_Item Second_
MY four-great-grandfather was a mighty hunter. So great a hunter was he,
he was employed by the king to furnish his zoölogical garden, each
Saturday of each week, with a new animal for his royal inspection.
There was but one single restriction on his employment not to my
ancestor’s liking; but he knew his powers so well he had confidence he
would never lose his employment in that manner. The restriction was, if
he failed to present the king with a new manner of beast upon any
Saturday he would lose his employment by having his head removed
suddenly from his body.
It happened he was, like most young men, smitten by love, and one week
he went away to get married, the nuptials not being finished until late
Friday night. He had provided, however, against this contingency by
capturing two new beasts the week before, thus having one on hand. What
was his horror you may well imagine then when he found it had escaped.
There was nothing to do but go forth and capture another, and he was
abroad the next morning before there was light enough to see.
He went into the forest at a new place and had traveled many miles
without securing anything. Hitherto his practice had been to learn the
whereabouts of the animals, then to set traps for them in the night time
so he might obtain them without blemish, as it would have been worth his
life to have taken before the king an animal marred or injured in any
way. But now he had not time in which to set traps, and he knew not
where to set them anyway.
[Illustration]
And so it was as he was wandering along he observed at a great distance
a most curious animal; for it had a head in front and a head behind, so
that it could run either way and go forward all the time. In addition to
this it had six legs—two at either end and two in the middle—the last
two it could turn either way, so that it could have hind legs no matter
in which direction it traveled.
It stopped and viewed him, with first one set of eyes, then with the
other, and then with both sets; but kept just the same distance from him
all the time—it was a very foxy animal.
He was much put out to discover the impossibility of capturing this
wondrous beast. He thought of the thing he always carried with him, but
the distance was too great to permit even one of his strength to throw a
noose successfully over either set of horns, or in fact anywhere near
it.
At last he discovered a great curved rock at some distance beyond the
animal, and so maneuvered the animal finally stood beside it. Now,
whenever he stopped the creature would stop; so he then stopped, and so
did it. He then tied the end of his cord to an arrow and shot it with
such dexterity and precision it went beneath the animal, struck the rock
in such a manner it was turned back to him, and he immediately grasped
both ends with such rapidity he was soon homeward bound with his prize,
and his head was safe from the sword of the king’s executioner.
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