Nearer and nearer came the serpent, lashing the water with its tail and snorting in a most horrible manner. […] He made beautiful statues and carvings of all kinds, and he was, besides, a most skillful builder. The most wonderful thing that he had ever built was a strange winding path, called the labyrinth. […] He had killed the creature he loved most in all the world, and his grief was sad to see. […] Gradually, a most beautiful figure began to take shape in the stone.