But his tremendous knowledge of the habits of the denizens of the deep came to his rescue and he veered from his course, let the nets go by, and turned and followed them at such convenient distance he discovered the truth of his conjecture. There was a class of shark infesting those waters which had an especial liking for the kind of fish he was snaring, and these same sharks were exceedingly observant of his actions, as was now evident from the fact that at either end of the net, holding a stake in his jaws, was an enormous specimen swimming with great swiftness. Hither and thither went the sharks, carrying the net in all directions. After an hour or two spent in this fashion, my forefather observed the speed of the net was slackening and he prepared for action, for he conceived the net was becoming so full of fish the sharks could not much longer propel it, and he was satisfied they would soon stop and go in for the feast they had thus prepared. He was never taken unawares, and so it happened that the large saw fastened to the keel of his boat was brought into play. And so it was, when the sharks at last stuck the stakes in the bottom, swam out in front of the net and stood side by side greedily contemplating the magnificent feast spread before them, my ancestor bore down upon them swiftly and sawed them each into two pieces so quickly neither of them was aware of it for some time after their tails had wiggled away, and might never have found out what was the trouble had they not looked back to see why their tails did not obey their commands to push them ahead. When they did find it out they were so chagrined they with one accord died then and there, as a just tribute to their sublime disgust with themselves. And the amount of fish thus taken by my ancestor was so incomprehensible words fail to convey any adequate idea of its magnitude. There was not a single mesh in the net which did not contain at least one fish, and the net was four hundred feet long and five fathoms deep and each mesh was an inch and a half square. The method of computation is easy, but time is precious. Thereupon my ancestor became a baron and the title has descended to your humble servant. _Item Fourth_ My two-great-grandfather was a wise magician, and, so celebrated was he, wise men of the entire world consulted him upon doubtful questions which he readily solved without a single error in his calculations. His various experiences when a mere lad with the genii were the foundation of his accomplishments, and in maturer years he made countless discoveries of new and wonderful things. It is my pleasure to regale you with one of these.