Bel and the Dragon

Enraged, the king then demands that the seventy priests of Bel show him who consumes the offerings made to the idol.

The priests then challenge the king to set the offerings as usual (which were "twelve great measures of fine flour, and forty sheep, and six vessels of wine") and then seal the entrance to the temple with his ring: if Bel does not consume the offerings, the priests are to be sentenced to death; otherwise, Daniel is to be killed.

He sees that the food has been consumed and points out that the wax seals he put on the temple doors are unbroken, and offers a hosanna to Bel.

The priests of Bel are then arrested and, confessing their deed, reveal the secret passage that they used to sneak inside the temple.

In other variants, other ingredients serve the purpose: in a form known to the Midrash, straw was fed in which nails were hidden,[15] or skins of camels were filled with hot coals.

[16] A similar story occurs in the Persian poet Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, where Alexander the Great, or "Iskandar", kills a dragon by feeding it cow hides stuffed with poison and tar.