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THE SERF A ATS.
183
I was all ears, I can tell you, my friends, for
I was evidently listening to a superior being.
" Well, we have migrated since those days,
which is a pity, for the Egyptians kept special
fields of corn, and hundreds of gardens for our
delectation. We had no need, at any rate, to
regret Eden, where there were only a couple of
us, and where we were not so much thought of.
We cannot complain of the Hindoos either, for
they also hold us almost sacred, and allow us
to provide what we like for ourselves."
" With the Englishman we divide the sway
over India," said a magnificent boa constrictor :
" he has man, and we have the beasts for our
trembling subjects. He is not quite as
infallible in his victories as we in ours, and he is
therefore not so much dreaded and cajoled as
we are. They say the lion is the king of the
animals; bah!" and here his jaws dilated to
such an extent that they seemed to say, " We
can swallow him whole ! "
" He may be the king of the desert,"
continued the boa, "where we cannot crawl on
the sand ; but I am the lord of the forest!"
Here " Lord Snake " moved uneasily, but there
was no gainsaying the mighty monarch, as he
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