When
we touched the water it was wonderful to see the
excesses of our joy and delight. We made what
cheer our means would allow, and sprang overboard and swam about, for there happened to be
a calm and the sea was quiet. But a change for
the better seems to be often the beginning of
greater evils, and so it was in our case. For two
days only we sailed with fine weather, and at daybreak, on the third, just before sunrise, we suddenly sighted a great number of sea-monsters
and whales, with one among them bigger than all
the rest, a hundred and seventy miles long. It
came on with its mouth yawning open, making
wide commotion in the sea, scattering foam in all
directions, and showing its great teeth. They


 



were all as sharp as pickets and white as ivory.
Well, we said our last farewells, embraced each
other, and waited. The creature was already
alongside, and swallowed us down at a gulp, ship
and all. However, it did not close its teeth in
time to crush us, but the ship slipped in through
the openings.