iver. The famished mares are driven
across this river, while the foals are kept on the hither side. On the
other side of the river the grass is rich and thick. Here the mares
graze, and the ants seeing the shining boxes think they have found a
good place to hide their gold, and so all day long they fill and load
the boxes with their precious gold, till night comes on and the mares
have eaten their fill. When they hear the neighing of their foals they
hasten to return to the other side of the river. There their masters
take the gold from the boxes and become rich and powerful, but the ants
grieve over their loss.

THE SIREN

The siren is a monster of strange fashion, for from the waist up it is
the most beautiful thing in the world, formed in the shape of a woman.
The rest of the body is like a fish or a bird. So sweetly and
beautifully does she sing that they who go sailing over the sea, as soon
as they hear the song, cannot keep from going towards her. Entranced by
the music, they fall asleep in their boat, and are killed by the siren
before they can utter a cry[10].

[Footnote 10: References to the siren are innumerable; the most famous
perhaps is Heine's 'Lorelei.' Cf. also Dante, 'Purgatorio,' xix. 19-20.]

THE WHALE

In the sea, which is mighty and vast, are many kinds of fish, such as
the turbot, the sturgeon, and the porpoise. But there is one monster,
very treacherous and dangerous. In Latin its name is Cetus. It is a bad
neighbor for sailors. The upper part of its back looks like sand, and
when it rises from the sea, the mariners think it is an island. Deceived
by its size they sail toward it for refuge, when the storm comes upon
them. They cast anchor, disembark upon the back of the whale, cook their
food, build a fire, and in order to fasten their boat they drive great
stakes into what seems to them to be sand. When the monster feels the
heat of the fire which burns upon its back, it plunges down into the
depths of the sea, and drags the ship and all the people after it.

When the fish is hungry it opens its mouth very wide, and breathes forth
an exceedingly sweet odor. Then all the little fish stream thither, and,
allured by the sweet smell, crowd into its throat. Then the whale closes
its jaws and swallows them into its stomach, which is as wide as a
valley[11].

[Footnote 11: "Who is a whale to virginity and devours up all the fry it
finds."--'All's Well that Ends Well,' iv. 3.]

THE CROCOD