One day when he was at a spring with the shepherds, eight lions appeared, and the shepherds were so frightened that they fled, leaving behind their flocks. Only Tristano stayed behind with five strong mastiffs. The lions attacked the sheep and ate as many as they wanted, and killed four of the dogs. The fifth dog, out of fear, came to Tristano and stayed beside him. Seeing this, Tristano picked up a big, hard, strong club and began to rain blows on these lions in such a way that he killed five of the eight, and the others fled into the wilderness.

La Tavola Ritonda