Loukios, or the Ass (25-30)

Meanwhile they began at once to talk with each other about the girl.

"What shall we do with the runaway?" asked one of them. "There is nothing to do," said another, "but throw her down on top of our old woman. She has robbed us of as much treasure as she could, and was on her way to betray our whole establishment. For be assured, my friends, that if she had reached her kinsmen not one of us would have been left alive, for our enemies would have fallen on us with every preparation and captured us all. So let us take our revenge on the foe, but not by giving her such an easy death as falling onto the rock. Let us invent for her the most painful and lingering death, and one that will only kill her after keeping her a prisoner in long torment." Then they set themselves to think out a form of death, and some one said, “I know you will applaud my invention. We must kill the ass who is a nuisance, and, moreover, pretends at present to be lame, and helped and ministered to the girl's flight into the bargain. Let us slaughter him, then, early in the morning, cut open his belly, take out all his vitals, and place this virtuous maiden in the ass. We will let her head project so that she may not be stifled at once, but all the rest of her body shall be hidden inside. Then we will stitch her securely in and throw them both out to the vultures, preparing them a novel breakfast. Note, my friends, the horror of the torture: in the first place, to live in the dead body of an ass, then to bake with the beast in the hottest sun of summer, and to die of lingering starvation, unable even to strangle herself. And, finally, the vultures will make their way in through the ass, and tear her flesh along with his while she is yet alive."

A general shout of applause greeted this monstrous idea as though it were something delightful; but I bewailed my lot. I was destined to be slaughtered, and not even after death to lie a peaceful corpse, but to serve as the tomb of an unhappy and innocent girl. But before day had fairly come a crowd of soldiers suddenly appeared who had come to attack these villians, and they forthwith clapped them all in irons and carried them off to the governor of the country. And it happened that the girl's fiancé came with them, for it was he that had given information as to the whereabouts of the robbers' headquarters. So he took charge of the girl, set her on my back, and led her thus to her home. When the villagers caught sight of us still at a distance they knew the expedition was successful, for I brayed the good tidings to them, and they ran to meet us, embraced us, and led us in. The young girl had a great deal to say about me, doing justice to her partner in captivity, in

flight, and in the danger of that common death. And by my mistress's orders a breakfast was set before me, consisting of a bushel of barley and hay enough for a camel. But it was then most of all that I cursed Palaistra for having changed me into an ass by her art and not into a dog, for I saw the dogs sneaking into the kitchen and gorging themselves with plenty of food, such as is served at the wedding-banquet of a wealthy pair. A few days after the marriage my mistress declared in her father's presence that she was indebted to me, and longed to make me a just return; whereupon he gave orders to turn me out to grass in the pasture with the mares. "For if he is at liberty," said he, "he will enjoy life." And this recompense would have seemed perfectly just if the matter had come before an ass as judge. So he called one of the grooms and handed me over to him, and I was delighted at the prospect of doing no more work. When we arrived at the farm the herdsman put me with the mares, and led the drove of us into the pasture.

But even here it was fated that I should have the same experience as Kandaules; for the man in charge of the mares left me in the possession of his wife, Megapole, for domestic service, and she harnessed me in the mill, and made me grind wheat and barley at her bidding. It is true that it was no great evil to a grateful ass

to turn a mill for his own masters, but the worthy woman hired out my wretched neck to the other peasants of the district, who were numerous, taking her pay in flour. And she would also roast the barley allowed me for my breakfast, put it before me for me to grind, make cakes of it, and eat them whole, leaving me to breakfast on the bran. So I grew thin and ugly in a short time, for I had no.comfort in-doors at the mill, nor out-of-doors in the pasture, because my fellow-grazers fought with me.

Moreover, I was often sent up into the mountain to fetch wood on my shoulders, and this was the crown of my sorrows. In the first place, there was a high mountain to be climbed by a terribly straight road, and in the second place, I was barefoot on a steep and stony path. Besides this they sent with me as driver a wretch of a small boy, who found a new way to torture me every time. First he used to flog me even when I was trotting faster than I should, and not with a trimmed stick, but one covered with sharp knots. He always used to strike the same spot on my haunch, so that he opened a wound there with his club, and he always aimed at the sore place. His next idea was to lay a burden on me that would have been too heavy for an elephant. The descent from the mountain was steep, but even there he used to flog me. And if he saw that my load had slipped and was hanging to one

side, so that some of the sticks ought to be taken off and added to the lighter side to make it balance, he would by no means proceed in this way. No; he would lift great stones from the mountainside and put them on the side of my fardel that was lighter and slipping up, and I would go on, poor wretch, carrying in addition to the wood an equal weight of useless stones. Moreover, there was a stream that crossed the road and was never dry, and the boy, to save wetting his shoes, used to perch on my back behind the wood, and thus cross the river.

If ever I fell down, worn out with carrying my load, that would be the occasion of unendurable suffering. He who ought to have dismounted and given me the assistance of his hand by raising me from the earth, and, if need were, taking off my load, would neither get down nor lift a finger to help me, but from his seat he would batter me with his stick, beginning at my head and ears, until the blows aroused me. And he played an even more intolerable trick on me than this. He collected a fagot of the sharpest thorns, tied them with a cord, and hung them behind on my tail. As may be imagined, they dangled and fell forward against me as I descended the mountain and pricked my hind-quarters till they were covered with wounds. I was helpless to protect myself, for the source of my pain followed me at

each step, hanging from my own body. If I advanced gingerly to avoid the thorns I was halfkilled with the club; if I shunned the club then that horror at my back attacked me sharply. In fact, my driver's one object in life was to kill me.