smile. They do not even hear 

 the sound of our voice, so soon 

 as it no longer threatens them; 

 and, when they look at us, it 

 is with the distrustful bewilder- 

 ment of the horse, in whose eye 

 still hovers the infatuation of the 

 elk or gazelle that sees us for the 

 first time, or with the dull stupor 

 of the ruminants, who look upon 

 us as a momentary and useless 

 accident of the pasture. 



For thousands of years, they 

 have been living at our side, as 

 foreign to our thoughts, our affec- 



