ize, leading him; and a great number more coming before him at a
quick pace.

We did not hesitate to take to our rafts, but put to sea with all the
speed we could. The giants, who perceived this, took up great stones,
and running to the shore they entered the water up to the middle, and
threw so exactly that they sank all the rafts but that I was upon; and
all my companions, except the two with me, were drowned. We rowed with
all our might, and got out of the reach of the giants. But when we got
out to sea we were exposed to the mercy of the waves and winds, and
spent that day and the following night under the most painful
uncertainty as to our fate; but next morning we had the good fortune
to be thrown upon an island, where we landed with much joy. We found
excellent fruit, which afforded us great relief, and recruited our
strength.

At night we went to sleep on the seashore; but were awakened by the
noise of a serpent of surprising length and thickness, whose scales
made a rustling noise as he wound himself along. It swallowed up one
of my comrades, notwithstanding his loud cries and the efforts he made
to extricate himself from it. Dashing him several times against the
ground, it crushed him, and we could hear it gnaw and tear the poor
fellow's bones, though we had fled to a considerable distance. The
following day, to our great terror, we saw the serpent again, when I
exclaimed, "O Heaven, to what dangers are we exposed! We rejoiced
yesterday at having escaped from the cruelty of a giant and the rage
of the waves; now are we fallen into another danger equally dreadful."

As we walked about, we saw a large tall tree, upon which we designed
to pass the following night for our security; and having satisfied our
hunger with fruit, we mounted it accordingly. Shortly after, the
serpent came hissing to the foot of the tree, raised itself up against
the trunk of it, and meeting with my comrade, who sat lower than I,
swallowed him at once, and went off.

I remained upon the tree till it was day, and then came down, more
like a dead man than one alive, expecting the same fate as had
befallen my two companions. This filled me with horror, and I advanced
some steps to throw myself into the sea; but I withstood this dictate
of despair, and submitted myself to the will of God, who disposes of
our lives at His pleasure.

In the meantime I collected together a great quantity of small wood,
brambles, and dry thorns, and making