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“Where is my child?” she asked.
“I have brought one of the Ammi instead,” was the response of the warrior.
“A man,” replied she, “is no compensation for a monkey; and the finding of another is no comfort to a mother for the loss of her own.”
I HAVE BROUGHT ONE OF THE AMMI INSTEAD.
“You can have her for a slave,” was the reply. “You lost one, and you get one: it makes no difference whether you have the same or not.”
The mother, however, was not satisfied, although the rest thought her grievance a small matter. The honor of the Apes was asserted by the reprisal; and when the public interest is conserved the multitude cares little for the individual loss.
Orlee was placed in charge of this woman, who, notwithstanding her dissatisfaction, was delighted, not only at having a child, but at the fact that it represented the vengeance of her people. This double relation to the infant made her both love the child and mistreat it, the first because it was a child, and the latter because it stood in place of her own.