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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rataplan, by Ellen Velvin
+
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+**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
+
+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
+
+
+Title: Rataplan
+
+Author: Ellen Velvin
+
+Release Date: June, 2004  [EBook #5867]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on October 23, 2002]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, RATAPLAN ***
+
+
+
+
+Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading
+Team
+
+
+
+RATAPLAN,
+A ROGUE ELEPHANT
+AND OTHER STORIES
+
+By ELLEN VELVIN, F.Z.S.
+
+Author of "Tales Told at the Zoo,"
+"Jack's Visit," Etc.
+
+With illustrations
+
+by GUSTAVE VERBEEK
+
+
+
+
+
+To
+GRACE GALLATIN THOMPSON SETON
+THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY
+DEDICATED
+
+TO THE AUTHOR, COMING AS A STRANGER TO THIS
+COUNTRY, HER HELP, ADVICE AND LOYAL
+FRIENDSHIP HAVE BEEN INVALUABLE
+
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+
+
+If an excuse for this book were needed, the undying interest of young
+people in both wild and domesticated animals would afford it. From
+time immemorial they have been amused and instructed by stories of
+animals, and it is not hard to trace the educational and humane
+influence of such tales.
+
+There are heroes and tyrants, cruel and gentle natures in the animal
+world, as in our own, and, judged by our standards, their lives are
+pastorals or tragedies, even as ours are, while their histories are
+often even more interesting than those of men or women. Then, too,
+young people should know that these dwellers in forest wilds have, in
+part at least, the same aims, hopes and fears as ourselves.
+
+In the preparation of this book the best of authorities have been
+consulted, and careful study given to the habits, traits and
+characteristics of the animals whose intimate lives are told in these
+stories. In addition, I have endeavored to tell young people, as
+pleasantly as possible, that they often make grave blunders in caring
+for their pets--blunders due to ignorance as to the requirements of
+their living toys.
+
+ELLEN VELVIN.
+
+New York City.
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+
+
+RATAPLAN, ROGUE
+
+GEAN, THE GIRAFFE
+
+KEESA, THE KANGAROO
+
+CARA, THE CAMEL
+
+SICCATEE, THE SQUIRREL
+
+LEO, THE LION
+
+CHAFFER, THE CHAMOIS
+
+JINKS, THE JACKAL
+
+PERO, THE PORCUPINE
+
+TERA, THE TIGRESS
+
+HIPPO, HIPPOPOTAMUS
+
+OSRA, THE OSTRICH
+
+SEELA, THE SEAL
+
+BRUNIE, THE BEAR
+
+MONA, THE MONKEY
+
+BULON, THE BUFFALO
+
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+
+
+From Drawings by Gustave Verbeek.
+
+"But, oh, what havoc he made"
+
+"Groar joined in with might and main"
+
+"Even his mother looked at him with surprise"
+
+"Sat on one of the boughs and scolded as hard as she could"
+
+"He would take up some small animal and walk coolly off with it"
+
+"Chaffer was the first to meet the hunters face to face"
+
+"Jinks never was so happy as when he was leading his pack"
+
+"Jock had never seen anything like it before"
+
+"Tera sprang at the nearest calf, bringing him to the ground"
+
+"Osra and his wives took up the chickens one by one, and swallowed
+them whole"
+
+"Furious with rage, Brunie rose up and went to meet them"
+
+"Mona did his best to attract the parrot's attention"
+
+
+
+
+RATAPLAN, ROGUE
+
+
+In one of the thick, shady and tangled forests of Ceylon a fine,
+fully-grown elephant was one day standing moodily by himself. His huge
+form showed high above the tangled brushwood, but his wide, flat feet
+and large, pillar-like legs were hidden in the thick undergrowth.
+
+He was not standing still, however--for no elephant has ever been
+known to do that yet--his massive, elongated head, with its wide, flat
+ears, its long, snake-like, flexible trunk, its magnificent pair of
+ivory tusks and its ridiculous, little eyes moved gravely to and fro--
+up and down--in a wearied but restless manner.
