Four Beasts in One (Poe)
In the year 3830, the city of Antioch was a bustling and grotesque place, filled with stately palaces, sumptuous temples, and an abundance of mud huts and hovels. The streets were narrow and the houses tall, casting gloomy shadows on the ground. The city was well fortified and home to the Syrian monarchy.
One day, a great commotion arose in the city as the king, Antiochus Epiphanes, dressed in the hide of a cameleopard, paraded through the streets.
He comes;—he is coming;—there he is!
The citizens of Antioch, both human and animal, were in awe of the king's unusual appearance. The king's concubines held his tail aloft as he moved on all fours, displaying his great stature and maintaining his dignity.
However, the king's strange attire offended the sensibilities of the domesticated animals in the city, leading to a mutiny. The animals began to devour the Syrians, and the king himself was in danger of being eaten. In a desperate attempt to escape, Antiochus ran towards the hippodrome, where he was to be crowned with a wreath of victory in anticipation of his success at the upcoming Olympics.
He runs!—he leaps!—he flies! Like an arrow from a catapult he approaches the hippodrome!
The king managed to reach the gates of the amphitheater just in time, narrowly avoiding being devoured by the angry animals. The citizens of Antioch, satisfied with their king's faith, valor, wisdom, and divinity, celebrated his escape with a vast uproar. The city was filled with a cacophony of sounds, as people of all ranks, ages, sects, and nations joined in the festivities.