The Elephant and the Dragon; The March of the Dragons
Bestiary: how elephants ford rivers, the dragon's fatal embrace, and how dragons weave together to cross marshes
A page of Leonardo's bestiary in mirror-script pen, continuing the elephant entry and opening one on the dragon. It first describes how elephants cross rivers, placing their young downstream while the adults break the current upstream so the young are not swept away. It then tells how the dragon casts itself beneath the elephant, knots its legs with its tail, girds its ribs with wings and claws, and cuts its throat, until the elephant falls upon it and the dragon bursts, avenging its own death. A second heading, 'The dragon,' begins to describe how dragons band together, weaving like hurdles, raising their heads to cross marshes and swim toward better pasture.
On this page
The dragon's fatal embrace of the elephant
The dragon throws itself beneath the elephant's body, knots its legs with its tail, girds its ribs with wings and claws, and with its teeth cuts its throat. The elephant falls upon the dragon and the dragon bursts. Thus, by its own death, it avenges itself upon the enemy.
How elephants ford a river
When elephants cross rivers they send the young toward the downstream side, while the adults stand toward the upstream side and break the united current of the water, so that the current shall not carry the young away.
The march of the dragons
Under the heading 'The dragon,' the entry tells how these creatures accompany one another and weave themselves together like hurdles, and with heads raised cross the marshes, swimming to where they find better pasture; and if they did not so unite themselves…