The woman pressed close to me, and my heart filled with pity.

I put my arm round her.
"If the brute come here, I will lay hold of it," I said, "and you must run." "Thank you!" she murmured.
"Have you ever seen it before ?" I asked.
"Several times," she answered, still trembling.

"She is a pet of the princess's.

You are a stranger, or you would know her!" "I am a stranger," I answered.

"But is she, then, allowed to run loose ?" "She is kept in a cage, her mouth muzzled, and her feet in gloves of crocodile leather.