THE FORTY-SECOND CHAPTER

The Golden Ass

by Lucius Apuleius

THE FORTY-SECOND CHAPTER, THE GOLDEN ASS by Lucius Apuleius


How Apuleius after the Baker was hanged, was sold to a
Gardener, and what dreadfull things happened.

There was a poore Gardener amongst the rest, which bought me
for the summe of fifty pence, which seemed to him a great price,
but he thought to gayne it againe by the continuall travell of my
body. The matter requireth to tell likewise, how I was handled in his
service. This Gardener accustomed to drive me, every morning
laded with hearbes to the next Village, and when he had sold his
hearbes, hee would mount upon my backe and returne to the
Garden, and while he digged the ground and watered the hearbes,
and went about other businesse, I did nothing but repose my selfe
with great ease, but when Winter approached with sharpe haile,
raine and frosts, and I standing under a hedge side, was welnigh
killed up with cold, and my master was so poore that he had no
lodging for himselfe, much lesse had he any littor or place to cover
me withall, for he himselfe alwayes lay under a little roofe
shadowed with boughes. In the morning when I arose, I found my
hoofes shriveled together with cold, and unable to passe upon the
sharpe ice, and frosty mire, neither could I fill my belly with meate,
as I accustomed to doe, for my master and I supped together, and
had both one fare : howbeit it was very slender since as wee had
nothing else saving old and unsavoury sallets which were suffered
to grow for seed, like long broomes, and that had lost all their sweet
sappe and juice.

It fortuned on a day that an honest man of the next village was
benighted and constrained by reason of the rain to lodge (very
lagged and weary).in our Garden, where although he was but
meanely received, yet it served well enough considering time and
necessity. This honest man to recompence our entertainment,
promised to give my master some corne, oyle, and two bottels of
wine : wherefore my master not delaying the matter, laded me with
sackes and bottels, and rode to the Towne which was seaven miles
off.

When we came to the honest mans house, he entertained and
feasted my master exceedingly. And it fortuned while they eate
and dranke together as signe of great amity there chanced a
strange and dreadfull case : for there was a Hen which ran
kackling about the yard, as though she would have layed an Egge.
The good man of the house perceiving her, said : O good and
profitable pullet that feedest us every day with thy fruit, thou
seemest as though thou wouldest give us some pittance for our
dinner : Ho boy put the Pannier in the corner that the Hen may lay.
Then the boy did as his master commanded, but the Hen forsaking
the Pannier, came toward her master and laid at his feet not an
Egge, which every man knoweth, but a Chickin with feathers,
clawes, and eyes, which incontinently ran peeping after his damme.
By and by happened a more strange thing, which would cause any
man to abhorre: under the Table where they sate, the ground
opened, and there appeared a great well and fountain of bloud,
insomuch that the drops thereof sparckled about the Table. At the
same time while they wondred at this dreadfull sight one of the
Servants came running out of the Seller, and told that all the wine
was boyled out of the vessels, as though there had beene some
great fire under. By and by a Weasel was scene that drew into the
house a dead Serpent, and out of the mouth of a Shepheards dog
leaped a live frog, and immediately after one brought word that a
Ram had strangled the same dog at one bit. All these things that
happened, astonied the good man of the house, and the residue that
were present, insomuch that they could not tell what to doe, or with
what sacrifice to appease the anger of the gods. While every man
was thus stroken in feare, behold, one brought word to the good
man of the house, that his three sonnes who had been brought up in
good literature, and endued with good manners were dead, for they
three had great acquaintance and ancient amity with a poore man
which was their neighbour, and dwelled hard by them: and next
unto him dwelled another young man very rich both in lands and
goods, but bending from the race of his progenies dissentions, and
ruling himselfe in the towne according to his owne will. This young
royster did mortally hate this poore man, insomuch that he would
kill his sheepe, steale his oxen, and spoyle his corne and other fruits
before the time of ripenesse, yet was he not contented with this, but
he would encroch upon the poore mans ground, and clayme all the
heritage as his owne. The poore man which was very simple and
fearefull, seeing all his goods taken away by the avarice of the rich
man, called together and assembled many of his friends to shew
them all his land, to the end he might have but so much ground of
his fathers heritage, as might bury him. Amongst whom, he found
these three brethren, as friends to helpe and ayd him in his
adversity and tribulation.

