Its legislators thought they could restrain their generals by the fear of punishment, but if they sometimes cut off the heads of unlucky soldiers they could not do the same to the fortunate soldiers who obtained over it the advantages of having saved its existence.
In the enthusiasm of victory the renovated Penguins delivered themselves up to a dragon, more terrible than that of their fables, who, like a stork amongst frogs, devoured them for fourteen years with his insatiable beak.
Half a century after the reign of the new dragon a young Maharajah of Malay, called Djambi, desirous, like the Scythian Anacharsis, of instructing himself by travel, visited Penguinia and wrote an interesting account of his travels.

I transcribe the first page of his account: ACCOUNT OF THE TRAVELS OF YOUNG DJAMBI IN PENGUINIA After a voyage of ninety days I landed at the vast and deserted port of the Penguins and travelled over untilled fields to their ruined capital.
Surrounded by ramparts and full of barracks and arsenals it had a martial though desolate appearance.

Feeble and crippled men wandered proudly through the streets, wearing old uniforms and carrying rusty weapons.
"What do you want ?" I was rudely asked at the gate of the city by a soldier whose moustaches pointed to the skies.
"Sir," I answered, "I come as an inquirer to visit this island." "It is not an island," replied the soldier.
"What!" I exclaimed, "Penguin Island is not an island ?" "No, sir, it is an insula.

It was formerly called an island, but for a century it has been decreed that it shall bear the name of insula.

It is the only insula in the whole universe.