He was very glad to know that here he might awake in the morning without the necessity of putting on his dusty sandals to travel farther and farther . The days and the years would pass over him , and find him still in this pleasant spot . If he could have had his brothers with him , and his friend Thasus , and could have seen his dear mother under a roof of his own , he might here have been happy after all their disappointments . Some day or other , too , his sister Europa might have come quietly to the door of his home , and smiled round upon the familiar faces . But , indeed , since there was no hope of regaining the friends of his boyhood , or ever seeing his dear sister again , Cadmus resolved to make himself happy with these new companions , who had grown so fond of him while following the cow . `` Yes , my friends , '' said he to them , `` this is to be our home . Here we will build our habitations . The brindled cow , which has led us hither , will supply us with milk . We will cultivate the neighboring soil and lead an innocent and happy life . '' His companions joyfully assented to this plan ; and , in the first place , being very hungry and thirsty , they looked about them for the means of providing a comfortable meal . Not far off they saw a tuft of trees , which appeared as if there might be a spring of water beneath them . They went thither to fetch some , leaving Cadmus stretched on the ground along with the brindled cow ; for , now that he had found a place of rest , it seemed as if all the weariness of his pilgrimage , ever since he left King Agenor 's palace , had fallen upon him at once . But his new friends had not long been gone , when he was suddenly startled by cries , shouts , and screams , and the noise of a terrible struggle , and in the midst of it all , a most awful hissing , which went right through his ears like a rough saw . Running towards the tuft of trees , he beheld the head and fiery eyes of an immense serpent or dragon , with the widest jaws that ever a dragon had , and a vast many rows of horribly sharp teeth . Before Cadmus could reach the spot , this pitiless reptile had killed his poor companions , and was busily devouring them , making but a mouthful of each man . It appears that the fountain of water was enchanted , and that the dragon had been set to guard it , so that no mortal might ever quench his thirst there . As the neighboring inhabitants carefully avoided the spot , it was now a long time -LRB- not less than a hundred years or thereabouts -RRB- since the monster had broken his fast ; and , as was natural enough , his appetite had grown to be enormous , and was not half satisfied by the poor people whom he had just eaten up . When he caught sight of Cadmus , therefore , he set up another abominable hiss , and flung back his immense jaws , until his mouth looked like a great red cavern , at the farther end of which were seen the legs of his last victim , whom he had hardly had time to swallow . But Cadmus was so enraged at the destruction of his friends that he cared neither for the size of the dragon 's jaws nor for his hundreds of sharp teeth . Drawing his sword , he rushed at the monster , and flung himself right into his cavernous mouth .
This bold method XXXXX attacking him took the dragon by surprise ; for , in fact , Cadmus had leaped so far down into his throat , that the rows of terrible teeth could not close upon him , nor do him the least harm in the world .
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