THE WHALE
THE NATURE OF THHE WHALE
WHALE is the greatest beast In all the ocean waste;
Whom if you ever espied Sprawling upon the tide,
An isle he would seem to be, Built on the sands of the sea.
When this fierce fish would feed, He spreads his great mouth wide
And thence expels his breath, The sweetest smell on earth.
The other fishes come, Ravished by that perfume;
They dawdle within his jaws, Unwary of the ruse;
He slams his jaw-gates then, And drinks those fishes in ...
This whale-fish dwells secure Down near the ocean floor
Until that season arrives When winter with summer strives
And storm stirs all the sea; In such inclemency
His lair he cannot keep, But up from the troubled deep
He rises, and lies still. Then while the weather is ill,
Sailors driven and tossed Who fear that they are lost,
Sighting the quiet whale, Mistake him for an isle.
They view him with delight And hasten with all their might
To make their vessels fast And climb ashore at last;
With tinder, steel and stone They kindle a blaze thereon,
Warm them, and drink, and eat. But, feeling the fire's heat,
The whale to sea-deep dives And robs them of their lives.
SIGNIFICATION
The Devil is great in will, With monstrous force and skill
(These powers he imparts To witches in their arts):
He gives men hunger and thirst And many another lust,
Drawing them by his breath, To follow which is death...
Who hears the Devil's word Will rue the day he heard;
Who ties his hopes thereto Will plunge with him below.
The Middle English Bestiary
