FISH LEGENDS 



71 



fish and the ring, which has been often repeated 

 with variations. The ring, says Herodotus, was an 

 emerald set in gold, and beautifully engraved, the 

 work of Theodorus the Samian ; and this very ring, 

 Pliny relates, was preserved in the Temple of 

 Concord in Rome, to which it was given by the 

 Emperor Augustus. 



In the Koran of Mahomet the legend of the 

 ring, and its recovery by means of a fish, is 

 introduced. "Solomon entrusted his signet with 

 one of his concubines, which the Devil obtained 

 from her, and sat on the throne in Solomon's shape. 

 After forty days the Devil departed, and threw the 

 ring into the sea. The signet was swallowed by a 

 fish, which being caught and given to Solomon, the 

 ring was found in his belly, and thus he recovered 

 his kingdom." l 



1 Sale's Translation of the Koran. 



