as though about to produce an elephant."

Lucius goes to Thessaly, celebrated for its witches, and a good story is
told how returning late from supper he finds three men battering against
his door. Taking them for robbers he draws his dagger, and stabs them,
and the ground is covered with blood. Next day he is tried for murder,
and about to be crucified, when the corpses are brought into court, and
are found to be three wine-skins. He is told that this was a trick
played on him upon the day when they usually celebrated the festival of
the god of laughter, but it seems to have been really owing to an
incantation. He sees Pamphile, his hostess, change herself into an owl,
thinks he also will transform himself into a bird, and anoints himself
with some of the witch's preparations. By mistake, taking the wrong
ointment, he transforms himself into a donkey. He then goes to look for
his horse, who, thinking he is coming to eat his food, kicks him out,
and soon afterwards he is well thrashed by his servant boy. He is told
that eating fresh roses will restore him to his former self, but for
various reasons he cannot get any. Being hungry he goes into a kitchen
garden, and makes a good meal of the vegetables, for which transgression
he is nearly killed by the gardener. To prevent this he kicks the man
over, whereupon a general outcry was raised, and great dogs rush upon
him. After this persecution he is in danger of dying of
starvation--"spiders began to spin their webs on his lips," but becoming
instrumental in saving a young girl, he receives better treatment. He is
then bought by vagrants, who go about playing cymbals, and carrying an
image of the Syrian goddess. He is accompanied by a troop of fanatical
priests, who dance and scourge themselves. While the priests are being
royally entertained by one of their votaries, a dog runs off with a
haunch of venison, and the cook, not knowing what to do, conceives the
project of killing the ass, and dressing one of his haunches instead. To
avoid this the donkey breaks loose, and gallops into the supper room.
After the band of priests is dispersed, owing to their thieving
propensities, the donkey is sold to a baker, and by him to a gardener,
and nearly dies of cold and exposure. Then he becomes the property of
the servants of a very rich man, and is found eating up the remains of
their supper. This greatly amuses them all, and their lord orders him to
be brought to his table. A buffoon