Emblazoned had his little pouch of white, Said unto me: “What dost thou in this moat? Now get thee gone; and since thou ’rt still alive, Know that a neighbor of mine, Vitaliano, 243 Will have his seat here on my left-hand side. A Paduan am I with these Florentines; Full many a time they thunder in mine ears, Exclaiming, ‘Come the sovereign cavalier, He who shall bring the satchel with three goats’ ”; 244 Then twisted he his mouth, and forth he thrust 245 His tongue, like to an ox that licks its nose. And fearing lest my longer stay might vex Him who had warned me not to tarry long, Backward I turned me from those weary souls. 246 I found my Guide, who had already mounted Upon the back of that wild animal, And said to me: “Now be both strong and bold. Now we descend by stairways such as these; Mount thou in front, for I will be midway, So that the tail may have no power to harm thee.”