And the second slave said, “What if she should wake, and find her crown fallen! She would surely slay us.” _And the cat purred, “Daily from your birth she has slain you and you know it not.”_ And the third slave said, “Yes, she would slay us and she would call it making sacrifice to the gods.” _And the cat purred, “Only the weak are sacrificed to the gods.”_ And the fourth slave silenced the others, and softly he picked up the crown and replaced it, without waking her, on the old queen’s head. _And the cat purred, “Only a slave restores a crown that has fallen.”_ And after a while the old queen woke, and she looked about her and yawned. Then she said, “Methought I dreamed, and I saw four caterpillars chased by a scorpion around the trunk of an ancient oaktree. I like not my dream.” Then she closed her eyes and went to sleep again. And she snored. And the four slaves went on fanning her. _And the cat purred, “Fan on, fan on, stupids. You fan but the fire that consumes you.”_ TYRANNY Thus sings the She-Dragon that guards the seven caves by the sea: “My mate shall come riding on the waves. His thundering roar shall fill the earth with fear, and the flames of his nostrils shall set the sky afire. At the eclipse of the moon we shall be wedded, and at the eclipse of the sun I shall give birth to a Saint George, who shall slay me.” Thus sings the She-Dragon that guards the seven caves by the sea. THE SAINT In my youth I once visited a saint in his silent grove beyond the hills; and as we were conversing upon the nature of virtue a brigand came limping wearily up the ridge. When he reached the grove he knelt down before the saint and said, “O saint, I would be comforted! My sins are heavy upon me.” And the saint replied, “My sins, too, are heavy upon me.” And the brigand said, “But I am a thief and a plunderer.” And the saint replied, “I too am a thief and a plunderer.” And the brigand said, “But I am a murderer, and the blood of many men cries in my ears.” And the saint replied, “I too am a murderer, and in my ears cries the blood of many men.” And the brigand said, “I have committed countless crimes.” And the saint replied, “I too have committed crimes without number.” Then the brigand stood up and gazed at the saint, and there was a strange look in his eyes. And when he left us he went skipping down the hill. And I turned to the saint and said, “Wherefore did you accuse yourself of uncommitted crimes? See you not that this man went away no longer believing in you?” And the saint answered, “It is true he no longer believes in me. But he went away much comforted.” At that moment we heard the brigand singing in the distance, and the echo of his song filled the valley with gladness. THE PLUTOCRAT