I have eaten a lot of the field

Question

The camel said, "No, I haven't. First get on my back quickly. We shall cross the river and then talk of things." With the jackal on the back, the camel reached the middle of the river. Then the camel said to the jackal, "You are a very bad friend. You had your dinner. Then you howled and brought the villagers to the field. I had not eaten a lot of sugarcane. I have eaten a lot of the field Are you happy now?"

[source : http://www.indiavilas.com/kidscorner/defaultmain.asp?k=animal5 ]

I know "field" means "an area where cultivation is done" but I can't understand "I have eaten a lot of the field" in this context. Actually I wonder how we can eat "field".

Please help me with this.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Hi Gary,

I looked at your source. Believe me, it's a bad translation with some bad English. The line you highlighted is particularly troublesome. You almost wonder if the camel means that the villagers who beat him made him eat dirt, which is an expression in English.

We often say, "a field of corn, a field of wheat, a field of grass, a field of sugarcane." This is one of those "countable/uncountable" situations. The translator handles it poorly. In this sense, "corn, wheat, grass, and sugarcane" are uncountables. A field of grass is like a glass of water. "I drank half the glass of water. My cows ate half the field of grass - or, half the field."

We also say, "a stock of corn, a shaft of wheat, a blade of grass, and (I believe) a stock of sugarcane." These are countables. The translator writes: The jackal said to the camel, "There is lot of sugarcane here. Some of them are tall and ripe. Some of them are short and raw. They have not grown up well. Don't eat them."

So the camel is complaining to his friend the jackal that he's been treated badly. The villagers beat him before he could eat much sugarcane. Probably your quote does mean that he had to eat dirt (the dirt of the field). He didn't eat much sugarcane, but he ate a lot of the field. (In English, eat dirt is figurative - maybe in other languages too.)

Regards, - A.

I have eaten a lot of the field

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