he woods searching for nuts
to eat, stopped suddenly and stood up and sniffed for some time, with
his nose well out in the direction of the village. After awhile he
shook his head and fell on all fours again to resume his search for
food. Again there came with a whiff of wind a strong smell of ripe
bananas, and he stood on his feet once more, and with his nose shot out
thus he drew in a greedy breath and then struck himself over the
stomach, and said:

"I thought it was so. There are bananas that way, and I must get some."

Down he fell on all fours, and put out his arms with long stretches,
just as a fisherman draws in a heavy net, and is eager to prevent the
escape of the fish.

In a little while he came to the edge of the grove, and stood and looked
gloatingly on the beautiful fruit hanging in great bunches. Presently
he saw something move. It was a woman bent double over a basket, and
packing the fruit neatly in it, so that she could carry a large quantity
at one journey.

The gorilla did not stay long thinking, but crawled up secretly to her;
and then with open arms rushed forward and seized her. Before the woman
could utter her alarm he had lifted her and her basket and trotted away
with them into the deepest bush. On reaching his den he flung the woman
on the ground, as you would fling dead meat, and bringing the banana
basket close to him, his two legs hugging it close to his round paunch,
he began to gorge himself, muttering while he peeled the fruit strange
sounds. By-and-by the woman came to her senses, but instead of keeping
quiet, she screamed and tried to run away. If it were not for that
movement and noise, she perhaps might have been able to creep away
unseen, but animals of all kinds never like to be disturbed while
eating, so Gorilla gave one roar of rage, and gave her such a squeeze
that the breath was clean driven out of her. When she was still he fell
to again, and tore the peeling off the bananas, and tossed one after
another down his wide throat, until there was not one of the fruit left
in the basket, and the big paunch was swollen to twice its first size.
Then, after laying his paw on the body to see if there was any life left
in it, he climbed up to his nest above, and curled himself into a ball
for a sleep.

When he woke he shook himself and yawned, and looking below he saw the
body of the woman, and her empty basket, and he remembered what had
happened. He descended the tree,