bethought itself of some secret sorrow, and repeated its
plaintive note of "Peep, peep, pe--weep!"

On his way to the shore, Ulysses had the good luck to kill a
large stag by thrusting his spear into his 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 pork, and that they
had lived upon it until a good part of their physical substance
was swine's flesh, and their tempers and dispositions were very
much akin to the hog. A dish of venison, however, was no
unacceptable meal to them, especially after feeding so long on
oysters and clams. So, beholding the dead stag, they felt of
its ribs, in a knowing way, and lost no time in kindling a fire
of driftwood, to cook it. The rest of the day was spent in
feasting; and if these enormous eaters got up from table at
sunset, it was only because they could not scrape another
morsel off the poor animal's bones.

The next morning, their appetites were as sharp as ever. They
looked at Ulysses, as if they expected him to clamber up the
cliff again, and come back with another fat deer upon his
shoulders. Instead of setting out, however, he summoned the
whole crew together, and told them it was in vain to hope that
he could kill a stag every day for their dinner, and therefore
it was advisable to think of some other mode of satisfying
their hunger.