But , just then , a puff of wind brought down the smoke of the kitchen chimney among them , and caused each man to smell the odor of the dish that he liked best ; and , after scenting it , they thought everything else moonshine , and nothing real save this palace , and save the banquet that was evidently ready to be served up in it . So they hastened their steps towards the portal , but had not got half way across the wide lawn , when a pack of lions , tigers , and wolves came bounding to meet them . The terrified mariners started back , expecting no better fate than to be torn to pieces and devoured . To their surprise and joy , however , these wild beasts merely capered around them , wagging their tails , offering their heads to be stroked and patted , and behaving just like so many well-bred house dogs , when they wish to express their delight at meeting their master , or their master 's friends . The biggest lion licked the feet of Eurylochus ; and every other lion , and every wolf and tiger , singled out one of his two and twenty followers , whom the beast fondled as if he loved him better than a beef bone . But , for all that , Eurylochus imagined that he saw something fierce and savage in their eyes ; nor would he have been surprised , at any moment , to feel the big lion 's terrible claws , or to see each of the tigers make a deadly spring , or each wolf leap at the throat of the man whom he had fondled . Their mildness seemed unreal , and a mere freak ; but their savage nature was as true as their teeth and claws . Nevertheless , the men went safely across the lawn with the wild beasts frisking about them , and doing no manner of harm ; although , as they mounted the steps of the palace , you might possibly have heard a low growl , particularly from the wolves ; as if they thought it a pity , after all , to let the strangers pass without so much as tasting what they were made of . Eurylochus and his followers now passed under a lofty portal , and looked through the open doorway into the interior of the palace . The first thing that they saw was a spacious hall , and a fountain in the middle of it , gushing up towards the ceiling out of a marble basin , and falling back into it with a continual plash . The water of this fountain , as it spouted upward , was constantly taking new shapes , not very distinctly , but plainly enough for a nimble fancy to recognize what they were . Now it was the shape of a man in a long robe , the fleecy whiteness of which was made out of the fountain 's spray ; now it was a lion , or a tiger , or a wolf , or an ass , or , as often as anything else , a hog , wallowing in the marble basin as if it were his sty . It was either magic or some very curious machinery that caused the gushing waterspout to assume all these forms . But , before the strangers had time to look closely at this wonderful sight , their attention was drawn off by a very sweet and agreeable sound . A woman 's voice was singing melodiously in another room of the palace , and with her voice was mingled the noise of a loom , at which she was probably seated , weaving a rich texture of cloth , and intertwining the high and low sweetness of her voice into a rich tissue of harmony . By and by , the song came to an end ; and then , all at once , there were several feminine voices , talking airily and cheerfully , with now and then a merry burst of laughter , such as you may always hear when three or four young women sit at work together . `` What a sweet song that was ! '' exclaimed one of the voyagers . `` Too sweet , indeed , '' answered Eurylochus , shaking his head . `` Yet it was not so sweet as the song of the Sirens , those bird-like damsels who wanted to tempt us on the rocks , so that our vessel might be wrecked , and our bones left whitening along the shore . ''
`` But just listen to the pleasant voices XXXXX those maidens , and that buzz of the loom , as the shuttle passes to and fro , '' said another comrade .
So To about across by for of out under with