Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Serpents
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
190 J 22 FABLED STORIES FROM THE ZOO.
of creation. Unconsciously, as I kept in one
position, a pleasant numbness made my
posture almost rigid. My brain alone was
alive, and I thought I understood what the
snakes expressed by the hieroglyphs of their
motions. I was carried in a day-dream to
their sunny clime. Perhaps I was fascinated
by memory, reflection, and imagination; for
they are potent spells. I will tell you what
I listened to in my somniferous state.
"Thus to lie almost in a state of coma,
intercoiled with you, my congeners, has its
pleasure—at least, one must make the best of it,—
and in my reveries I revisit the familiar haunts
of my native jungle." This was expressed by
the slight undulations of a beautiful grey and
yellow snake. " Here, in this old prison, it is
so cold that one is almost benumbed, though
they cover us with blankets. No one can be
lively here except in imagination;" and he
gazed at me with his ruby eyes, and his tongue
wagged briskly. " I often see men here before
us; but as they do not trample upon us, or
otherwise harm us, I only give them warning
by raising my head, and scold them with my
forked tongue. They almost appear like
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
