Bestiary: the tigress deceived by mirrors
The Hyrcanian tiger, tricked by mirrors set among her stolen cubs, chases the fleeing hunter.
A full page of the bestiary in mirror script, written with the notebook inverted and without illustration. The single entry treats the tiger, born in Hyrcania, likened to the panther by the varied spots of its skin and famed for frightful speed. A hunter steals her cubs and leaves mirrors where they lay before fleeing on a swift horse; the tigress mistakes her own reflection for her young, discovers the deceit by scratching, then pursues the hunter by scent. The text breaks off as he drops a cub to delay her, continued on the next folio.
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The tigress deceived by mirrors
A hunter steals the tiger's cubs and sets mirrors where they lay before fleeing on a swift horse. Returning, the tigress sees her own reflection and takes it for her young; when scratching reveals the trick, she tracks the hunter by scent. He drops one cub to delay her, and she carries it to the nest before renewing the chase.
The tiger of Hyrcania
The creature is said to be born in Hyrcania and to resemble the panther through the varied spots of its skin. Leonardo emphasizes its frightful speed, which frames the whole tale of the hunter's flight on horseback.