52 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



his sole thought was of the ants, and where to find 

 a sufficiency of them to stay the cravings of hunger ; 

 for, after the first sensations of disgust had been 

 overcome, he had begun to grow fond of this kind 

 of food, and now consumed it with avidity. And as 

 his strength increased so did his dexterity in catching 

 the small active insect prey. He no longer gathered 

 the ants up in his palm and swallowed them along 

 with dust and grit, but picked them up deftly, and 

 conveyed them one by one to his mouth with light- 

 ning rapidity. Meanwhile that " acid principle," 

 about which he had heard such wonderful things, 

 was having its effect on his system. His skin changed 

 its colour ; he grew shrunken and small, until at 

 length, after very many years, he dwindled to the 

 grey little manikin of the present time* His mind, 

 too, changed ; he has no thought nor remembrance 

 of his former life and condition and of his long- 

 dead relations ; but he still haunts the village where 

 he knows so well where to find the small ants, to 

 pick them from off the ant-hill and from the trunks 

 of trees with his quick little claw-like hands. Lan- 

 guage and song are likewise forgotten with all human 

 things, all except his laugh ; for when hunger is 

 satisfied, and the sun shines pleasantly as he reposes 

 on the dry leaves on the ground or sits aloft on 

 a branch, at times a sudden feeling of gladness 

 possesses him, and he expresses it in that one way 



