ed out to sea with two
soldiers. Suddenly a typhoon arose, which lashed the waves until they
spurted sky-high. The ship turned turtle, and Panther fell into the
sea. He was seized by a creature and flung up on a strand where there
seemed to be dwellings. The creature who had seized him looked like an
ogre, so Panther addressed him in the ogre tongue. The ogre,
surprised, asked him who he was, and Panther told him his whole story.

The ogre was pleased and said: "Wo-Me is my old home, but it lies
about eight thousand miles away from here. This is the kingdom of the
poison dragons."

Then the ogre fetched a ship and had Panther seat himself in it, while
he himself pushed the ship before him through the water so that it
clove the waves like an arrow. It took a whole night, but in the
morning a shoreline appeared to the North, and there on the strand
stood a youth on look-out. Panther recognized his brother. He stepped
ashore and they clasped hands and wept. Then Panther turned around to
thank the ogre, but the latter had already disappeared.

Panther now asked after his mother and sister and was told that both
were well and happy, so he wanted to go to them with his brother. But
the latter told him to wait, and went off alone. Not long after he
came back with their mother and sister. And when they saw Panther,
both wept with emotion. Panther now begged them to return with him to
Annam.

But his mother replied: "I fear that if I went, people would mock me
because of my figure."

"I am a high officer," replied Panther, "and people would not dare to
insult you."

So they all went down to the ship together with him. A favorable wind
filled their sails and they sped home swiftly as an arrow flies. On
the third day they reached land. But the people whom they encountered
were all seized with terror and ran away. Then Panther took off his
mantle and divided it among the three so that they could dress
themselves.

When they reached home and the mother saw her husband again, she at
once began to scold him violently because he had said not a word to
her when he went away. The members of his family, who all came to
greet the wife of the master of the house, did so with fear and
trembling. But Panther advised his mother to learn the language of the
Middle Kingdom, dress in silks, and accustom herself to human food.
This she agreed to do; yet she and her daughter had men's clothing
made for them. The brother and sister gradual