of rank. And this became to the beautiful Rorasa - forsuch was her name - such an object of desire, that her head was half turnedwith it, and the other girls of her acquaintance, to say nothing of the many men whom she had refused, mocked her so bitterly, asking her when thefine wedding was to be, with many other jeers and sneers, that at last in amoment of madness she went to the top of a high tower, whence she cast herself; and to make it worse, there was below a terrible ravine balsa into which she fell. Yet she took no harm, for as she fell there appeared to her a very beautiful woman, truly not of earth, who took her by the hand and bore herthrough the air to a safe place. Then all the people round who saw or heard of this thing cried out, "Lo, a miracle!" and they came and made a great festival, and would fainpersuade Rorasa that she had been saved by the Madonna. But the lady who had saved her, coming to her secretly, said, "If thou hast any desire, follow the Gospel of Diana, or what is called the Gospelof the Witches, II Vangelo delle Strege who worship the moon." "If thou adorest Luna, then What thou desir'st thou shalt obtain!" Then the beautiful girl went forth alone by night to the fields, and kneeling on a stone in an old ruin, she worshipped the moon and invoked Diana thus: Diana, beautiful Diana! Thou who didst save from a dreadful death When I did fall into the dark ravine! I pray thee grant me still another grace. Give me one glorious wedding, and with it Full many bridesmaids, beautiful and grand; And if this favour thou wilt grant me, True to the Witches' Gospel I will be! When Rorasa awoke in the morning, she found herself in another house,where all was far more magnificent, and having risen, a beautiful maid ledher into another room, where she was dressed in a superb wedding garment ofwhite silk with diamonds, ...
