Читать книгу The Story of Alexander онлайн

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Now that night the moon was at full, when all herbs have their strongest might, so Anectanabus got him forth from the city into a wild place, where no man might see him, and there he drew up herbs for his enchantments, marking the fairest and best, and when the hour of the moon was come he plucked them out by the roots, and washed the earth from them in running water. Then he ground them together in a mortar, and wrung out the juice, and he made an image of the queen in white wax, and anointed it with the juice of the plants he had gathered, and calling on the powers of the air with is conjurations, he made a dream for the queen. So she, lying in her palace alone, saw a huge dragon enter and circle the room three times—then it came and stood before her, and, lo! it was a man, but a man in shape like to her god; and the man told her that she should have a son who should defend her in all her cares, and override all her foes. Then the queen woke from her dream, and stretched out her hands to the god she had seen, but the room was dark, so, springing from her bed, she ran to the door, but that was safely fast, and groping round she found naught in the room; and sad that her dream was false, she fell asleep again thinking of the wise Egyptian, who, mayhap, should tell her what it meant.