ac! ziczac!" with all the powers of his voice, and
dashed himself against the crocodile's face two or three times. The
great beast started up, and immediately spying his danger, made a jump
up into the air, and dashing into the water with a splash which covered
me with mud; he dived into the river and disappeared. The ziczac, to my
increased admiration, proud apparently of having saved his friend,
remained walking up and down, uttering his cry, as I thought, with an
exulting voice, and standing every now and then on the tips of his toes
in a conceited manner, which made me justly angry with his impertinence.
After having waited in vain for some time, to see whether the crocodile
would come out again, I got up from the bank where I was lying, threw a
clod of earth at the ziczac, and came back to the boat, feeling some
consolation for the loss of my game in having witnessed a circumstance,
the truth of which has been disputed by several writers on natural
history.

The Arabs say that every race of animals is governed by its chief, to
whom the others are bound to pay obeisance. The king of the crocodiles
holds his court at the bottom of the Nile near Siout. The king of the
fleas lives at Tiberias, in the Holy Land; and deputations of
illustrious fleas, from other countries, visit him on a certain day in
his palace, situated in the midst of beautiful gardens, under the Lake
of Genesareth. There is a bird which is common in Egypt called the
hoopoe (Abou hood-hood), of whose king the following legend is related.
This bird is of the size and shape as well as the colour of a woodcock;
but has a crown of feathers on its head, which it has the power of
raising and depressing at will. It is a tame, quiet bird; usually to be
found walking leisurely in search of its food on the margin of the
water. It seldom takes long flights; and is not harmed by the natives,
who are much more sparing of the life of animals than we Europeans
are:--

In the days of King Solomon, the son of David, who, by the virtue of his
cabalistic seal, reigned supreme over genii as well as men, and who
could speak the languages of animals of all kinds, all created beings
were subservient to his will. Now when the king wanted to travel, he
made use, for his conveyance, of a carpet of a square form. This carpet
had the property of extending itself to a sufficient size to carry a
whole army, with the tents and baggage; but at other times it could be
reduced so as