the lion's head had taken
all the fierceness of the dead one into themselves, and spit flame,
and hissed, and roared, with a vast deal more fury than before.

"Never mind, my brave Pegasus!" cried Bellerophon. "With another
stroke like that, we will stop either its hissing or its roaring."

And again he shook the bridle. Dashing aslantwise, as before, the
winged horse made another arrow-flight towards the Chimaera, and
Bellerophon aimed another downright stroke at one of the two remaining
heads, as he shot by. But this time, neither he nor Pegasus escaped so
well as at first. With one of its claws, the Chimaera had given the
young man a deep scratch in his shoulder, and had slightly damaged the
left wing of the flying steed with the other. On his part, Bellerophon
had mortally wounded the lion's head of the monster, insomuch that it
now hung downward, with its fire almost extinguished, and sending out
gasps of thick black smoke. The snake's head, however (which was
the only one now left), was twice as fierce and venomous as ever
before. It belched forth shoots of fire five hundred yards long, and
emitted hisses so loud, so harsh, and so ear-piercing, that King
Iobates heard them, fifty miles off, and trembled till the throne
shook under him.

[Illustration: BELLEROPHON SLAYS THE CHIMAERA]

"Well-a-day!" thought the poor king; "the Chimaera is certainly coming
to devour me!"

Meanwhile Pegasus had again paused in the air, and neighed angrily,
while sparkles of a pure crystal flame darted out of his eyes. How
unlike the lurid fire of the Chimaera! The aerial steed's spirit was
all aroused, and so was that of Bellerophon.

"Dost thou bleed, my immortal horse?" cried the young man, caring less
for his own hurt than for the anguish of this glorious creature, that
ought never to have tasted pain. "The execrable Chimaera shall pay for
this mischief with his last head!"

Then he shook the bridle, shouted loudly, and guided Pegasus, not
aslantwise as before, but straight at the monster's hideous front. So
rapid was the onset, that it seemed but a dazzle and a flash before
Bellerophon was at close gripes with his enemy.

The Chimaera, by this time, after losing its second head, had got into
a red-hot passion of pain and rampant rage. It so flounced about, half
on earth and partly in the air, that it was impossible to say which
element it rested upon. It opened its snake-jaws to such an
abominable width, that Pegasus mig