Jacob and the Raven 48

“But he came bravely for all that,”
croaked Krawk, “for he has no wings, and
but two legs, which failed him at the
last.”

She smiled and did not speak, and Jacob
himself said nothing, but stared with all
his eyes at the strange place in which he
found himself, for the carrying had rested
him, and he had got back his senses
enough to be astonished. It was a vast
cave, far bigger than he could make out,
for the shadows stretched into unseen
depths, and here and there he caught,
through a gleam of light flung by the roar-
ing fire of logs in the centre, recesses where
stalactites hung dimly white from the roof.
Round the fire lay a number of animals—
bears, Arctic foxes, wild cats, and Klopp
the wolf. Many of them looked as if they
had been hunting, and had come in for
shelter and rest, and there were small
things as well as big, for squirrels and
marmots and wild mice frisked merrily
about. Part of the ground was bare, but