As he looked at the horses, some half-mile off, he saw a strange stir
among them. They began whinnying and pawing round a four-footed thing in
the midst, which might be a badger, or a wolf,--though both were very
uncommon in that pleasant isle of Walcheren; but which plainly had no
business there. Whereon he took up a mighty staff, and strode over the fen
to see.
He found neither wolf nor badger; but to his exceeding surprise, a long
lean man, clothed in ragged horse-skins, whinnying and neighing exactly
like a horse, and then stooping to eat grass like one. He advanced to do
the first thing which came into his head, namely to break the man's back
with his staff, and ask him afterwards who he might be. But ere he could
strike, the man or horse kicked up with his hind legs in his face, and
then springing on to the said hind legs ran away with extraordinary
swiftness some fifty yards; and then went down on all-fours and began
grazing again.
"Beest thou man or devil?" cried Dirk, somewhat frightened.
The thing looked up. The face at least was human.
"Art thou a Christian man?" asked it in bad Frisian, intermixed with
snorts and neighs.
"What's that to thee?" growled Dirk; and began to wish a little that he
was one, having heard that the sign of the cross was of great virtue in
driving away fiends.
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