uer.

And full of sadness and trouble, the old man wept.

The fresh water had frozen and burst the barrel that contained it. And
Mael was sucking pieces of ice to quench his thirst, and his food was
bread dipped in dirty water. His beard and his hair were broken like
glass. His habit was covered with a layer of ice and cut into him at
every movement of his limbs. Huge waves rose up and opened their foaming
jaws at the old man. Twenty times the boat was filled by masses of
sea. And the ocean swallowed up the book of the Holy Gospels which the
apostle guarded with extreme care in a purple cover marked with a golden
cross.

Now on the thirtieth day the sea calmed. And lo! with a frightful
clamour of sky and waters a mountain of dazzling whiteness advanced
towards the stone vessel. Mael steered to avoid it, but the tiller broke
in his hands. To lessen the speed of his progress towards the rock he
attempted to reef the sails, but when he tried to knot the reef-points
the wind pulled them away from him and the rope seared his hands. He saw
three demons with wings of black skin having hooks at their ends, who,
hanging from the rigging, were puffing with their breath against the
sails.

Understanding from this sight that the Enemy had governed him in all
these things, he guarded himself by making the sign of the Cross.
Immediately a furious gust of wind filled with the noise of sobs and
howls struck the stone trough, carried off the mast with all the sails,
and tore away the rudder and the stem.

The trough was drifting on the sea, which had now grown calm. The holy
man knelt and gave thanks to the Lord who had delivered him from the
snares of the demon. Then he recognised, sitting on a block of ice, the
mother bear who had spoken during the storm. She pressed her beloved
child to her bosom, and in her hand she held a purple book marked with a
golden cross. Hailing the granite trough, she saluted the holy man with
these words:

"Pax tibi Mael."

And she held out the book to him.

The holy man recognised his evangelistary, and, full of astonishment, he
sang in the tepid air a hymn to the Creator and His creation.

V. THE BAPTISM OF THE PENGUINS

After having drifted for an hour the holy man approached a narrow
strand, shut in by steep mountains. He went along the coast for a whole
day and a night, passing around the reef which formed an insuperable
barrier. He discovered in this way that it was a round island