THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 1/5 



with one of his otters for a carp that the otter had 

 caught, and was then bringing out of the water. 

 I have told you who relate these things, and tell 

 you they are persons of credit, and shall conclude 

 this observation by telling you what a wise man 

 has observed, " It is a hard thing to persuade the 

 belly, because it has no ears." 



But if these relations be disbelieved, it is too 

 evident to be doubted that a pike will devour a fish 

 of his own kind that shall be bigger than his belly 

 or throat will receive, and swallow a part of him, 

 and let the other part remain in his mouth till the 

 swallowed part be digested, and then swallow that 

 other part that was in his mouth, and so put it 

 over by degrees ; which is not unlike the ox and 

 some other beasts taking their meat, not out of 

 their mouth immediately into their belly, but first 

 into some place betwixt, and then chew it or 

 digest it by degrees after, which is called chewing 

 the cud. And doubtless pikes will bite when they 

 are not hungry, but, as some think, even for very 

 anger, when a tempting bait comes near to them. 



And it is observed that the pike will eat veno- 

 mous things, as some kind of frogs are, and yet 

 live without being harmed by them ; for, as some 

 say, he has in him a natural balsam or antidote 

 against all poison. And he has a strange heat, 

 that though it appears to us to be cold, can yet 

 digest or put over any fish-flesh by degrees without 

 being sick. And others observe that he never 

 eats the venomous frog till he have first killed her, 



