An Eagle swooped¹ down upon a Serpent and seized it in his talons
with the intention of carrying it off and devouring² it. But the
Serpent was too quick for him and had its coils round him in a moment;
and then there ensued a life-and-death struggle between the two. A
countryman, who was a witness of the encounter, came to the assistance
of the eagle, and succeeded in freeing him from the Serpent and
enabling him to escape. In revenge, the Serpent spat³ some of his
poison into the man's drinking-horn. Heated with his exertions⁴, the
man was about to slake⁵ his thirst with a draught⁶ from the horn, when
the Eagle knocked it out of his hand, and spilled its contents upon
the ground.


"One good turn deserves another."

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