Page:Arabian Nights Entertainments (1728)-Vol. 2.djvu/55

thou curſed Creature! reply’d the Princeſs, I can juſtly reproach thee with doing ſo. The Lion anſwered fiercely, thou ſhalt quickly have thy Reward for the Trouble thou hiſt given me to return: With that he opened his terrible Throat, and run at her to devour her; but ſhe, being on her Guard, leap’d backward, got Time to pull out one of her Hairs, and by pronouncing three or four Words, chang’d her ſelf into a ſharp Sword, wherewith ſhe cut the Lion through the Middle in two Pieces.

The Two parts of the Lion vaniſhed, and the Head only was left, which changed it ſelf into a large Scorpion. Immediately the Princeſs turn’d her ſelf into a Serpent, and fought the Scorpion; who, finding himſelf worſted, took the Shape of an Eagle, and flew away: But the Serpent at the ſame time took alſo the ſhape of an Eagle that was black and much ſtronger, and purſued him; ſo that we loſt the Sight of them both.

Some time after they had diſappeared, the Ground opened before us, and out of it came forth a Cat, black and white, with her Hair ſtanding upright, and keeping a fearful Miauling; a black Wolf followed her cloſe, and gave her no Time to reſt. The Cat being thus hard beſet, changed her ſelf into a Worm; and being nigh to a Pomgranate that had accidentally fallen from a Tree that grew on the Side of a Canal, which was deep but not broad; the Worm pierced the Pomegranate in an Inſtant, and hid it ſelf, but the Pomgranate ſwell’d immediately, and became as big as a Gourd, which mounting up to the Top of the Gallery, rowl’d there for ſome Space backward and forward, fell down again into the Court, and broke into ſeveral Pieces.

The Wolf, who had in the mean while transformed it ſelf into a Cock, fell a picking up the Seeds of the Pomgranate one after another, but finding no more he came towards us with his Wings ſpread, making a great Noiſe, as if he would ask us whether there was any more Seed. There was one lying on the Brink of the Canal, which the Cock perceiving as he went back, run ſpeedily thither; but juſt as he was going to pick it up, the Seed roul’d into the River and turn’d into a little Fiſh.