human
And one day I departed from that place to go farther into the land. And as I walked I met many people, and I cut smaller notches in the stick, that there might be room for all. Then I came upon a strange thing. On the ground before me was a bar of iron, as big in thickness as my arm, and a long step away was another bar of iron--
gpt
Then wert thou a rich man, Opee-Kwan asserted;
human
Nay, it was not mine.
gpt
It was a find, and a find be lawful.
human
Not so; the white men had placed it there And further, these bars were so long that no man could carry them away--so long that as far as I could see there was no end to them.
gpt
Nam-Bok, that is very much iron,
human
Ay, it was hard to believe with my own eyes upon it; but I could not gainsay my eyes. And as I looked I heard.... He turned abruptly upon the head man.
gpt
Opee-Kwan, thou hast heard the sea-lion bellow in his anger. Make it plain in thy mind of as many sea-lions as there be waves to the sea, and make it plain that all these sea-lions be made into one sea-lion, and as that one sea-lion would bellow so bellowed the thing I heard.
human
And in the distance I saw a monster like unto a thousand whales. It was one-eyed, and vomited smoke, and it snorted with exceeding loudness. I was afraid and ran with shaking legs along the path between the bars. But it came with the speed of the wind, this monster, and I leaped the iron bars with its breath hot on my face....
gpt
And--and then, O Nam-Bok?
human
Then it came by on the bars, and harmed me not; and when my legs could hold me up again it was gone from sight. And it is a very common thing in that country. Even the women and children are not afraid. Men make them to do work, these monsters.
gpt
As we make our dogs do work?
human
Ay, as we make our dogs do work.
gpt
And how do they breed these--these things?
human
They breed not at all. Men fashion them cunningly of iron, and feed them with stone, and give them water to drink. The stone becomes fire, and the water becomes steam, and the steam of the water is the breath of their nostrils, and--
gpt
There, there, O Nam-Bok, Opee-Kwan interrupted.
human
Tell us of other wonders. We grow tired of this which we may not understand.
gpt
You do not understand?
human
Nay, we do not understand, the men and women wailed back.
gpt
We cannot understand.