Page:Gesta Romanorum - Swan - Wright - 2.djvu/74

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62
OF WORLDLY EVIL


TALE XXI.

OF WORLDLY EVIL AND DISTRESS.

We read of a certain man, named Ganter, who wished that his pleasures might never end. He got up one morning, and walked until he came to a kingdom in which the prince was lately deceased. The noblemen observing that he was a bold man, chose him for their king. (8) He was, of course, much elevated with the election. But at night, when the servants brought him into his chamber, he perceived at the head of the bed a very fierce lion; a dragon was at the foot; on the right side, a huge bear; and serpents and toads on the left. "What is all this?" asked Ganter; "am I to sleep in company with all these beasts?" "Yes, my lord," was the reply; "for all the former kings have done so,