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288 THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON
and industry ; she ran into a little plot of shrubbery, the branches of which dipped into the sea, and brought out a large bird, tied by a cord, which she presented to us, telling us it was a skilful fisherman—a cormorant—which she had trained and taught, after the manner of the Chinese, to capture fish.
We then left the bay which we named Happy Bay, and set off, intending to call at the Bay of Pearls on our way back.
Fritz, seated in his cajack, served as pilot to assist us in penetrating safely through the rocks and shoals, and we arrived there in safety. Everything was found just as we had left it—the table and benches yet standing, our fireplace undestroyed, and what was more, the air was purified, and the oysters, having all been dried up by the sun, had lost their unpleasant odour. The dead bodies of the lions and the wild boar were but heaps of whitened bones, the birds of prey having completely stripped them of every particle of flesh.
All appeared tranquil, and we thought it safe to stop long enough to extract the pearls from their shells; this operation, which was certainly not very agreeable, did not long detain Emily, who ran away. |
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