bird knew of some danger that awaited him, and
which must needs be very terrible, beyond all
question, since it moved even a little fowl to
feel compassion for a human being. So he re-
solved, for the present, to return to the vessel,
and tell his companions what he had seen.

This appeared to satisfy the bird. As soon
as Ulysses turned back, it ran up the trunk of a
tree, and began to pick insects out of the bark
with its long, sharp bill; for it was a kind of
woodpecker, you must know, and had to get its
living in the same manner as other birds of that
species. But every little while, as it pecked at
the bark of the tree, the purple bird bethought
itself of some secret sorrow, and repeated its
plaintive note of "Peep, peep, pe weep!"

Oil his way to the shore, Ulysses had the good
luck to kill a large stag by thrusting his spear
into its back. Taking it on his shoulders, (for
he was a remarkably strong man,) he lugged it
along with him, and flung it down before his
hungry companions. I have already hinted to
you what gormandizers some of the comrades
of King Ulysses were. From what is related
of them, I reckon that their favorite diet was

[[167]]

p166 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p167w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p168

v?