Читать книгу The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen - Rudolf Raspe - Страница 9

_Bathes in the Mediterranean – Meets an unexpected companion – Arrives

unintentionally in the regions of heat and darkness, from which he is

extricated by dancing a hornpipe – Frightens his deliverers, and returns

on shore._

I was once in great danger of being lost in a most singular manner in

the Mediterranean: I was bathing in that pleasant sea near Marseilles

one summer’s afternoon, when I discovered a very large fish, with his

jaws quite extended, approaching me with the greatest velocity; there

was no time to be lost, nor could I possibly avoid him. I immediately

reduced myself to as small a size as possible, by closing my feet and

placing my hands also near my sides, in which position I passed directly

between his jaws, and into his stomach, where I remained some time in

total darkness, and comfortably warm, as you may imagine; at last it

occurred to me, that by giving him pain he would be glad to get rid of

me: as I had plenty of room, I played my pranks, such as tumbling, hop,

step, and jump, &c., but nothing seemed to disturb him so much as the

quick motion of my feet in attempting to dance a hornpipe; soon after I

began he put me out by sudden fits and starts: I persevered; at last he

roared horridly, and stood up almost perpendicularly in the water, with

his head and shoulders exposed, by which he was discovered by the people

on board an Italian trader, then sailing by, who harpooned him in a few

minutes. As soon as he was brought on board I heard the crew consulting

how they should cut him up, so as to preserve the greatest quantity of

oil. As I understood Italian, I was in most dreadful apprehensions

lest their weapons employed in this business should destroy me also;

therefore I stood as near the centre as possible, for there was room

enough for a dozen men in this creature’s stomach, and I naturally

imagined they would begin with the extremities; however, my fears were

soon dispersed, for they began by opening the bottom of the belly. As

soon as I perceived a glimmering of light I called out lustily to be

released from a situation in which I was now almost suffocated. It is

impossible for me to do justice to the degree and kind of astonishment

which sat upon every countenance at hearing a human voice issue from a

fish, but more so at seeing a naked man walk upright out of his body;

in short, gentlemen, I told them the whole story, as I have done you,

whilst amazement struck them dumb.

After taking some refreshment, and jumping into the sea to cleanse

myself, I swam to my clothes, which lay where I had left them on the

shore. As near as I can calculate, I was near four hours and a half

confined in the stomach of this animal.