Page:The Pentamerone, or The Story of Stories.djvu/105

Rh in this country, the most terrible monster that ever was seen in the world, with the crest of a cock, the head of a cat, eyes of fire, the mouth of a bulldog, the wings of a bat, the claws of a bear, and the tail of a serpent. Now this dragon swallows a Christian every day, and so it has gone on up to the present time, until at last the lot has fallen upon Menechella, the daughter of the king; on which account there is a great weeping and wailing in the royal palace, since the fairest creature in all the land is doomed to be devoured and swallowed by this horrid beast,"

When Cienzo heard this he stepped aside, and saw Menechella pass by with the mourning train, accompanied by the ladies of the court and all the women of the land, wringing their hands, and tearing out their hair by handfuls, and bewailing the sad fate of the poor girl, saying, "Who would have imagined that this unhappy maiden should make a cession of the wealth of life in the body of this brute beast? who could have thought that this beautiful goldfinch should have the belly of a dragon for a cage? who could have foretold that such a beauteous little angel should be doomed to end her life in this dark cavern?"

As they were exclaiming thus, behold the dragon came out of a cave. O mother of mine, what a horrid sight! the sun hid himself in terror within the clouds;