Wait。Thosepoorbirds。
HehaltedagainandboughtfromtheoldapplewomantwoBanburycakesforapennyandbrokethebrittlepasteandthrewitsfragmentsdownintotheLiffey。Seethat?Thegullsswoopedsilentlytwo,thenall,fromtheirheights,pouncingonprey。Gone。Everymorsel。
Awareoftheirgreedandcunningheshookthepowderycrumbfromhishands。Theyneverexpectedthat。Manna。Liveonfishyfleshtheyhaveto,allseabirds,gulls,seagoose。SwansfromAnnaLiffeyswimdownheresometimestopreenthemselves。Noaccountingfortastes。Wonderwhatkindisswanmeat。
RobinsonCrusoehadtoliveonthem。
Theywheeled,flappingweakly。I’mnotgoingtothrowanymore。Pennyquiteenough。LotofthanksIget。Notevenacaw。Theyspreadfootandmouthdiseasetoo。Ifyoucramaturkey,say,onchestnutmealittasteslikethat。Eatpiglikepig。Butthenwhyisitthatsaltwaterfisharenotsalty?Howisthat?