Page:Account of a most surprising savage girl.pdf/5

5 her to the castle, carried her first into the kitchen, till M. d’Epinoy should be informed of her arrival. The first thing there that appeared to draw her attention, was some fowls which the cook was dressing; at these she flew with such amazing agility, that the astonished cook beheld one in her teeth before he imagined she had reached it. M. d’Epinoy arriving in the mean time, and seeing what she was eating, caused give her an unskinned rabbit; she instantly stripped off the skin, and devoured it.

Those who considered her then, were of opinion that she was about nine years of age. She seemed black, as I have already said; but it appeared, after washing her several times, that she was naturally white, as she still continues. They observed likewise, that her fingers, and in particular, her thumbs were very large, in proportion to the rest of her hand, which was otherwise neat enough: and to this day her thumbs retain somewhat of that largeness. By her account, these large strong thumbs were very useful to her during her wild life in the woods; for when she had a mind to pass from one tree to another, if the branches of the two trees were but at a small distance,