nxious to see her practising her strange
arts."

"Come, then, and look," said Fotis.

We crept to the room where Pamphila was, and peeped through a chink in
the door. The witch undressed herself, and then took some boxes of
ointment out of a casket, and opened one box and smeared herself with
the stuff it contained. In the twinkling of an eye, feathers sprouted
out of her skin, and she changed into an owl, and flew out of the
window.

"She has gone after that handsome young gentleman," said Fotis. "I have
to wait here all night until she returns, and then give her a lotion of
aniseed and laurel-leaves to restore her to her proper shape."

"Why, my dear Fotis," I exclaimed, in intense admiration, "you know as
much about witchcraft as your mistress! Come, practise on me! Get me
some of that ointment and change me into a bird. Oh, how I should like
to fly!"

After some hesitation she entered the room, and took a box out of the
casket. I stripped myself and smeared the ointment over my body. But
never a feather appeared! Every hair on me changed into a bristle; my
hands turned into hoofed forefeet; a tail grew out of my backbone; my
face lengthened; and I found, to my horror, that I had become an ass.

"Oh, ye gods," said Fotis, "I've taken the wrong box! But no great
harm's done, dear Lucius. I know the antidote. I'll get you some roses
to crunch, and you will be restored to your proper shape."

Fotis, however, dared not go at once into the garden, lest Pamphila
should suddenly return and find me. So she told me to go and wait in the
stable until daybreak, and then she would gather some roses for me. But
when I got into the stable I wished I had waited outside. My own horse
and an ass belonging to Milo conceived a strange dislike to me. They
fell upon me with great fury, and bit me and kicked me, and made such a
clamour that the groom came to see whatever was the matter. He found me
standing on my hind legs trying to reach the garland of roses which he
had placed on the shrine of the goddess Epona in the middle of the
stable.

"What a sacrilegious brute!" he cried, falling upon me savagely.
"Attacking the shrine of the divinity who guards over horses! I'll lame
you, that I will!"

As he was belabouring me with a great cudgel, a band of fierce men armed
with swords and carrying lighted torches appeared. At the sight of them
the groom fled in terror.

"Help! Help! Robbers!" I heard Milo and Fotis cry.

But bef