whether they had ever seen in the fields any
little creature that resembled me. He then placed me softly on the
ground upon all fours, but I got immediately up, and walked slowly
backwards and forwards, to let those people see I had no intent to run
away. They all sat down in a circle about me, the better to observe my
motions. I pulled off my hat, and made a low bow towards the farmer. I
fell on my knees, and lifted up my hands and eyes, and spoke several
words as loud as I could; I took a purse of gold out of my pocket, and
humbly presented it to him. He received it on the palm of his hand,
and then applied it close to his eye to see what it was, and
afterwards turned it several times with the point of a pin (which he
took out of his sleeve), but could make nothing of it. Whereupon I
made a sign that he should place his hand on the ground. I then took
the purse, and opening it, poured all the gold into his palm. There
were six Spanish pieces of four pistoles each, besides twenty or
thirty smaller coins. I saw him wet the tip of his little finger upon
his tongue, and take up one of my largest pieces, and then another;
but he seemed to be wholly ignorant what they were. He made me a sign
to put them again into my purse, and the purse again into my pocket,
which, after offering it to him several times, I thought it best to
do.

The farmer by this time was convinced I must be a rational creature.
He spoke often to me; but the sound of his voice pierced my ears like
that of a water mill, yet his words were articulate enough. I answered
as loud as I could in several languages, and he often laid his ear
within two yards of me: but all in vain, for we were wholly
unintelligible to each other. He then sent his servants to their work,
and taking his handkerchief out of his pocket, he doubled and spread
it on his left hand, which he placed flat on the ground with the palm
upward, making me a sign to step into it, as I could easily do, for it
was not above a foot in thickness. I thought it my part to obey, and,
for fear of falling, laid myself at length upon the handkerchief, with
the remainder of which he lapped me up to the head for further
security, and in this manner carried me home to his house. There he
called his wife, and showed me to her; but she screamed and ran back,
as women in England do at the sight of a toad or a spider. However,
when she had awhile seen my behavior, and how well I observed the
signs her husband