Dear me ! what pendulous ears they had ! what little red eyes , half buried in fat ! and what long snouts , instead of Grecian noses ! But brutes as they certainly were , they yet had enough of human nature in them to be shocked at their own hideousness ; and still intending to groan , they uttered a viler grunt and squeal than before . So harsh and ear-piercing it was , that you would have fancied a butcher was sticking his knife into each of their throats , or , at the very least , that somebody was pulling every hog by his funny little twist of a tail . `` Begone to your sty ! '' cried the enchantress , giving them some smart strokes with her wand ; and then she turned to the serving men -- `` Drive out these swine , and throw down some acorns for them to eat . '' The door of the saloon being flung open , the drove of hogs ran in all directions save the right one , in accordance with their hoggish perversity , but were finally driven into the back yard of the palace . It was a sight to bring tears into one 's eyes -LRB- and I hope none of you will be cruel enough to laugh at it -RRB- , to see the poor creatures go snuffing along , picking up here a cabbage leaf and there a turnip top , and rooting their noses in the earth for whatever they could find . In their sty , moreover , they behaved more piggishly than the pigs that had been born so ; for they bit and snorted at one another , put their feet in the trough , and gobbled up their victuals in a ridiculous hurry ; and , when there was nothing more to be had , they made a great pile of themselves among some unclean straw , and fell fast asleep . If they had any human reason left , it was just enough to keep them wondering when they should be slaughtered , and what quality of bacon they should make . Meantime , as I told you before , Eurylochus had waited , and waited , and waited , in the entrance hall of the palace , without being able to comprehend what had befallen his friends . At last , when the swinish uproar resounded through the palace , and when he saw the image of a hog in the marble basin , he thought it best to hasten back to the vessel , and inform the wise Ulysses of these marvelous occurrences . So he ran as fast as he could down the steps , and never stopped to draw breath till he reached the shore . `` Why do you come alone ? '' asked King Ulysses , as soon as he saw him . `` Where are your two and twenty comrades ? '' At these questions , Eurylochus burst into tears . `` Alas ! ''
he cried , `` I greatly fear that we shall never see one XXXXX their faces again . ''
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