A PLATE FROM THE GODS
Who graces us with such? The animal whimpered as it limped away from them in vain. Its legs were broken and they were closing in for the kill. Its big brown eyes pleaded for mercy from the hungry lot, but they did nothing to stop the axe from parting its head from its body. They then skinned it, chopped it up well, and balanced its entrails over the fire with the others they had caught. Down the great steps that circled the altar at the center of the village, all gathered to commemorate the last meal before they would succumb to their hunger pangs. Their shovels were covered in rust, the ploughs gathered moss in the barns while their oxen had long been relieved of their flesh, leaving only bones strewn across the hard, dry ground. They feasted on their hunting help, feeding the weeping children who had no choice but to partake of their beloved pets. No one dared chastise them, none had the guile to scold the young ones, for they truly understood their pa