"Your servant is most happy to see you here. I did not suppose I should ever have the pleasure of meeting you."
"Who are you?" asked Chang, forgetting, in his astonishment, the proper forms of inquiry.
"I am only a poor singer who has been brought here by The-Duke-of-the-sea."
Chang, hearing these words, was afraid in his heart; The-Duke-of-the-sea was a renowned pirate who used to plunder every village of the coast, and was reputed to be cruel and vindictive. But the girl was so attractive that he soon forgot everything in the pleasure of her chatter.
Seated at the foot of a big tree, they were laughing, when a noise came from the forest.
"It is The-Duke-of-the-sea! It is The-Duke-of-the-sea!" murmured the girl. "I must be off at once."
And she disappeared behind the foliage.
While Chang was asking himself what he should do, he suddenly saw a huge snake coming straight to him. Its body was as thick as a cask, and so long that the end was still hidden in the forest, while the head was balancing over the frightened student.
Chang could not say a word and dared not move: the snake entwined himself round a tree and round the man, holding fast its prisoner's arms. Then, lowering its head, it threw out its tongue, and, pricking the student's nose, began to suck the blood which came out and fell on the ground.
Chang saw that, if he did not immediately free himself, he would certainly die. Feeling cautiously with his hand round his waist, he took from his purse a certain poisoned pill that he kept there and intended to try on wolves and foxes. With two fingers he took the pill and threw it into the red pool at his feet.