+
+Every now and then he would lift one of his massive legs and put it
+down again, or sway his whole body from side to side, or throw his
+trunk up in the air and then wave it round his head and over his back
+in all directions.
+
+But, in spite of his moody, wearied air, the elephant's tiny eyes
+looked particularly wicked. And wicked they were, and a true index to
+the mischief going on in his elephant mind.
+
+He had no herd round him, no brother or sister elephant with whom he
+could wave trunks, nod heads, or carry on a conversation in elephant
+language; he was alone, and preferred to be alone, for his irritable
+nature and morose disposition made it impossible for him to live with
+others.
+
+It was not entirely due to himself that he lived alone, for his
+character was so bad, alas! that no herd would admit him into its
+ranks, no drive would have anything to do with him; for he was
+Rataplan, the Rogue, and he was feared, avoided and hated as much as
+it is possible for the gentle-natured and good-tempered Indian
+elephant to fear and hate anything.
+
+There had been a time--long, long ago--when he had been one of a herd;
+but his roguishness had developed early, and after much forbearance
+and long-suffering the herd had turned him out; and from that time he
+had been a solitary wanderer.
+
+From the first Rataplan pretended that he did not care, and tossed his
+trunk disdainfully when driven from the herd. He had felt it,
+nevertheless, and it had made him more morose, more irritable, more
+mad than ever.
+
+He cared for nothing now: the only thing in which he took a delight
+was, destroying as much as possible in mere wantonness, and in working
+as much mischief as he could find time to plan and accomplish.
+
+There had been times in the past when, in his better moments, he had
+longed to go back to the herd; had longed to be taken into some grand
+troop of elephants such as those he watched march through the forests.
+He longed to be one of them, and to feel that he was a respectable,
+well-conducted elephant.
+
+But his overtures had always been received with disfavor and firm
+refusals, and the time had now come when nothing would have induced
+him to live with any elephants whatever; he preferred to be alone; and
+his evil nature and irritable temper thrived on his solitary life and
+mischief-making propensities, and to know that he was feared and
+dreaded was a very delight to him.
+
+Out of pure mischief he would, at times, tear madly through the
+forest, trumpeting at the very top of his shrill voice, merely to give
+the elephants, or any other animals that might be about, a thorough
+fright.
+
+Many and many a time had some horrid, insignificant little creatures
+who walked about on two legs, and carried things of fire in their
+hands, tried their very best to inveigle and entrap him, but in vain.
+Once, indeed, he had very nearly fallen into a horrible pit in which,
+at the very bottom, in the centre, was a dreadful, long, sharp stake,
+which, had he fallen, would have been driven through his thick body by
+its own weight, and he would have perished miserably and in agony.
+
+But he had found it out in time--only just in time--for one of his
+hind legs had shot out suddenly behind him, and it was only by a
+mighty effort of his huge strength that he scrambled up and away from
+the source of danger.
+
+But oh, what havoc he made! How he tore up anything and everything
+within his reach! Iron fences which those silly, little fire-carriers
+had stuck into the ground to protect their crops; silly, little, brick
+walls which he knocked over with one push of his huge body; young,
+healthy trees which had been planted so carefully a few years back,
+and which he pulled up with his long trunk as though they were little
+radishes; not to speak of the miles of rice and sugar-cane which he
+had trodden down in wanton waste and as a means of venting his temper.
+
+Another time they had tried to drive him into a horrid place called a
+_Keddah_, which had been built with stout logs, and had huge
+buttresses which even he would have found it difficult to move.
+
+He had been really startled one dark night on seeing huge bunches of
+fire coming towards him, and in spite of his daring he began to run in
+the opposite direction.
+
+But it takes a rogue to catch a Rogue, and Rataplan was pretty wary.
