I found that a little strange. I've never heard of people eating earthworms before.
~Do you hear the people sing?~
Les Miserables
I haven't eaten any myself, but this isn't the first time I've heard of it. There are parts of the world where all kinds of bugs are eaten, not just worms.
You'll be sorry I sent those nice young men in their clean white coats!
I think that Dickon was teasing Mary. Mary was to his knowledge from Martha a girl who was bossy and seemed like a snob. Or he could of been showing off to her lol.
shareWell, worms are naturally nutritious, and he probably eats them all the time, he spends so much time outside.
Dear me! What is that unpleasant aroma? I fear the sewer may have backed up during the night.
I think it was just meant to show his understanding of animals. In the book especially, Dickon has an almost otherworldly way with animals. He understands them in a way most people don't i.e. "It's only a litte worm...Not ugh. Mmm." He eats the worm because, like birds, he doesn't see anything disgusting about it.
He was also probably doing it to be funny too.
Now Father, you're living in the past. This is the 14th century!
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I reckon Dickon ate the worm as a joke to shock Mary and Master Colin. Neither of them would've seen such a thing before. He was trying to scare them and gross them out and have fun doing it.
share[deleted]
He's just a kid.
"If not now, when?"
Because little boys are gross.
I try to be like Grace Kelly, but all her looks were too