William recovered his composure and made another attempt to approach the hippogriff. He bowed again, and stared directly into the hippogriff's eyes without making contact. Nothing happened for a few seconds, and then the hippogriff bowed to him so he knew that it was safe for him to come closer. He came forward and offered the creature the bag of insects he had brought with him, then watched as the hippogriff happily ate the entire contents of the bag. William was certain that hippogriff had to have foul breath after a meal like that, but he reached out and patted him on the head anyway. He seemed to be a good hippogriff.