+He had sense enough to know that those silly, little things on two
+legs would not take the trouble to run after him with bunches of fire
+unless they wanted him to run away somewhere, to some particular
+place. And so, after the first few, heavy, swinging steps, the
+reflection of the fire behind him showed him the outline of a _keddah_
+just in front, and with a shrill roar of rage Rataplan turned suddenly
+and fiercely round, dashed headlong through the line of fire, and,
+with a mighty trumpeting, disappeared into the forest.
+
+So sudden and unexpected had been his onslaught that he had put out
+quite half a dozen of the bunches of fire: he had also put out the
+lives of the six, silly, little things who carried them. For a few
+swift pressures of his mighty feet had squeezed out their breath and
+destroyed their power to invent mischief with which to entrap the
+Rogue elephant.
+
+For some time after this Rataplan had been more mad and wicked than
+ever. He knew perfectly well that he had killed a few of the fire-
+carriers, and he fully intended to kill a few more before he had done
+with them. But they were very cunning, these fire-carriers, and,
+although he had nearly caught a few of them, once or twice, they had
+generally escaped him when quite close by suddenly disappearing, and
+this caused Rataplan many serious cogitations and musings.
+
+Wicked and clever as he was, he had only the instincts of his kind.
+All his senses were alert, and his eyes looked for enemies in all
+directions but one, and that one direction was above. He never looked
+up, and it never occurred to his stupid, old head, sharp as he thought
+himself, that the little fire-carriers might have climbed up into the
+trees above him. When they disappeared from his range of vision he
+gave up the chase, although, more often than not, the wicked, little
+things were sitting just above his head, where, had he only turned his
+trunk upwards, he could have picked them off as though they were
+little birds.
+
+But he always did the same thing: he floundered blunderingly on
+through the forest, trumpeting, roaring, pulling up and tearing down
+everything within his reach, but never having sense enough to look
+above him. And so it was that he found it very difficult to get hold
+of the fire carriers, and he became madder and more full of rage than
+ever.
+
+Even the herds of elephants were now getting afraid of him, although
+could they only have made up their gentle, docile minds to attack him
+he would have come to his end in no time.
+
+But Indian elephants dislike warfare or disagreements, and often, even
+when severely wounded, will turn about and go away, not seeming to
+realize that a momentary pressure of one of their huge feet, or one
+straight blow with their tusks, would be more than sufficient to
+finish their enemies. More often than not the most an Indian elephant
+will do to his foe is to kick him from one huge foot to another until
+he is either dead or dying.
+
+But from Rataplan, the Rogue, the other elephants preferred to keep
+aloof. Only once had a herd attempted to chase him, and this was when
+he had actually presumed to pay a little attention to the wife of its
+leader.
+
+Then the leader, followed by the remainder of the herd, turned upon
+him, and for just once in his life Rataplan was frightened, and simply
+turned tail and ran--ran crashing and stumbling through the forest at
+a terrific speed, making the air resound with his trumpeting.
+
+Had it not been that the dense forest was suddenly broken by a river,
+it would indeed have gone hard with him.
+
+For an instant Rataplan thought he would stop--for, although elephants
+are beautiful swimmers, they are not particularly fond of the sport--
+but only for a moment; for the herd was close behind him and pressing
+him, and the leader could almost reach him with his trunk. Into the
+water dashed Rataplan, throwing up a mountain of spray which sprinkled
+the whole herd, and for a few moments he was lost to sight.
+
+After the spray cleared away his huge form, with his trunk held high
+in the air, could be seen swimming easily and steadily towards the
+other side, and after a little conference with the herd the leader
+decided to let him go. But, as Rataplan knew only too well, woe betide
+him if ever he met that herd again.
+
+And so it was that Rataplan, the Rogue, congratulated himself that so
+far he had never been caught, neither had any other elephant been able
+to hurt him.
