[Footnote 9: 
                “But as when
     The Bird of Wonder dies, the maiden phoenix,
     Her ashes new create another heir.”—­’Henry VIII.,’ v. 5.]

THE ANT

There is another kind of ant up in Ethiopia, which is of the shape and size of dogs.  They have strange habits, for they scratch into the ground and extract therefrom great quantities of fine gold.  If any one wishes to take this gold from them, he soon repents of his undertaking; for the ants run upon him, and if they catch him they devour him instantly.  The people who live near them know that they are fierce and savage, and that they possess a great quantity of gold, and so they have invented a cunning trick.  They take mares which have unweaned foals, and give them no food for three days.  On the fourth the mares are saddled, and to the saddles are fastened boxes that shine like gold.  Between these people and the ants flows a very swift river.  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.