THERE were a king and queen who were dotingly fond of their only son,
notwithstanding that he was equally deformed in mind and person. The
king was quite sensible of the evil disposition of his son, but the
queen in her excessive fondness saw no fault whatever in her dear
Furibon, as he was named. The surest way to win her favor was to praise
Furibon for charms he did not possess. When he came of age to have a
governor, the king made choice of a prince who had an ancient right to
the crown, but was not able to support it. This prince had a son, named
Leander, handsome, accomplished, amiable--in every respect the opposite
of Prince Furibon. The two were frequently together, which only made the
deformed prince more repulsive.

One day, certain ambassadors having arrived from a far country, the
prince stood in a gallery to see them; when, taking Leander for the
king's son, they made their obeisance to him, treating Furibon as a mere
dwarf, at which the latter was so offended that he drew his sword, and
would have done them a mischief had not the king just then appeared. As
it was, the affair produced a quarrel, which ended in Leander's being
sent to a far-away castle belonging to his father.

There, however, he was quite happy, for he was a great lover of hunting,
fishing, and walking: he understood painting, read much, and played upon
several instruments, so that he was glad to be freed from the fantastic
humors of Furibon. One day as he was walking in the garden, finding the
heat increase, he retired into a shady grove and began to play upon the
flute to amuse himself. As he played, he felt something wind about his
leg, and looking down saw a great adder: he took his handkerchief, and
catching it by the head was going to kill it. But the adder, looking
steadfastly in his face, seemed to beg his pardon. At this instant one
of the gardeners happened to come to the place where Leander was, and
spying the snake, cried out to his master: "Hold him fast, sir; it
is but an hour since we ran after him to kill him: it is the most
mischievous creature in the world."

Leander, casting his eyes a second time upon the snake, which was
speckled with a thousand extraordinary colors, perceived the poor
creature still looked upon him with an aspect that seemed to implore

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