XXVIII
How Apuleius was made a common ass to fetch home wood, and how he was handled by a boy.
After that I was thus handled by horses, I was brought home again to the mill, but behold Fortune (insatiable of my torments) had devised a new pain for me. I was appointed to bring home wood every day from a high hill, and who should drive me thither and home again, but a boy that was the veriest hangman in all the world, who was not contented with the great travel that I took in climbing up the hill, neither pleased when he saw my hoof torn and worn away by sharp flints, but he beat me cruelly with a great staff, insomuch that the marrow of my bones did ache for woe, for he would strike me continually on the right hip, and still in one place, whereby he tore my skin and made of my wide sore a great hole or trench, or rather a window to look out at, and although it run down of blood, yet would he not cease beating me in that place: moreover he laded me with such great burdens of wood that you would think they had been rather prepared for elephants than for me, and when he perceived that my wood hanged more on one side than another, (when he should rather take away the heavy sides, and so ease me, or else lift them up to make them equal with the other) he laid great stones upon the weaker side to remedy the matter, yet could be not be contented with this my great misery and immoderate burdens of wood, but when he came to any river (as there were many by the way) he to save his feet from water, would leap upon my loins likewise, which was no small load upon load. And if by adversity I had fell down in any dirty or miry place, when he should have pulled me out either with ropes, or lifted me up by the tail, he would never help me, but lay me on from top to toe with a mighty staff, till he had left no hair on all my body, no not so much as on mine ears, whereby I was compelled by force of blows to stand up. The same hangman boy did invent another torment for me: he gathered a great many sharp thorns as sharp as needles and bound them together like a fagot, and tied them at my tail to prick me, then was I afflicted on every side, for if I had endeavoured to run away, the thorns would have pricked me, if I had stood still, the boy would have beaten me, and yet the boy beat me to make me run, whereby I perceived that the hangman did devise nothing else save only to kill me by some manner of means, and he would swear and threaten to do me worse harm, and because he might have some occasion to execute his malicious mind, upon a day (after that I had endeavoured too much by my patience) I lifted up my heels and spurned him well-favouredly. Then he invented this vengeance against me, after that he had well laded me with shrubs and rubble, and trussed it round upon my back, he brought me out into the way: then he stole a burning coal out of a man’s house of the next village, and put it into the middle of the rubble; the rubble and shrubs being very dry, did fall on a light fire and burned me on every side. I could see no remedy how I might save myself, and in such a case it was not best for me to stand still but Fortune was favourable towards me, perhaps to reserve me for more dangers, for I
