Page:Tales of old Lusitania.djvu/164

148 jumped over him, ran up to the fountain, and instantly taking the form of a fish disappeared in the water.

When the magician arrived and found that the horse had given his groom the slip, he was very angry with the man, but the people who had seen the occurrence said, "Do not blame the poor man, for when he least expected it the horse jumped over him, and, taking the form of a fish, leaped into the water and disappeared in the fountain."

The magician, on hearing this, at once transformed himself into an otter, and jumped into the fountain to eat up the fish; but the fish took the form of a dove and flew away. The otter then changed itself into a kite, and chased the dove; but just as the kite was on the point of darting upon the dove to carry it off, the dove turned into an apple, and fell on the lap of a lady who was sitting on a balcony with some friends. The kite now returned into a man, its natural form, and begged the holder of the apple to let him have it; but the lady, wishing to keep it because she thought it had fallen from heaven, refused to give it up. The magician began to wring his hands in despair, and, weeping bitterly, said to the ladies, "Dear good ladies, if you refuse to let me have the apple I shall certainly die; it is a charm which I have lost, and I must regain it if I would live. You surely would not wish to see me dead."

The lady, compassionating the man's distress, was