"I do not know what is the matter with me," she said. "I am dying of
hunger."

But her mother began to laugh:

"That is not a very serious affair. I will have more rice brought to
you."

But when the young girl said that she needed about ten bowls, the good
woman was startled. She again wished to remain near her daughter.

"If you stay here, mama, I shall not be able to take anything. Leave
me alone, and I shall eat more comfortably."

Everybody indulged her caprice. When the cabin was empty, she shut
the door and Ya-nei came out. Hungry as he was, he made the ten bowls
vanish like a shooting star, and did not leave a single grain. Elegant
watched him with astonishment, and asked him in a low voice:

"Is that still too little?"

"It will suffice," answered the other, drinking a cup of tea.

He hastened back to his hiding-place, while the young girl ate some
vegetables. Then she called the slaves, who came running up, wondering
whether she had been able to eat all that food. They looked at the
empty bowls and at their mistress's slim figure, and murmured as they
went away:

"What a terrible illness!"