appearance, that caused Europa so much alarm. On looking at him
more attentively, she began to see that he was a beautiful
animal, and even fancied a particularly amiable expression in
his face. As for his breath--the breath of cattle, you know, is
always sweet--it was as fragrant as if he had been grazing on
no other food than rosebuds, or at least, the most delicate of
clover blossoms. Never before did a bull have such bright and
tender eyes, and such smooth horns of ivory, as this one. And
the bull ran little races, and capered sportively around the
child; so that she quite forgot how big and strong he was, and,
from the gentleness and playfulness of his actions, soon came
to consider him as innocent a creature as a pet lamb.

Thus, frightened as she at first was, you might by and by have
seen Europa stroking the bull's forehead with her small white
hand, and taking the garlands off her own head to hang them on
his neck and ivory horns. Then she pulled up some blades of
grass, and he ate them out of her hand, not as if he were
hungry, but because he wanted to be friends with the child, and
took pleasure in eating what she had touched. Well, my stars!
was there ever such a gentle, sweet, pretty, and amiable
creature as this bull, and ever such a nice playmate for a
little girl?

When the animal saw (for the bull had so much intelligence that
it is really wonderful to think of), when he saw that Europa
was no longer afraid of him, he grew overjoyed, and could
hardly contain himself for delight. He frisked about the
meadow, now here, now there, making sprightly leaps, with as
little effort as a bird expends in hopping from twig to twig.