I X 



BIRDS IN A VILLAGE 51 



a food as to sustain himself on ants and nothing 

 else, the effect of the acid on him would be to 

 change and harden his flesh and make it imper- 

 vious to decay or change of any kind. He would, 

 so long as he confined himself to this kind of food t be 

 immortal. 



Not a moment did the wretched boy hesitate to 

 make use of this new and wonderful knowledge. 

 When he had found and broken open an ant-hill, 

 so eager was he that, shutting his eyes, he snatched 

 up the maddened insects by handfuls and swallowed 

 them, dust and ants together, and was then tortured 

 for hours, feeling and thinking that they were still 

 alive within him, running about in search of an 

 outlet and frantically biting. The strange food 

 sickened him, so that he grew thinner and paler, 

 until at last he could barely crawl on hands and feet, 

 and was like a skeleton except for the great sad 

 eyes that could still see the green earth and blue 

 sky, and still reflected in their depths one fear and 

 one desire. And slowly, day by day, as his system 

 accustomed itself to the new diet, his strength 

 returned, and he was able once more to walk erect 

 and run, and to climb a tree, where he could sit 

 concealed among the thick foliage and survey the 

 village where he had first seen the light and had 

 passed the careless happy years of boyhood. But 

 he cherished no tender memories and regrets ; 



