"The dwarf and I will go alone." "The dwarf!" said the King.

"Can he hunt lions also ?" "No, O King, but perchance he can smell them, for otherwise how shall I find them in that thicket within an hour ?" "Perchance they can smell him.

How is the ape-man named ?" asked the King.
"Bes, O King, after the god of the Egyptians whom he resembles." "Dare you accompany your master on this hunt, O Bes ?" inquired the King.
Then Bes looked up, rolling his yellow eyes, and answered in his thick and guttural voice, "I am my master's slave and dare I refuse to accompany him?
If I did he might kill me, as the King of kings kills his slaves.

It is better to die with honour by the teeth of a lion, than with dishonour beneath the whip of a master.

So at least we think in Ethiopia." "Well spoken, dwarf Bes!" exclaimed the King.