the ships waited five months for the west-blowing monsoon. Since the wild men of
Sumatra like to eat strangers, Marco gave the order to build trenches around the beach to keep the savages
away.
After passing many new islands, the ships came to Ceylon, and then to India which was full of jewels
and kings as when Alexander dreamed of conquering it.
In India, Marco was told about the kingdom where no tailor could become rich for everyone went
naked-even the king, who wore rings on his toes. He also heard about the Brahmins who dare not leave
their houses when they hear someone sneeze for fear of bad luck.
India still sold pepper, ginger, cinnamon, and other spices, and jewels and silks to foreign merchants,
just as it had done in the old days when the Greek traders, helped by the monsoon, first came from
Europe.
As the Chinese ships sailed along the Indian coast, the Arabs sailors told Marco about many strange
lands-the island of Madagascar, far away to the west, where lived giant birds which carried elephants into
the clouds, and the islands of Zanzibar and Socotra. Marco was the first European to hear of these places.
He also heard of the kingdom of Abyssinia in Africa where the king and his people believed in the
Christian God.
At the end of two years, the ships sailed into a Persian port. It had been such a long hard trip that two
of the three gentlemen from Persia and six hundred passengers Maffeo, and Marco, landed, only to learn
that King Argon had died months before, without even seeing his new wife. But everything ended happily
for the princess, for she married King Argon’s son instead.
Marco, his father, and his uncle finally arrived in Venice, twenty-four years after they had left it. It
was the year 1295. They easily found their old home, but the servant who answered their knock at the
door would not let them in. their ragged, dirty, foreign clothes, their sunburned, tired faces, and their
bushy hair and beards made them look like tramps.
“You, Nicolo, Maffeo, and Marco? No, no, that cannot be,” exclaimed the servant. “They have died
many years ago, God knows where. Their house now belongs to a cousin of theirs. You are robbers; go on
your way!”
“Let’s force our way in, said Marco, and he pushed the door open, carrying his bundle after him. But
they had to tell of their trip many times before their cousin would believe them.
At a great feast which was held at Nicolo’s house, Maffeo, and Marco decided to astonish their
friends, so they came in dresses in long Tartar robes of crimson satin. When the dresses had been admired
by all, removed them and had them cut into strips as gifts for the servants while they put on other dresses
of crimson damask.
During the meal they went into another room and reappeared in robes of crimson velvet. But imagine
the surpriseof the guests when, after the meal, they brought in the old tattered clothes in which they had
come home, and when they ripped them apart, streams of rubies, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, pearls,
and jade, poured out onto the table.

7. No one doubted now. They were Nicolo, Maffeo, and Marco, and they must indeed have had wonderful
adventures!
Sometime later, when Marco showed his book which described all the things he had seen, people did not
believe he told the truth.
“Who can believe that black stones can burn like wood?” they said. “Or that nut can be as large as man’s
head?
Imagine shopkeepers taking paper instead of money for their good wares! What a tale teller that Marco
Polo is!” And they called him “Marco of the Millions because he said that there was so much of
everything in China.