Oldal 75 [75]
Lae CAS TEE OF LEE
to displease them and run into danger; it was better to
wait for a favorable opportunity which chance would doubt¬
less offer. For a whole month I lay in ambush, witnessing
the same spectacle every morning, when one day I saw a
huge black cat arrive first at the place of meeting and hide
itself behind a rock, almost under my hand. A black cat
could be nothing else than an enchanter, according to what
I had learned in my childhood, and I resolved to watch him.
Scarcely had the kingfisher and the adder embraced each
other when, behold! the cat gathered itself up and sprang
upon these innocents. It was my turn to throw myself
upon the wretch, who already held his victims in his mur¬
derous claws; I seized him, despite his struggles, although
he tore my hands in pieces, and without pity, knowing
with whom I had to deal, I took the knife which I used
to open shell-fish, and cut off the monster’s head, claws,
and tail, confidently awaiting the success of my devotion.
“T did not wait long; no sooner had I thrown the body of
the animal into the sea than I saw before me two beautiful
ladies, one crowned with white plumes, the other with a
serpent’s skin thrown like a scarf across her shoulder. ‘They
were, as I have already told you, the Fairy of the Waters
and the Fairy of the Woods, who, enchanted by a wretched
genie who had learned their secret, had been forced to
remain a kingfisher and an adder until freed by some
generous hand, and who owed me their power and freedom.
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