He grasped
it, thankfully, and started to mount his
donkey.
The beast he took hold of seemed very
small, and, as he mounted, he felt that
its sides were moist and slimy. It gave
him a shudder, and he hesitated; but at
that moment he heard a distant clock strike.
It was striking eleven! There was still
time to reach the castle of fortune, but no
more than enough; so he mounted his new
steed and rode on once more. The animal
was easier to sit on than the donkey, and
the saddle seemed remarkably high behind;
it was good to lean against. But
even the donkey was not so slow as this;
the new steed was slower than he. After
a while, however, he pushed his way out of
the woods into the open, and there stood
the castle, only a little way ahead! All its
windows were ablaze with lights. A ray
from them fell on the lazy man's beast,
and he saw what he was riding: it was a
gigantic snail! a snail as large as a calf!
A cold shudder ran over the lazy man's
body, and he would have got off his horrid
animal then and there, but just then the
clock struck once more. It was the first
of the long, slow strokes that mark mid-
night! The man grew frantic when he
heard it. He drove his heels into the snail's
sides, to make him hurry. Instantly, the
snail drew in his head, curled up in his
shell, and left the lazy man sitting in a heap
on the ground!
The clock struck twice.
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