Then we came to a smooth sea and an island
of no great size that was easily accessible and was
inhabited. -It was peopled by savages, the Bullheads, who have horns in the style that the


 

Minotaur is represented at home. Landing, we
went up country to get water and food if we could,
for we no longer had any. Water we found close
by, but there was nothing else to be seen, though
we heard a great bellowing not far off. Thinking it
was a herd of cattle, we went ahead cautiously and
came upon the men of whom I spoke. On seeing
us, they gave chase, and captured three of my
comrades, but the rest of us made our escape to
the sea. Then, however, we all armed ourselves—
it did not seem right to let our friends go unavenged
—and fell on the Bullheads while they were portioning out the flesh of the men they had slain. We
put them all to flight and gave chase, killing about
fifty and taking two alive: then we turned back to
the ship with our prisoners. We found no food,
though. The rest therefore urged that the captives
be killed; I did not approve of this, however, but
put them in irons and kept them under guard until
ambassadors came from the Bullheads, asking for
them and offering a ransom. We understood them
because they made signs and bellowed plaintively as
if in entreaty. The ransom was a number of cheeses,
dried fish, onions, and four does, each of which had
only three feet, for while they had two behind, the
forefeet had grown together. In exchange for all
this we surrendered the captives, and after stopping
there a single day we put to sea.

 

Already we began to see fish, birds flew by and
all the other signs that land was near made their
appearance. In a little while we saw men who were


 

following a novel mode of sailing, being at once
sailors and ships. Let me tell you how they did it:
they lay on their backs on the water, hoisted
their jury-masts, which are sizeable, spread sail on
them, held the clews in their hands, and were off
and away as soon as the wind struck them. Others
came next who sat on corks and had a pair of
dolphins hitched up, driving them and guiding them
with reins; in moving ahead, the dolphins drew the
corks along. They neither offered us harm nor ran
away from us, but drove along fearlessly and peacefully, wondering at the shape of our boat and
examining her from all sides.

 

In the evening we touched at another island of
no great size. It was inhabited by women—or so
we thought—who spoke Greek, and they came up
to us, welcomed and embraced us. They were got
up just like courtezans and were all beautiful and
young, with tunics that swept on the ground. The
island was called Witchery, and the city Watertown.
 Both names are uncertain in the Greck. 
Each of the women took one of us home with her
and made him her guest. But I excused myself for
a moment—I had misgivings—and on looking about
rather carefully, saw many human bones and skulls
lying there. To make an outcry, call my comrades
together and arm ourselves did not seem best to. me,
but I fetched out my mallow and prayed to it
earnestly that I might escape the ills that beset me.
After a little while, as my hostess was waiting on me,
I saw that her legs were not a woman’s but those of
an ass. Then I drew my sword, caught and bound



 

her and questioned her about the whole thing.
Against her will she told me that they were women
of the sea, called Asslegs and that they fed on the
strangers that visited them. ‘“When we have made’
them drunk,” said she, “we go to bed with them
and attack them in their sleep.” On hearing this, I
left her there tied up, and myself went up to the
housetop and cried out and called my comrades together. When they had come, I told them everything, showed them the bones and led them in to the
woman who was tied up, but she immediately turned
to water and disappeared. Nevertheless I thrust my
sword into the water as a test, and the water turned
to blood.

 

With all speed we went back to the ship and
sailed away. When the light of day began to show,
we saw land and judged it to be the world opposite
the one which we inhabit. After doing homage and
offering prayer, we took thought for the future.
Some of us proposed just to land and then turn back
again, others to leave the boat there, go into the
interior and see what the inhabitants were like.
While we were debating this, a violent storm struck
the boat, dashed it ashore and wrecked it, and
we ourselves had much trouble in swimming out
with our arms and anything else that we could
catch up. 
Thus far I have told you what happened to me
until I reached the other world, first at sea, then


 

during my voyage among the islands and in the air, then
in the whale, and after we left it, among the heroes
and the dreams, and finally among the Bullheads
and the Asslegs. What happened in the other world
I shall tell you in the succeeding books.
 The biggest lie of all, as a disgruntled Greek scribe
remarks in the margin!