“Now,” I said seriously, “you can’t live any longer in your little house. It is for your good. You may live inside of this.” I showed him my silver cigarette case. “You will be comfortable and live like a lord. You see the inside is all decorated.”
When he saw the decoration he was resigned, and wanted to see how he felt in his new home which he called the imperial tomb.
To make up for depriving him of his liberty at night, I found him a good place to spend his days when he was near me. I put him in the ribbon of my hat; only his little black head stuck outside. He saw everything at enormous distances, and always told me what he had discovered as if he were watching from the bridge of a ship.
“There is a city,” he called one day.
“How far off?”
“Twenty miles.”
“Is it large?”
“Yes, and full of soldiers.”