Thanks, dxb. For some reason old Kipling's story gets mixed up in my mind with Professor Twist's story:

The Purist
by Ogden Nash


I give you now Professor Twist,
A conscientious scientist,
Trustees exclaimed, "He never bungles!"
And sent him off to distant jungles.
Camped on a tropic riverside,
One day he missed his loving bride.
She had, the guide informed him later,
Been eaten by an alligator.
Professor Twist could not but smile.
"You mean," he said, "a crocodile."

For RK: http://www.boop.org/jan/justso/elephant.htm

Seems like 'satiable is short for insatiable.