The Adventures of Baron Munchausen/Chapter VIII

Bathes in the Mediterranean.…Jumps into the belly of a fish.…His release.

I was once in great danger of being lost in a most singular manner in the Mediterranean: I was bathing near Marseilles, one summer's afternoon, when discovered a very large fish, approaching me with the greatest velocity; there was no time to be lost, nor could I possibly avoid him. I immediately reduced myself to as small a size as possible, by closing my feet and placing my hands also near my sides, in which position I passed directly between his jaws, and into his stomach, where I remained some time in total darkness; at last it occurred to me, that by giving him pain, he would be glad to get rid of me: as I had plenty of room, I played my pranks, such as tumbling, hop, step, so much as the motion of my feet in attempting to dance a hornpipe; he roared horridly, and stood up almost perpendicular in the water, with his head and shoulders exposed, by which he was discovered by the people on board an Italian trader, then sailing by, who harpooned him. As soon as he was brought on board, the crew began to cut him up, by opening the bottom of his belly. As soon as I perceived a glimmering of light, I called out lustily, to be released from a situation in which I was almost suffocated. It is impossible for me to do justice to the astonishment which sat on every countenance at hearing a human voice issue from a fish, but more so at seeing a naked man walk upright out of his body: in short, gentlemen, I told them the whole story, as I have done you, whilst amazement struck them dumb. Indeed this circumstance appears so incredible, that I should hardly venture to recount it, but that the whole crew of the Italian vessel are living witnesses of its truth.