thus contrived to make about as much speed as all the three together.

Oh, the mischief, and mischief, and mischief that this naughty
creature did! With its flaming breath, it could set a forest on fire,
or burn up a field of grain, or, for that matter, a village, with all
its fences and houses. It laid waste the whole country round about,
and used to eat up people and animals alive, and cook them afterwards
in the burning oven of its stomach. Mercy on us, little children, I
hope neither you nor I will ever happen to meet a Chimaera!

While the hateful beast (if a beast we can anywise call it) was doing
all these horrible things, it so chanced that Bellerophon came to that
part of the world, on a visit to the king. The king's name was
Iobates, and Lycia was the country which he ruled over. Bellerophon
was one of the bravest youths in the world, and desired nothing so
much as to do some valiant and beneficent deed, such as would make all
mankind admire and love him. In those days, the only way for a young
man to distinguish himself was by fighting battles, either with the
enemies of his country, or with wicked giants, or with troublesome
dragons, or with wild beasts, when he could find nothing more
dangerous to encounter. King Iobates, perceiving the courage of his
youthful visitor, proposed to him to go and fight the Chimaera, which
everybody else was afraid of, and which, unless it should be soon
killed, was likely to convert Lycia into a desert. Bellerophon
hesitated not a moment, but assured the king that he would either slay
this dreaded Chimaera, or perish in the attempt.

But, in the first place, as the monster was so prodigiously swift, he
bethought himself that he should never win the victory by fighting on
foot. The wisest thing he could do, therefore, was to get the very
best and fleetest horse that could anywhere be found. And what other
horse, in all the world, was half so fleet as the marvelous horse
Pegasus, who had wings as well as legs, and was even more active in
the air than on the earth? To be sure, a great many people denied that
there was any such horse with wings, and said that the stories about
him were all poetry and nonsense. But, wonderful as it appeared,
Bellerophon believed that Pegasus was a real steed, and hoped that he
himself might be fortunate enough to find him; and, once fairly
mounted on his back, he would be able to fight the Chimaera at better
advantage.

And this was the purpo