Here he often threw a bit of his breakfast to a
Dolphin that he called Simon, and if the creature was not waiting for
him when he arrived, he had only to pronounce this name, and it
instantly appeared."
"Nothing very wonderful in that," said Jack; "the common gudgeon,
which is the stupidest fish to be found in fresh water, would do that
much."
"Yes; but listen a moment. The dolphin, after having received his
pittance, presented his back to the boy, after having tacked in all
his spines and prickles as well as he could, and carried him right
across the lake, thus saving the little fellow a long roundabout walk;
and not only that, but after school hours it was waiting to carry him
back again. This continued almost daily for a year or two; but at last
the boy died, and the dolphin, after waiting day after day for his
reappearance, pined away, and was found dead at the usual place of
rendezvous. The affectionate creature was taken out of the lake, and
buried beside its friend.[D]
"And, on the other hand," added Jack, "if animals sometimes attach
themselves to us, we attach ourselves to them. We are told that
Crassus wore mourning for a dead ferret, the death of which grieved
him as much as if it had been his own daughter.[E] Augustus crucified
one of his slaves, who had roasted and eaten a quail, that had fought
and conquered in the circus.
Pages:
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258