Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, which as we know, had been based by Gerard Tenque, a gentleman of Provence, we shall meet again in the cradle Martigues, lived in the fourteenth century the island of Rhodes, they were also named. Now, Rhodes is the Phoenician word Rod , which means snake. This name, as is supposed, had a cause, and this cause was the countless reptiles that from time immemorial the homeland of the Colossus contained. It is fair to say however that the snakes had greatly diminished over the past two hundred years the warrior monks settled in the island, because, in their spare time, and to keep his hand the Knights their were a tough fighter. The result of this activity that the commander is believed nearly delivered from its enemies, when one day a dragon appeared, so gigantic a size and shape so monstrous, that close to him the famous Snake Regulus n That was a snake.
Knights were faithful to their traditions, so dangerous he might follow them. Several came forward to fight the monster and left turns from Rhodes to restart the round in the valley where he had his cave. But of all those who left, not one returned, and in this case as always, the loss fell on the bravest. The grand master, Helion de Villeneuve, was so desperate outcome of the first attempts, he forbade, under pain of degradation, none of the knights who fought under his command the serpent, saying that such evil could not be created by God, and therefore it was with the spiritual weapons, not with weapons time, he had to fight. The Knights then ceased their businesses, to the great disappointment of the monster, which was beginning to get used to human flesh, and was forced to return simply to the cattle and sheep.
the meantime arrived at Rhodes a knight of the Camargue, named Dieudonné Gozon: it was both a knight of great bravery and great caution, but which had never beaten in West, so he resolved to place the snake, to give a sample of his companions what he could do, but since, as we have said, was a man as wise as brave, he resolved not to recklessly risk his life, as had those of their who undertook the adventure before him, and before fighting, he wanted to know how enemy he had to do.
Accordingly, Dieudonné Gozon took the monster on the best information he could get, and he learned he lived in a marsh two miles from the city. About eleven o'clock in the morning, that is to say at the hottest time of day, he left his cave and the sun had just held its huge rings, remained until four hours on the lookout for prey, then, that hour arrived, returned to his cave just to leave the next day.
It was not enough, Gozon wanted to see the snake with his own eyes. Accordingly, he went out one morning in Rhodes, and walked toward the marsh, provided, instead of weapons, a pencil and a sheet of paper. Arriving at a thousand paces from the cave, he sought a safe place where he could see without being seen, and having found it, he waited, his pencil and paper in hand, he would to Snake get some fresh air. The snake was very precise in his habits, his usual hour, he went out, threw herself on an ox that had strayed into its fields, engulfs the entire stomach in its vast, and, satisfied with his day, came digest the sun, five hundred yards from where Gozon was hidden.
Gozon thus had ample time to do his portrait: the snake posed as a model, it also reproduced with scrupulous fidelity the smallest details of his person, then the drawing is finished, the knight withdrew with the same care and went back to Rhodes.
His comrades asked him if he had seen the snake. Gozon showed them his design, and those who had done well as a glimpse recognized that was the greatest accuracy.
The next day, went out again Gozon of Rhodes, and returned to his hideout. In the evening he returned to the same hour as yesterday. The other knights asked him what he had done, and he replied that he had made some corrections to his drawing of the day. The knights laughed.
Two days later, same outputs, same precautions, and return the same answer. The knights believed their friend mad, and did more occupied.
This ride lasted three weeks after three weeks, the young knight knew his snake heart. Then he asked the great master leave six months, and having obtained, he returned to his castle of Gozon, which was located on the Petit Rhone in Camargue.
his return, they each made a great feast, and especially that he had two wonderful dogs: they were the greatest dog breed, accustomed to hold off the Bulls, while the steward of the marked Gozon with a hot iron. Gozon, in turn, made them great feast, for he had his views on them, and as he feared they had not degenerated in his absence, he threw two or three bulls they coiffèrent minute.
the same day, Gozon, sure to have them in two auxiliary him as he was, began to work.
Through drawing he had made on the premises, and illuminated from nature, Gozon made a serpent so perfectly correct, it was the same size, same color, same look, so to using an internal mechanism, he gave the same movements, and then completed his controller, he began educating his horse and his dogs.
