The valley of diamonds i had always thought that the stories about the famous valley of diamonds were just travelers’ tales. these legends told of the clever way that some merchants had invented for getting the precious stones. now i realized that the stories were surely true. the merchants came to the valley when the giant eagles had hatched their young. they threw huge lumps of meat into the valley. these lumps fell with heavy force upon the diamonds. this way, some of the precious stones were sure to stick to them. the eagles pounced upon the meat and carried it to their nests in the rocks to feed their hungry young. then the merchants, scaring away the parent birds with shouts, would claim their treasures. until this moment, i had looked upon the valley as my grave. i had seen no possibility of getting out of it alive. but now i found courage and began to plan my escape. first, i picked up all the large diamonds i could find and stored them in my leather bag. this i tied securely to my belt. i then chose the piece of meat that seemed best for my purpose. with my turban i tied meat firmly to my back. this done, i laid face down and awaited the coming of the eagles. i soon heard the flapping of their mighty wings above me. then i had the joy of feeling one of them seize my piece of meat, and me with it. we rose slowly toward its nest, into which it dropped me. 1 during the story, the storyteller has a big change in how he feels and what he believes. what were his feelings during this story? a. he was very happy to be in the valley, and then he became quite sad. b. he was serious, and then he became very silly. c. he was hopeless at first and then optimistic that he could escape.