OW often does a change in fortune for the better appear to be the precursor of still greater calamity?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Lucian’s Wonderland, being a Translation of the ‘Vera Historia,’ by St J. Basil Wynne Willson, M. A., illustrated by A. Payne Garnett; Edinburgh and London: Blackwood and Sons; 1899, pp. 52-62.
OW often does a change in fortune for the better appear to be the precursor of still greater calamity?
We had been sailing only two days, and the third was just dawning, when towards sunrise we suddenly saw a crowd of monsters and whales, and amongst them one of especially prodigious proportions. It was as much as three hundred thousand yards long.
53THE SHIP
AND THE
WHALE.
On it came with its jaws wide open, churning up the sea far ahead of it. All the water round it was a mass of foam, and its teeth gleamed, as sharp as stakes and as white as ivory.
As for us, we waited the while, saying farewell and embracing one another.
And now the monster was close upon us, and with a great gulp swallowed us up, ship and all. However, it had not time to crunch us with its teeth, as the ship tumbled through the gaps in them into the interior.
Inside at first all was dark, and we could discern nothing; but soon, when the whale opened its mouth, we saw a vast cavern, exceeding broad and high, and of sufficient capacity for a city of ten thousand inhabitants. In the middle lay little fish and many other animals crunched to pieces, together 54 with ships’ sails and anchors, human bones, and cargoes. Down the centre stretched land and ridges, the sediment, I presume, of the slime that the monster drank. At all events, there was a wood, and trees of all kinds growing there, and vegetables sprouting, and on all sides evident signs of cultivation. The circumference of the land was forty-eight thousand yards. One could see sea-birds, gulls, and halcyons, making their nests in the trees.
For a long time we remained weeping, till at length I roused my companions and we proceeded to underprop the vessel. Having obtained a fire by the friction of fire-sticks, we made the best supper that our plight permitted. There was an unstinted supply of fish and flesh, and we still had the water that we brought with us from Lucifer.
THE SHIP SWALLOWED BY THE WHALE.
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OnTHE
WHALE’S
BELLY.57 awaking next day, whenever the whale opened its jaws, we would see at one time land and mountains, and at another only sky, and often islands also. It was clear that the monster was scouring every part of the sea.
As soon as we were beginning to be accustomed to this mode of life, I took seven of my companions and entered the wood with the purpose of making a complete survey of our surroundings.
I had not gone a full thousand yards when I discovered a shrine of Poseidon, as the inscription showed it to be, and not far off several graves and tombstones, and hard by a fountain of clear water. Also to our amazement we heard the barking of a dog; and seeing smoke arising at some distance off, we were forced to conjecture that there was 58 some habitation there. Walking swiftly on, we came upon an old man and a boy diligently cultivating some kind of leek and conveying water to the plants from the spring by means of conduits. Delighted and at the same time frightened, we stood still. At length the old man said, “Who may ye be, strangers? Are ye some of the sea-gods, or are ye men in the same plight as ourselves? For we too are men and were reared on land, but have now become men of the sea, and are carried about wherever this monster that encloses us may take us, with no knowledge of our fate. For whilst we infer that we are dead, we have a belief that we are alive.”
To this I replied, “We, you must now, are new-comers, father, lately swallowed up by the whale, vessel and all. We have penetrated thus far to discover what the interior
A
GREEK
JONAH.59
of the wood is like; for it seemed to us as though it were a large and overgrown forest. Some Providence must have guided us hither to discover you, and to find that we are not the only men imprisoned in the monster. But tell us all your own history, — who you are, and how you came hither.”
But the old man refused to tell us anything, or to listen to anything from us, until he had made us partake of such hospitality as he could provide. He took us and led us to the house (which he had rendered sufficient for all his needs by beds of leaves and the construction of other furniture), and placed before us vegetables, fruit, and fish, and poured out wine, and when we were fully fed asked us of our adventures. I narrated every incident in order — the storm, our doings on the island, our aerial voyage, the war in the 60 Moon, and so forth, in full detail, up to the time that we were swallowed down by the whale.
The old man was filled with wonder, and in his turn related his own experiences as follows: —
“By birth I am a Cyprian. Once I started on a trading voyage with my son, whom ye see here, and many slaves besides, and set sail for Italy, carrying with me a mixed cargo in a large vessel, spars of which ye may have seen at the mouth of the whale.
“As far as Sicily we had a fair voyage, but there we were overtaken by a terrible hurricane, and for three days were tossed about and driven into the ocean, where, meeting with this monster, we were swallowed up, ship, sailors, and all. All perished save us two, who were saved.
61THE
OLD MAN’S
STORY.“We buried our companions and built a shrine to Poseidon, and now we live the life ye behold, cultivating vegetables and living on fruit and fish. The wood is, as ye see, extensive, and contains many vines, from which we make excellent wine. There is also a fountain, which perhaps ye observed, of pure cold water.
“We make our beds of leaves, and have an unstinted supply of firewood. We hunt the birds on the wing, and catch fish alive by going to the gills of the whale, were we also bathe when we have a mind. Moreover, there is not far off a salt-water lake four thousand yards in circumference, containing fish of all kinds. Herein we fish and sail in a small boat that I have built. We have by now spent seven-and-twenty years in the whale’s belly.
“Our lot is endurable except in one respect. 62 Our neighbours are exceedingly hostile and troublesome, being wild and unsociable.
“What!” said I, “are there other people also living in the whale?”
“Ay, many,” said he, — “inhospitable folk with strange forms.”
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