9 2 



SHAKESPEARE'S 



[DRAGON. 



the air is moved by him ; and also the sea swelleth 

 against his venom. And he hath a crest with a little 

 mouth, and draweth breath at small pipes and strait, and 

 reareth his tongue, and hath teeth like a saw. And hath 

 strength, and not only in teeth, but also in his tail, and 

 grieveth both with biting and with stinging, and hath not 

 so much venom as other serpents ; for to the end to slay 

 any thing, to him venom is not needful ; for whom he 

 findeth he slayeth, and the elephant is not sicher of him 

 [safe from him] for all his greatness of body, for he lurketh 



in 



the way where the elephant goeth, and bindeth and 

 spanneth his legs, and strangleth and slayeth him. The 

 Dragon breedeth in Ind and in Ethiopia, there as is great 

 burning of continual heat. The Dragon is twenty cubits 

 great. Oft four or five of them fasten their tails together, 

 and reareth up the heads, and sail over sea and over rivers 

 to get good meat. The cause why the Dragon desireth his 

 blood is coldness of the elephant's blood, by the which the 

 Dragon desireth to cool himself. The Dragon is a full 

 thirsty beast, insomuch that unneath [hardly] he may have 



