he had had nothing to eat for nearly a weekj 

 and the frog which appeared so mysteriously 

 with him in my hat was the dinner that he had 

 given up that day of his capture in his effort to 

 escape. 



The minister looked on without a tremor. I 

 took off the brick that he might see the better. 

 The snake was very long and small around and 

 the toad, which I had given him, was very short 

 and big around, so that when it was all over 

 there was a bunch in the middle of the snake 

 comparable to the lump a prime watermelon 

 would make in the middle of a small boy if 

 swallowed whole. 



"While we were still watching, the snake, 

 having comfortably (for a snake) breakfasted, 

 saw the hole uncovered and stuck out his head. 

 "We made no move. Slowly, cautiously, with his 

 eye upon us, he glided out, up to the big bunch 

 of breakfast in his middle. This stuck. Fran- 

 tically he squirmed, whirled, and lashed about, 

 but in vain. He could not pull through. He 

 had eaten too much. 



There was just one thing for him to do if he 

 would be free : give up the breakfast of toad 

 [42] 



