And he was ready to listen attentively to whatever the bird might communicate ; for , at the siege of Troy , and elsewhere , he had known such odd things to happen , that he would not have considered it much out of the common run had this little feathered creature talked as plainly as himself . `` Peep ! '' said the bird , `` peep , peep , pe -- weep ! '' And nothing else would it say , but only , `` Peep , peep , pe -- weep ! '' in a melancholy cadence , and over and over and over again . As often as Ulysses moved forward , however , the bird showed the greatest alarm , and did its best to drive him back , with the anxious flutter of its purple wings . Its unaccountable behavior made him conclude , at last , that the bird knew of some danger that awaited him , and which must needs be very terrible , beyond all question , since it moved even a little fowl to feel compassion for a human being . So he resolved , for the present , to return to the vessel , and tell his companions what he had seen . This appeared to satisfy the bird . As soon as Ulysses turned back , it ran up the trunk of a tree , and began to pick insects out of the bark with its long , sharp bill ; for it was a kind of woodpecker , you must know , and had to get its living in the same manner as other birds of that species . But every little while , as it pecked at the bark of the tree , the purple bird bethought itself of some secret sorrow , and repeated its plaintive note of `` Peep , peep , pe -- weep ! '' On his way to the shore , Ulysses had the good luck to kill a large stag by thrusting his spear into his back . Taking it on his shoulders -LRB- for he was a remarkably strong man -RRB- , he lugged it along with him , and flung it down before his hungry companions . I have already hinted to you what gormandizers some of the comrades of King Ulysses were . From what is related of them , I reckon that their favorite diet was pork , and that they had lived upon it until a good part of their physical substance was swine 's flesh , and their tempers and dispositions were very much akin to the hog . A dish of venison , however , was no unacceptable meal to them , especially after feeding so long on oysters and clams . So , beholding the dead stag , they felt of its ribs , in a knowing way , and lost no time in kindling a fire of driftwood , to cook it . The rest of the day was spent in feasting ; and if these enormous eaters got up from table at sunset , it was only because they could not scrape another morsel off the poor animal 's bones . The next morning , their appetites were as sharp as ever . They looked at Ulysses , as if they expected him to clamber up the cliff again , and come back with another fat deer upon his shoulders .
Instead XXXXX setting out , however , he summoned the whole crew together , and told them it was in vain to hope that he could kill a stag every day for their dinner , and therefore it was advisable to think of some other mode of satisfying their hunger .
On after as beyond into of over since that to