"The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade" - читать интересную книгу автора (Poe Edgar Allan)

"'As the thing drew near we saw it very distinctly. Its length was
equal to that of three of the loftiest trees that grow, and it was
as wide as the great hall of audience in your palace, O most sublime
and munificent of the Caliphs. Its body, which was unlike that of
ordinary fishes, was as solid as a rock, and of a jetty blackness
throughout all that portion of it which floated above the water,
with the exception of a narrow blood-red streak that completely
begirdled it. The belly, which floated beneath the surface, and of
which we could get only a glimpse now and then as the monster rose and
fell with the billows, was entirely covered with metallic scales, of a
color like that of the moon in misty weather. The back was flat and
nearly white, and from it there extended upwards of six spines,
about half the length of the whole body.
"'The horrible creature had no mouth that we could perceive, but, as
if to make up for this deficiency, it was provided with at least
four score of eyes, that protruded from their sockets like those of
the green dragon-fly, and were arranged all around the body in two
rows, one above the other, and parallel to the blood-red streak, which
seemed to answer the purpose of an eyebrow. Two or three of these
dreadful eyes were much larger than the others, and had the appearance
of solid gold.
"'Although this beast approached us, as I have before said, with the
greatest rapidity, it must have been moved altogether by necromancy-
for it had neither fins like a fish nor web-feet like a duck, nor
wings like the seashell which is blown along in the manner of a
vessel; nor yet did it writhe itself forward as do the eels. Its
head and its tail were shaped precisely alike, only, not far from
the latter, were two small holes that served for nostrils, and through
which the monster puffed out its thick breath with prodigious
violence, and with a shrieking, disagreeable noise.
"'Our terror at beholding this hideous thing was very great, but
it was even surpassed by our astonishment, when upon getting a
nearer look, we perceived upon the creature's back a vast number of
animals about the size and shape of men, and altogether much
resembling them, except that they wore no garments (as men do),
being supplied (by nature, no doubt) with an ugly uncomfortable
covering, a good deal like cloth, but fitting so tight to the skin, as
to render the poor wretches laughably awkward, and put them apparently
to severe pain. On the very tips of their heads were certain
square-looking boxes, which, at first sight, I thought might have been
intended to answer as turbans, but I soon discovered that they were
excessively heavy and solid, and I therefore concluded they were
contrivances designed, by their great weight, to keep the heads of the
animals steady and safe upon their shoulders. Around the necks of
the creatures were fastened black collars, (badges of servitude, no
doubt,) such as we keep on our dogs, only much wider and infinitely
stiffer, so that it was quite impossible for these poor victims to
move their heads in any direction without moving the body at the
same time; and thus they were doomed to perpetual contemplation of
their noses- a view puggish and snubby in a wonderful, if not