BIRDS IN A VILLAGE. 
43 
decay or change of any kind. He would, so long 
as he confined himself to this hind of food, he 
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. 
Bat he cherished no tender memories and regrets ; 
his sole thought was of the ants, and where to find 
a sufiiciency of them to stay the cravings of hunger ; 
for, after the first sensations of disgust had been 
