night; and you have also heard that he would chafe
exceedingly, if the maid or goodwife of the house, having compassion of his
nakedness, laid any clothes for him, besides his mess of white bread and
milk which was his standing fee. For in that case he saith: What have we
here? Hemton hamton[1], here will I never more tread nor stampen.

Book V, chap. iii. "Of a man turned into an ass, and returned again into a
man, by one of Bodin's witches: S. Augustine's opinion thereof." (See p.
30.)

It happened in the city of Salamin in the kingdom of Cyprus, where there is
a good haven, that a ship loaden with merchandise stayed there for a short
space. In the meantime many of the soldiers and mariners went to shore, to
provide fresh victuals; among which number a certain Englishman, being a
sturdy young fellow, went to a woman's house, a little way out of the city,
and not far from the sea-side, to see whether she had any eggs to sell.
Who, perceiving him to be a lusty young fellow, a stranger, and far from
his country (so as, upon the loss of him, there would be the less miss or
enquiry), she considered with herself how to destroy him; and willed him to
stay there awhile, whilst she went to fetch a few eggs for him. But she
tarried long, so as the young man called unto her desiring her to make
haste; for he told her that the tide would be spent, and by that means his
ship would be gone, and leave him behind. Howbeit, after some detracting of
time, she brought him a few eggs, willing him to return to her, if his ship
were gone when he came.

The young fellow returned towards his ship, but before he went aboard, he
would needs eat an egg or twain to satisfy his hunger; and within short
space he became dumb and out of his wits, as he afterwards said. When he
would have entered into the ship, the mariners beat him back with a cudgel,
saying, "What a murrain lacks the ass? Whither the devil will this ass?"
The ass, or young man--I cannot tell by which name I should term him--being
many times repelled, and understanding their words that called him ass,
considering that he could speak never a word and yet could understand
everybody, he thought that he was bewitched by the woman at whose house he
was. And therefore, when by no means he could get into the boat, but was
driven to tarry and see her departure, being also beaten from place to
place as an ass, he remembered the witch's words, and the words of his own
fellows that called him