Page:The-story-of-the-golden-fleece--281903-29-andrew-lang.djvu/25

The Story of the Golden Fleece town where this temple was. And when he reached it, it was a strange place. The priests were dressed in dogs’ skins, with the heads of the dogs drawn down over their faces, and there were live dogs running all about the place, for these were the favorite beasts of the god. And there was an image of him, with a dog crouched at his feet, and in his hand he held a serpent, and fed it from a bowl. So there the king sacrificed before the god, and when night fell he was taken into the temple, and there were many beds made up on the floor and many people lying on them, both rich and poor, hoping that the god would appear to them in a dream, and tell them how they might be healed. There the king lay, like the rest, and for long he could not close his eyes. At length he slept, and 19