Page:Siam and Laos, as seen by our American missionaries (1884).pdf/107

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porary roof made of leaves fastened together, they were protected from the dew, and were contented and happy.

Generally at daylight every morning the men would move on a while before breakfast. We always preferred to stop for meals or for the night near some temple or village.

While taking our dinner one day the two windows of our boat on the side of the river-bank being open, the people who were collected there seemed much pleased to see us use knives, forks and spoons. It was a novel sight to them, as they use the fingers instead. An aged couple watched us with much seeming interest for some time, and then the husband said to his wife, "Kin yark nuk" (They eat with great difficulty).

When we first went to Siam not one woman or little girl in one hundred could read, although all the boys are taught by the priests in the temples to read and to write. One day a very bright, interesting little girl, twelve years old perhaps, came to our boat to see the strangers, and when asked if she could read, she did not answer yes or no, but with surprise exclaimed, "Why, I'm a girl!" as if we ought to have known better than to ask a girl such a question.

One day, while our cook was preparing our simple meal of rice and curry, we walked out into the pleasant grounds of a temple. Here we found a fine large tree whose beautiful white,