"Away, away, robber! Away, away, bird-killer!" they cried. They made
such a racket that it attracted the farmer, who came running, so that
Gorgo had to flee, and the boy got no seed.
The small birds behaved in the most extraordinary manner. Not only did
they force the eagle to flee, they pursued him a long distance down the
valley, and everywhere the people heard their cries. Women came out and
clapped their hands so that it sounded like a volley of musketry, and
the men rushed out with rifles.
The same thing was repeated every time the eagle swept toward the
ground. The boy abandoned the hope that the eagle could procure any food
for him. It had never occurred to him before that Gorgo was so much
hated. He almost pitied him.
In a little while they came to a homestead where the housewife had just
been baking. She had set a platter of sugared buns in the back yard to
cool and was standing beside it, watching, so that the cat and dog
should not steal the buns.
The eagle circled down to the yard, but dared not alight right under the
eyes of the peasant woman. He flew up and down, irresolute; twice he
came down as far as the chimney, then rose again.
The peasant woman noticed the eagle. She raised her head and followed
him with her glance.
"How peculiarly he acts!" she remarked.
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