Chapter 1

Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called TRUE STORIES FROM NATURE, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing.

22'

In the book it said:"Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing it. After that they are not able to move, and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion."

18'

读到这里的时候，我的耳边莫名响起一声声凄切的蛙叫，那是青蛙被草蛇活吞之前的挣扎叫声，音高远超八度，尤其凄惨，叫得让人浑身起鸡皮疙瘩，头皮发麻，心情久久不能平静……