How King Alexander entered the land of Babylon, at the edge of which he met with serpents and beasts which did him great harm.

When Alexander had seen all he wished of the palace's wonders he rode out and rejoined his army. Then he began his onward march, riding on till he reached the edge of Babylonia. It was a land to which he'd long desired to come; but I think if he'd known what was to befall him there he would never have gone.

As they came to the edge of that land they had to cross a desert; and here in this desert they found huge and terrible serpents, strong and vicious, with two heads, each with a pair of eyes that shone like mirrors. And these creatures inflicted grave harm before he overpowered them, killing countless numbers of his men. Indeed the history says that but for Alexander's own valour the Greeks would have been destroyed; and certainly, by all accounts he'd never been in such trouble – and little wonder, for he no longer had his good horse Bucephalus who'd given him so much help in all his deeds. Our source assures us he had a fine new mount indeed, sent to him by a great lord from India, with a red head and handsomely dappled crupper and flanks and neck as white as snow; it was a wonderfully strong and powerful horse, but still it could never compare with Bucephalus.