is,
namely that a mouse is produced in the earth and feeds on the same
produce of the earth as man, and a frog in the water, while a bird has
great resemblance to a horse; 119 and moreover that in giving the arrows
they were delivering up their own might in battle. This was the opinion
expressed by Dareios; but the opinion of Gobryas, one of the seven men
who killed the Magian, was at variance with it, for he conjectured that
the gifts expressed this: "Unless ye become birds and fly up into the
heaven, O Persians, or become mice and sink down under the earth, or
become frogs and leap into the lakes, ye shall not return back home, but
shall be smitten by these arrows."

133. The Persians then, I say, were making conjecture of the gifts:
and meanwhile the single division of the Scythians, that which had been
appointed at first to keep guard along the Maiotian lake and then to go
to the Ister and come to speech with the Ionians, when they arrived
at the bridge spoke as follows: "Ionians, we have come bringing you
freedom, if at least ye are willing to listen to us; for we are informed
that Dareios gave you command to guard the bridge for sixty days only,
and then, if he had not arrived within that time, to get you away to
your own land. Now therefore, if ye do as we say, ye will be without
blame from his part and without blame also from ours: stay the appointed
days and then after that get you away." They then, when the Ionians had
engaged themselves to do this, hastened back again by the quickest way:

134, and meanwhile, after the coming of the gifts to Dareios, the
Scythians who were left had arrayed themselves against the Persians with
both foot and horse, meaning to engage battle. Now when the Scythians
had been placed in battle-array, a hare darted through them into the
space between the two armies, and each company of them, as they saw the
hare, began to run after it. When the Scythians were thus thrown into
disorder and were raising loud cries, Dareios asked what was this
clamour arising from the enemy; and hearing that they were running after
the hare, he said to those men to whom he was wont to say things at
other times: "These men have very slight regard for us, and I perceive
now that Gobryas spoke rightly about the Scythian gifts. Seeing then
that now I myself too think that things are so, we have need of good
counsel, in order that our retreat homewards may be safely made." To
this replied Gobryas and said: