Summary

The body of the Imperial Astrologer Huseyn Efendi is found floating by the shores of Istinye; Sadik Pasha had finally obtained the order for his death. Hoja rushes to seize the former astrologer's papers and books, using all of his savings paying bribes to ensure possession of them, but he is disappointed after reading them. The look-alikes then set to work on two treatises as part of their mission to educate the sultan: The Bizarre Behavior of The Beasts and The Curious Wonders of God's Creatures. For these studies the narrator describes the animals on his family's estate in Empoli, Italy, adding some fanciful and exotic creatures, before the two concentrate on a study of the behavior of ants. They hire a miniaturist to paint winged buffalo, six-legged oxen, and two-headed snakes, but the look-alikes are not satisfied because the artwork is two-dimensional as...