At last it occurred to my thoughts that I shook a bag of chickens’ meat out in that place; and then the wonder began to cease; and I must confess my religious thankfulness to God’s providence began to abate, too, upon the discovering that all this was nothing but what was common; though I ought to have been as thankful for so strange and unforeseen a providence as if it had been miraculous; for it was really the work of Providence to me, that should order or appoint that ten or twelve grains of corn should remain unspoiled, when the rats had destroyed all the rest, as if it had been dropped from heaven; as also, that I should throw it out in that particular place, where, it being in the shade of a high rock, it sprang up immediately; whereas, if I had thrown it anywhere else at that time, it had been burnt up and destroyed.
Sőt bevallom, vallásos hálaérzetem az isteni gondviselés iránt is alábbhagyott, amikor rájöttem a hétköznapi eredetre. Valójában éppolyan hálásnak kellett volna lennem a gondviselésnek, mintha csodáról lenne szó, hiszen az, hogy a patkányok kártevése után az a néhány gabonaszem épen maradt, majd pedig én pont arra a szikla alatti, árnyékos helyre szórtam ki azt, ahol nem égette el a nap, hanem háborítatlanul növekedhetett, valóban nem mindennapos ajándéka volt a sorsnak.