It came
      toward us with inconceivable swiftness, throwing up huge waves of
      foam around its breast, and illuminating all that part of the sea
      through which it passed, with a long line of fire that extended
      far off into the distance. “‘As the thing drew near we saw it very distinctly. Its length
      was equal to that of three of the loftiest trees that grow, and
      it was as wide as the great hall of audience in your palace, O
      most sublime and munificent of the Caliphs. Its body, which was
      unlike that of ordinary fishes, was as solid as a rock, and of a
      jetty blackness throughout all that portion of it which floated
      above the water, with the exception of a narrow blood-red streak
      that completely begirdled it. The belly, which floated beneath
      the surface, and of which we could get only a glimpse now and
      then as the monster rose and fell with the billows, was entirely
      covered with metallic scales, of a color like that of the moon in
      misty weather. The back was flat and nearly white, and from it
      there extended upwards of six spines, about half the length of
      the whole body. “‘This horrible creature had no mouth that we could perceive;
      but, as if to make up for this deficiency, it was provided with
      at least four score of eyes, that protruded from their sockets
      like those of the green dragon-fly, and were arranged all around
      the body in two rows, one above the other, and parallel to the
      blood-red streak, which seemed to answer the purpose of an
      eyebrow. Two or three of these dreadful eyes were much larger
      than the others, and had the appearance of solid gold. “‘Although this beast approached us, as I have before said, with
      the greatest rapidity, it must have been moved altogether by
      necromancy—for it had neither fins like a fish nor web-feet like
      a duck, nor wings like the seashell which is blown along in the
      manner of a vessel; nor yet did it writhe itself forward as do
      the eels. Its head and its tail were shaped precisely alike,
      only, not far from the latter, were two small holes that served
      for nostrils, and through which the monster puffed out its thick
      breath with prodigious violence, and with a shrieking,
      disagreeable noise. “‘Our terror at beholding this hideous thing was very great, but
      it was even surpassed by our astonishment, when upon getting a
      nearer look, we perceived upon the creature’s back a vast number
      of animals about the size and shape of men, and altogether much
      resembling them, except that they wore no garments (as men do),
      being supplied (by nature, no doubt) with an ugly uncomfortable
      covering, a good deal like cloth, but fitting so tight to the
      skin, as to render the poor wretches laughably awkward, and put
      them apparently to severe pain. On the very tips of their heads
      were certain square-looking boxes, which, at first sight, I
      thought might have been intended to answer as turbans, but I soon
      discovered that they were excessively heavy and solid, and I
      therefore concluded they were contrivances designed, by their
      great weight, to keep the heads of the animals steady and safe
      upon their shoulders. Around the necks of the creatures were
      fastened black collars, (badges of servitude, no doubt,) such as
      we keep on our dogs, only much wider and infinitely stiffer, so
      that it was quite impossible for these poor victims to move their
      heads in any direction without moving the body at the same time;
      and thus they were doomed to perpetual contemplation of their
      noses—a view puggish and snubby in a wonderful, if not positively
      in an awful degree. “‘When the monster had nearly reached the shore where we stood,
      it suddenly pushed out one of its eyes to a great extent, and
      emitted from it a terrible flash of fire, accompanied by a dense
      cloud of smoke, and a noise that I can compare to nothing but
      thunder. As the smoke cleared away, we saw one of the odd
      man-animals standing near the head of the large beast with a
      trumpet in his hand, through which (putting it to his mouth) he
      presently addressed us in loud, harsh, and disagreeable accents,
      that, perhaps, we should have mistaken for language, had they not
      come altogether through the nose. “‘Being thus evidently spoken to, I was at a loss how to reply,
      as I could in no manner understand what was said; and in this
      difficulty I turned to the porter, who was near swooning through
      affright, and demanded of him his opinion as to what species of
      monster it was, what it wanted, and what kind of creatures those
      were that so swarmed upon its back. To this the porter replied,
      as well as he could for trepidation, that he had once before
      heard of this sea-beast; that it was a cruel demon, with bowels
      of sulphur and blood of fire, created by evil genii as the means
      of inflicting misery upon mankind; that the things upon its back
      were vermin, such as sometimes infest cats and dogs, only a
      little larger and more savage; and that these vermin had their
      uses, however evil—for, through the torture they caused the beast
      by their nibbling and stingings, it was goaded into that degree
      of wrath which was requisite to make it roar and commit ill, and
      so fulfil the vengeful and malicious designs of the wicked genii. “This account determined me to take to my heels, and, without
      once even looking behind me, I ran at full speed up into the
      hills, while the porter ran equally fast, although nearly in an
      opposite direction, so that, by these means, he finally made his
      escape with my bundles, of which I have no doubt he took
      excellent care—although this is a point I cannot determine, as I
      do not remember that I ever beheld him again. “‘For myself, I was so hotly pursued by a swarm of the men-vermin
      (who had come to the shore in boats) that I was very soon
      overtaken, bound hand and foot, and conveyed to the beast, which
      immediately swam out again into the middle of the sea. “‘I now bitterly repented my folly in quitting a comfortable home
      to peril my life in such adventures as this; but regret being
      useless, I made the best of my condition, and exerted myself to
      secure the goodwill of the man-animal that owned the trumpet, and
      who appeared to exercise authority over his fellows.