Howbeit, the presence of these honest Citizens, could in no wise
perswade him to leave his extort power, no nor yet to cause any
temperance of his tongue, but the more they went about with gentle
words to tell him his faults, the more would he fret and likewise
fume, swearing all the oathes under God, that he little regarded the
presence of the whole City, whereupon incontinently he
commanded his servants to take the poore man by the eares, and
carry him out of his ground, which greatly offended all the standers
by. Then one of the brethren spake unto him somewhat boldly,
saying : It is but a folly to have such affiance in your riches,
whereby you should use your tyranny against the poore, when as
the law is common for all men, and a redresse may be had to
suppresse your insolency. These words chafed him more then the
burning oile, or flaming brimstone, or scourge of whipps, saying :
that they should be hanged and their law too, before he would be
subject unto any person : and therewithall he called out his
bandogges and great masties, which accustomed to eate the carrion
and carkases of dead beasts in the fields, and to set upon such as
passed by the way: then he commanded they should be put upon all
the assistance to teare them in peeces : who as soone as they
heard the hisse of their master, ran fiercely upon them invading
them on every side, insomuch that the more they flied to escape
away, the more cruell and terrible were the dogges. It fortuned
amongst all this fearefull company, that in running, the youngest of
the three brethren stombled at a stone, and fell down to the ground :
Then the dogs came upon him and tare him in peeces with their
teeth, whereby he was compelled to cry for succour : His other two
brethren hearing his lamentable voice ran towards him to helpe him,
casting their cloakes about their left armes, tooke up stones to
chase away the dogs, but all was in vaine, for they might see their
brother dismembred in every part of his body : Who lying at the
very point of death, desired his brethren to revenge his death
against that cruell tyrant : And therewithall lie gave up the ghost.
The other two brethren perceiving so great a murther, and
neglecting their owne lives, like desperate persons dressed
themselves against the tyrant, and threw a great number of stones
at him, but the bloudy theefe exercised in such and like mischiefes,
tooke a speare and thrust it cleane through the body : howbeit he
fell not downe to the ground. For the speare that came out at his
backe ran into the earth, and sustained him up. By and by carne
one of these tyrants servants the most sturdiest of the rest to helpe
his master, who at the first comming tooke up a stone and threw at
the third brother, but by reason the stone ran along his arme it did
not hurt him, which chanced otherwise then all mens expectation
was : by and by the young man feigning that his arme was greatly
wounded, spake these words unto the cruell bloud sucker : Now
maist thou, thou wretch, triumph upon the destruction of all our
family, now hast thou fed thy insatiable cruelty with the bloud of
three brethren, now maist thou rejoyce at the fall of us Citizens, yet
thinke not but that how farre thou dost remove and extend the
bounds of thy land, thou shalt have some neighbor, but how greatly
am I sorry in that I have lost mine arme wherewithall I minded to
cut off thy head. When he had spoken these words, the furious
theefe drew out his dagger, and running upon the young man
thought verily to have slaine him, but it chanced otherwise: For the
young man resisted him stoutly, and in buckling together by violence
wrested the dagger out of his hand : which done, he killed the rich
theefe with his owne weapon, and to the intent the young man
would escape the hands of the servants which came running to
assist their master, with the same dagger he cut his owne throat.
These things were signified by the strange and dreadfull wondres
which fortuned in the house of the good man, who after he had
heard these sorrowfull tydings could in no wise weepe, so farre
was he stroken with dolour, but presently taking his knife
wherewith he cut his cheese and other meate before, he cut his
owne throat likewise, in such sort that he fell upon the bord and
imbraced the table with the streames of his blond, in most miserable
manner. Hereby was my master the Gardener deprived of his hope,
and paying for his dinner the watry teares of his eyes, mounted
upon my backe and so we went homeward the same way as wee
came.