The first time they saw the monster, but it was artificial, the horse reared and the dogs ran away. The next day, horses and dogs were least afraid, but yet neither one nor the other wanted to approach of the animal. Two days later, the horse came to the distance of fifty yards of the monster, and dogs showed her teeth. Eight days later the horse was trampling the serpent under his foot and gave it like two dogs on the bull. However
Gozon the exercises two more months, accustoming his dogs to do their catch under the belly, for he had noticed that the belly was not the snake scales. To this end, he put the flesh in the stomach with his automaton, and the dogs, who knew that their lunch was waiting there, would search the depths of her womb. After two months, he had nothing to teach them: moreover, he was so darned every day, the monster began to go to pieces.
The knight went to Rhodes, where, after a passage of one month, he landed happily. There was a little less than six months he was gone.
On setting foot in the harbor, he asked for news of the monster. The monster was doing wonderfully, just like every day the flock and the game became more scarce, it now extended his excursions to the walls of the city. The Grand Master Helion de Villeneuve was ordered prayers of forty hours. But the prayers of forty hours there were no more than if they had been simple Ave Maria so that Rhode Island was in the deepest despair.
The knight, mounted on his horse and followed by his two dogs, went straight to the church, where he made his devotions, and where he remained in prayer for seven o'clock in the morning until noon, leaving his dogs without food, and giving the opposite force oats for his horse and then at noon, that is to say at a time when the monster was accustomed to his nap, he left town and headed Marsh followed his dogs, screaming miserably, as they were furious with hunger.
But as I said, the monster had very close to the city, so that the knight was barely a mile outside the gates he saw him yawning in the sun and waiting for any prey. Also, just to turn the monster he had seen the knight, he raised his head, whistled, clapped his wings and advanced rapidly against him.
But the prey on which he relied was difficult digestion, for scarcely had the two dogs they saw that they thought it was their snake board, and, remembering that he had lunch in the abdomen, instead of fleeing, they pounced on him and attacked relentlessly. For their part, the horse and rider were doing their best, one of the four legs kicking, striking the other with both hands, so that the unfortunate snake, which had never been such a good time, tried to flee his cave, but he was sentenced, a blow thrusting the knight threw it on the side, along with a kick of the horse broke his wing, and both dogs were searching him a stomach for him to eat the heart, and other's guts for him to eat the liver. At the same time, the inhabitants of the city, which were mounted on the walls, and, where they were, saw combat, clapped their hands in agony the monster. The applause encouraged the knight qui sauta à terre, coupa la tête du serpent, et l'ayant attachée en signe de trophée à l'arçon de son cheval, rentra dans la ville de Rhodes, triomphant comme le jeune David, et fut reconduit au palais des chevaliers, accompagné de toute
la population. Ses deux chiens le suivaient en se léchant le museau.
Mais arrivé à la commanderie, il trouva le grand maître Hélion de Villeneuve qui l'attendait, et qui, au lieu de le féliciter sur son courage, lui rappela l'ordonnance qu'il avait rendue, et qui défendait à aucun chevalier de Saint-Jean de se mesurer contre le monstre ; puis, en vertu de cette ordonnance à laquelle le chevalier avait si heureusement contravened, he sent him to jail, saying that it was better than all cattle and half of the islanders are eaten only one knight of the order lacked discipline. In consequence of this axiom, which Rhodes challenged the truth, but the knight was forced to undergo the application, the grand master Gozon sent to prison, assembled the council, who, forthwith, ordered the winner to degradation, but as we well know, just the decision was made that he does grace made no wait. Gozon was rehabilitated and reintegrated in its title and loaded with honors and then a few months later, Helion Villeneuve's death, he was elected grand master in his place. It was from that moment Gozon took for a dragon weapons, weapons which were kept by his family until the beginning of the seventeenth century, when the family died.
The horse and two dogs, they were fed all the time in their lives at the expense of the town of Rhodes and stuffed after death.
Alexandre Dumas, Tales for adults and children and other stories
