That enterprize by fate in store was kept

To make the dragon sleep, that never slept,

Whose crest shoots dreadful lustre; from his jaws

A triple tier of forked stings he draws,

With fangs and wings of a prodigious size;

Such was the guardian of the golden prize.

Yet him besprinkled with Lethean dew

The fair enchantress into slumber threw;

While the soft guest his drowsy eyelids seals,

Th' unguarded golden fleece the stranger steals;