The hunter and his wife had no children of their own and hence had no experience raising a child. As the physician watched them fumbling with the infant, he could not help giving a few pointers.
“I think this child’s only a few days old. Besides feeding her rice soup, it’s best if you get her a nanny.”
Now this was a challenge – although the hunter was relatively well-off, how was he supposed to find a nanny in this wilderness?
“Aside from breast milk, you can also get milk from animals like cows and goats.” Considering their living conditions, the physician quickly offered another solution.
He could tell that this baby girl was of noble birth. Moreover, she was undeniably beautiful, and her meekness stirred sympathy easily in the hearts of others. He could not help wanting her to live, too.
However, it was impossible to feed her only with rice soup.
The couple’s eyes lit up. “That’s a good idea.”
“While I was hunting in the mountains yesterday, I saw a goat feeding her kids, but I let them go because they seemed like newborns, and I couldn’t bear to kill them. I’ll go and capture them right now.”
“Hurry, then,” his wife urged, so anxious that she would perform the deed herself if she could.
The hunter was astonished by how enthusiastic his wife was. It seemed that she had really taken a liking to this little girl.
Without further delay, he grabbed his tools and strode out of the house.
Before dark, the hunter finally returned with the goat and her kids. He reared them in the backyard and even fed the mother goat some food.
At night, the hunter cleaned the goat, milked it, and caught the milk in a clean bowl, all the while guided by the physician.
The physician said, “Animals are inevitably dirty,and even though you’ve cleaned the goat, I suggest that you boil the milk and cool it before feeding it to the child.”
The hunter noted down his instructions carefully. “Thank you for the reminder, sir.”
The old physician shook his head. “No need to thank me. I was fated to meet that child too, I guess.”
Sure enough, the boy woke up the next day.
The moment he came to, he waved his hands around as if searching for something.
Seeing this, the old physician quickly spoke up to comfort him, “Calm down, young man. You’re looking for the baby girl, aren’t you? She’s asleep right next to you.”
Hearing this, the boy ceased his flailing, and his voice came out in a hesitant croak. “Baby girl?” He turned his head as if to search for the infant he spoke of.
The physician understood the situation right away. “You can’t see, can you?”
“Yes.” The boy nodded, his face stony.
The elderly physician sighed. “It looks like your head injury has really affected your eyes and stripped you of your vision.”
The boy fell silent, his hands on the covers curling into fists. “Where am I? W…who am I?”
The physician’s face turned pale at his words. “What? You don’t even remember who you are?” As he spoke, he rushed forward to take his pulse.
However, before his fingers could touch the boy, he was repelled by a strong force. “Don’t touch me!”
Fortunately, the hunter was standing right behind the physician and caught him in time.
Alarmed by the boy’s reaction, the hunter was about to open his mouth, but the physician interrupted him. “All right, all right. Don’t get worked up. I won’t touch you anymore.”
The physician was a mild-tempered man, and when the boy had finally calmed down, he said, “I”m a physician. You’re injured all over, and your eyes are damaged, too. I just wanted to examine you and see if there’s a way to heal them.”