Page:The red book of animal stories.djvu/121

 Still, he felt rather curious to know if she could possibly drink up so much milk, and when he had served all his customers he took the trouble to come back the same way to see what had become of the adder. He found her stretched out on the rock, quite drunk with milk, and being a young man of kind heart, he left her to have her sleep out, instead of killing her, as most people would have done in his place.



MATHURIN AND MATHURINE

The next morning, when he passed by the dry little hollow which, the day before, had been a milky lake, he thought of the adder, and how dull it must feel after its delightful meal of yesterday. So he looked at his jar and then at the hollow, and then at the jar again. Finally he stooped down, and poured out a little milk, and walked quickly away. When be had gone a few steps, he glanced round cautiously, and saw the adder in the act of gliding out from under a bush and making straight for the milk.