Ioannes the kaisar gave Psellos a horse, which he compared favourably to mythological horses. Ioannes was a famed horseman, while Psellos often fell off horses, especially since his recent illness. But he would not fall off this horse, because it was from Ioannes. Ioannes' sons, Andronikos and Konstantinos, had recently entertained Psellos, and told of a heroic crane-hunt, after which Ioannes buried a crane which had died bravely, speaking a funerary oration in full armour