Page:Indira and Other Stories.pdf/162

 of these famous Sunderbans, the chosen home of our illustrious race. I found myself in a land inhabited by cows, men and other defenceless and harmless creatures. The men there are of two species, black and white in colour. I happened to be out one day on business."

An inquisitive tiger of the name of Odontokeros ventured to interrupt with the question, "May I ask what the learned lecturer means by the word 'business'?"

"Business", replied the lecturer, "is, briefly, the search for food. Civilised races nowadays invariably use this euphemism. I must, however, admit that this universal occupation cannot always be justly described by this term. In the case of exalted and respectable persons it may rightly be called 'business'; when inferior people hunt for provendor, their task becomes thieving, domestic service, or begging. The business of dishonest persons is commonly called 'theft'; those who steal forcibly