selves and chewing their fiery cuds in that farthest
corner of the field. It will be excellent sport, I
assure you, when they catch a glimpse of your
figure. My father and all his court delight in
nothing so much as to see a stranger trying to
yoke them, in order to come at the Golden
Fleece. It makes a holiday in Colchis when-
ever such a thing happens. For my part, I enjoy
it immensely. You cannot imagine in what a
mere twinkling of an eye their hot breath shriv-
els a young man into a black cinder."

"Are you sure, beautiful Medea," asked Ja-
son, "quite sure, that the unguent in the gold
box will prove a remedy against those terrible
burns?"

"If you doubt, if you are in the least afraid,"
said the princess, looking him in the face by
the dim starlight, "you had better never have
been born than go a step nigher to the bulls."

But Jason had set his heart steadfastly on
getting the Golden Fleece; and I positively
doubt whether he would have gone back without
it, even had he been certain of finding himself
turned into a red-hot cinder, or a handful of
white ashes, the instant he made a step farther??

[[318]]

p317 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p318w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p319

v?