THE FOURTH CHAPTER
How Meroe the Witche turned divers persons
into miserable beastesIN faith Aristomenus, to tell you the truth, this
woman had a certaine lover, whome by the utterance
of one onely woorde, she turned him into a Bever, because
he loved an other woman beside her, and the reason
why she transformed him into suche a beast is, for
that it is his nature, when he perceiveth the hunters
and houndes to drawe after him, to bite of his mem-
bers, and lay them in the way, that the houndes
may be at a stoppe when they finde them, and to
the intent it might so happen unto him, (because he
fancied an other woman) she turned him into that
kinde of shape. Semblably she chaunged one of her
neighbours, being an olde man and one that solde
wine, into a frogge, in that he was one of her occu-
pation, and therefore she bare him a grudge, and now
the poore miser swimminge in one of his pipes of
wine, and welny drowned in the dregges, doth crie
and call with a hoarse voice, for his old gestes and
acquaintance that passe by. Likewise she turned
one of the Advocates of the courte (because he
pleaded and spake against her in a rightfull cause)
into a horned Ramme, and now the poore Ramme is
become an Advocate. Moreover she caused, that
the wife of a certain lover that she had, should never
be delivered of her childe, but accordinge to the
computation of all men, it is eight yeeres past since
the poore woman began first to swell, and now she