"What a fright poor Beppo was in! for the monster had only to open his mouth, to swallow him up, without pepper or salt, as easily as you would an oyster. However, he put a bold face upon the danger, and walking respectfully up to the griffin, he made a very low bow, and said, 'Sir, I should be very much obliged to you, if you would inform me how to find the way out of these holes into the world again?'
"The griffin took the pipe out of his mouth, and looked at Beppo as sharp as a carving-knife.
"'Ho, wretch!' said he, 'how did you come here? I suppose you want to steal my treasure; but I know how to treat such vagabonds as you, and I shall certainly eat you up.'
"'You can do that if you choose,' said Beppo, 'but it would be very unhandsome conduct in an animal forty times bigger than myself. For my own part, I never attack a dog that is not of my own size: I should be very much ashamed of myself if I did. And as to your treasure, I am an _honest_ dog, sir, as is very well known, and would not touch it if it was all composed of marrow-bones.'
"'Upon my word,' said the griffin, who could not help smiling, for the life of him, 'you are very free, and rather saucy; but, I say, how did you come here?'
"Then the good fellow, who did not know what a lie was, (I hope all the boys and girls reading this can say the same,) told the griffin his whole history--how he had set off to see his cousin the cat, and how that scamp of a Reynard had entrapped him into the hole.
"When he had finished, the griffin said to him, 'My friend, I see that you know how to speak the truth. I am very much in want of just such a servant as you will make me; therefore, stay with me, Beppo, and keep watch over my treasure when I sleep.'
"'Hum! two words to that,' said the dog. 'You have hurt my feelings very much by calling me a thief; and, besides, I am perfectly wild with impatience to go back to the wood to thrash that scoundrel the fox. I do not wish to serve you, even if you _gave_ me all your treasures; so I beg you to let me go, and to show me the way to my cousin the cat.'
"'Look here, old fellow,' answered the griffin, 'I am not very fond of making speeches a mile long, and I give you your choice--be my servant, or (in a terrible voice) BE MY BREAKFAST; it is just the same to me. I give you time to decide till I have smoked out my pipe, and that's the short and the long of it.'"