He has devoured the child Elo and seven young boys; he has mangled the maiden Orberosia, the fairest of the Penguins with his teeth.

There is not a village in which he does not emit his poisoned breath and which he has not filled with desolation.
A prey to this terrible scourge, we come, O Mael, to pray thee, as the wisest, to advise us concerning the safety of the inhabitants of this island lest the ancient race of Penguins be extinguished." "O chief of the Elders of Alca," replied Mael, "thy words fill me with profound grief, and I groan at the thought that this island is the prey of a terrible dragon.

But such an occurrence is not unique, for we find in books several tales of very fierce dragons.

The monsters are oftenest found in caverns, by the brinks of waters, and, in preference, among pagan peoples.

Perhaps there are some among you who, although they have received holy baptism and been incorporated into the family of Abraham, have yet worshipped idols, like the ancient Romans, or hung up images, votive tablets, fillets of wool, and garlands of flowers on the branches of some sacred tree.