Budge_Ethiopic_Alexander

ALEXANDER AND CANDAULES. 1 97
"for thee, now it is for thee to treat him honour-
"ably and to return him to me in safety".'
Then Alexander set out as an ambassador ofne
the king, and he had with him' four companies
of soldiers, and a second ambassador,^ and they
marched until they arrived at a great and lofty
mountain,"* and it was filled with fruit trees, and
the stone of which it was made was crystal. And
on the fruit there were huge and monstrous serpents,
in such wise that none could ever eat of the fruit
of the trees, and I saw exceedingly great multitudes
of wild beasts. Then I said to the son of Candace
[p. 112], "Why do the wild beasts thus swarm
"in this country?" And he said unto me, "This
"mountain is the paradise of our gods, and we
"come hither at the festival at the beginning of
"each year to offer sacrifices unto them and to
"bring gifts unto them; and we eat of the fruit
"of these trees and we take from them provisions
"to last us on the way to our habitations. Now
"these gods shew themselves to us, but verily
"fiends, and devils, and Satans have in all times
' In the Greek Candaules replies outuj TTapaXa|apdvuj
toOtov tov d'vbpa &