But our hero did not descend; and I asked him if he wanted to replace the cabbage he had cut off?
"Wait a little," said he; "I am bringing you some wine to drink my health; but it comes slower than I could wish." He now descended, holding his cocoa-cup, into which he poured from the flask a clear rose-coloured liquor, and, presenting it to me, begged me to drink.

It was, indeed, the true palm-wine, which is as pleasant as champaign, and, taken moderately, a great restorative.
We all drank; and Ernest was praised and thanked by all, till he forgot all the scoffs he had received.
As it was getting late, we set about putting up our tent for the night, when suddenly our ass, who had been quietly grazing near us, began to bray furiously, erected his ears, kicking right and left, and, plunging into the bamboos, disappeared.

This made us very uneasy.

I could not submit to lose the useful animal; and, moreover, I was afraid his agitation announced the approach of some wild beast.

The dogs and I sought for any trace of it in vain; I therefore, to guard against any danger, made a large fire before our tent, which I continued to watch till midnight, when, all being still, I crept into the tent, to my bed of moss, and slept undisturbed till morning.
In the morning we thanked God for our health and safety, and then began to lament our poor donkey, which, I hoped, might have been attracted by the light of our fire, and have returned; but we saw nothing of him, and we decided that his services were so indispensable, that I should go, with one of my sons, and the two dogs, in search of him, and cross the thickets of bamboo.