“The gold, however, and the laughter⁠—these doth he take out of the heart of the earth: for, that thou mayst know it⁠— the heart of the earth is of gold. ”

When the fire-dog heard this, he could no longer endure to listen to me. Abashed did he draw in his tail, said “bow-wow!” in a cowed voice, and crept down into his cave.⁠—

Thus told Zarathustra. His disciples, however, hardly listened to him: so great was their eagerness to tell him about the sailors, the rabbits, and the flying man.

“What am I to think of it!” said Zarathustra. “Am I indeed a ghost?

“But it may have been my shadow. Ye have surely heard something of the Wanderer and his Shadow?

“One thing, however, is certain: I must keep a tighter hold of it; otherwise it will spoil my reputation.”