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Wherein the Third Document is continued, relating here the second item thereof, which has to do with that mighty hunter my four-great-grandfather, and tells how he made a wonderful capture of a remarkable beast in nick of time to save his own life from the headsman of the king.
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 anySaturday 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.
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 theanimal, 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.