When we arrived
at Philebos's lodging—for this was my purchaser's name he shouted in a loud voice, just before the door, "Little girls, I have bought you a
slave, a handsome, stout Cappadocian." These
"little girls" were a crowd of abandoned men,
coadjutors of Philebos, and they all applauded in


 



answer to his shout, for they thought he had really made a human purchase. But when they saw
his slave was an ass they jeered Philebos and
burst out laughing.
The next day they got ready for work, as they
expressed it, prepared the goddess, and set her
on my back. Then we marched out of the city
and tramped about the country.
Whenever we
came into a village, I, the bearer of the goddess,
halted, the crowd of flute players blew a frenzied
strain, and the others, tearing off their Oriental
head-dresses, bending their heads and twisting
their necks, would cut their arms with their swords,
and each thrusting his tongue outside his teeth,
would cut that, too, so that in a moment they
would be covered with fresh blood. When I saw
these doings I at first stood trembling lest the
goddess might sometime have need of asses' blood,
too. But after they had mutilated themselves in
this way they collected coppers and small silver
coins from the surrounding spectators. Some one
might add figs and cheese and a jar of wine, or a
bushel of wheat or barley for the ass.
By these
means the company provided for their own maintenance and the service of the goddess whom I
carried. 
Towards evening one day we halted at the
farm of a rich man. The master was at home,
received the goddess in his house with much


 


pleasure, and offered sacrifices to her. I am still
mindful of the terrible danger I was in at that
house, for the proprietor had received as a present from one of his friends a haunch of wild ass.
The cook took possession of it to dress it, but by
his carelessness it was lost, for a crowd of dogs
contrived to steal in where it was. The man was
so terrified at the storm of blows and the torture
he would get for the loss of the haunch that he
determined to hang himself by the neck. But
his wife, who was my heavy curse, said, "Nay,
dearest, don't take your own life or give way to
such despair. Be guided by me and all will go
well. Take these rascals' ass out to a lonely spot,
then kill him, cut off this quarter, the haunch,
bring it here, dress it and serve it to your master,
throwing the rest of the creature down some
precipice. They will think he has run away
somewhere and got lost. You see how fat he is,
and how much better in every way than that wild
one."

The cook praised the woman's idea. A happy
thought, wife," said he. “It is my only way to
escape a flogging, and it shall be done immediately." Thus did the wretch who was to be my
cook plot with his wife, standing in my presence.