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OF THE VICISSITUDE
TALE XXV.
OF THE VICISSITUDE OF EVERY THING GOOD, AND ESPECIALLY OF A RIGHT JUDGMENT.
The emperor, Theodosius, had the misfortune to lose his sight. He put up a bell in his palace; and when there was any cause to be tried, he was accustomed to pull the string with his own hands. When the bell rang, a judge, appointed to this end, descended and administered justice. It chanced that a serpent made her nest immediately under the bell-rope, and in due time brought forth young. When they were old enough, at a certain hour every day, she conducted them forth into an open space beyond the city. Now while the serpent was absent, a toad entered and occu-