+
+But on this particular day he was very miserable and very lonely, and
+he had a restless, uneasy, wild feeling which inclined him to
+something daring. He was sick and tired of trying to catch the silly
+things that carried fire; he was tired of the forest; he was tired of
+himself. He felt more irritable, restless and evil-natured than ever,
+and as he stood there, swaying heavily from side to side and waving
+his trunk about him, he was a very miserable elephant indeed.
+
+If he had only known it, one of the silly, little things who carried
+the fire had been watching him for some time.
+
+Rataplan had been keeping very still for an elephant, but there is a
+certain sound which he and all his brethren make, unknown to
+themselves, and over which they have no control. This is a curious,
+little, bubbling noise which is caused by the water which is stored up
+in their insides in case of emergency; and this little bubbling noise
+had been heard by the fire-carrier.
+
+He watched the huge beast with interest, and knew by his restless
+manner and the wicked look in his small eyes that he was in about as
+dangerous a state as it is possible for an elephant to be, and he made
+his plans accordingly.
+
+He was very busy for a few minutes with some long, thick ropes, which
+had a heavy noose at each end. The ends of these ropes he fastened
+carefully to some heavy trees, and then he went quietly away. The
+little fire-carrier was a _Mahout_, hunter or rider, who was trained
+in the capture of elephants, and he felt sure that if Rataplan would
+only stay where he was a short time longer he would be able to catch
+him.
+
+So he went away and looked carefully at his _Koomkies_.[Footnote:
+Female elephants which are trained for the purpose of catching wild
+elephants.--Author.] He had some particularly good ones just then, and
+they one and all turned their large, gentle heads towards him and
+awaited his pleasure. For they loved the chase, and entered into it
+with as much interest as he did himself.
+
+As a rule he sent several _koomkies_ out together, but on this
+occasion he decided to send only one.
+
+This was Kinka, a gentle and tractable, little Indian elephant, who
+was well versed in the chase, and who was about as pretty and graceful
+as it is possible for a _koomkie_ to be.
+
+The _mahout_ talked to her and patted her, and Kinka seemed to quite
+understand, nodding her head wisely, and touching his face and
+shoulders gently with the tip of her trunk.
+
+When he had finished and began to lead her out she made a quiet,
+little trumpeting noise, which signified how delighted she was to go.
+
+The _mahout_ did not trouble himself about Kinka, once he had let her
+go. She knew her business and was about as deep and crafty as any
+_mahout_ could wish. He selected his strongest little horse and
+followed her.
+
+Kinka went quietly and steadily through the forest, making straight
+for the place where Rataplan was still standing, moodily moving his
+head to and fro.
+
+Once within sight of him she put on a careless, coquettish air, and
+began to move carelessly towards him, plucking leaves and grass as
+though perfectly oblivious of his presence.
+
+Rataplan suddenly stopped moving his huge head, and his wicked little
+eyes were bent on her with scrutiny and interest. He was not, however,
+going to be caught so easily. He did not care for society in any shape
+or form, not even the society of a _koomkie_, so he took no notice of
+her, but, after a few minutes' quiet contemplation, turned his head
+the other way.
+
+Kinka, however, was not to be daunted. Still plucking little twigs and
+delicate buds and knocking them carefully and fastidiously against her
+forelegs in order to shake off any little fragment of dust that might
+have stuck there, she made her way steadily towards him, and as
+Rataplan, even then, took not the slightest notice she became bolder,
+and, trotting quietly up to him, began caressing him with her trunk
+and making several other endearing signs which were enough to melt the
+heart of any elephant under the sun.
+
+Rataplan's heart was not exactly melted, but he was evidently
+interested and touched by the delicate attentions, and he became a
+little less morose and a little less moody; he even moved out of the
+tangled mass of undergrowth in which he had been standing, and deigned
+to talk to her a little bit; and Kinka made herself just as
+interesting as she possibly could.
+
+Soon Rataplan began to forget his hatred of company, his dislike of
+his fellow-creatures; he began even to forget his evil thoughts and
+his mad rage, and he was just beginning to think what a nice, little
+elephant Kinka was when he felt, sharp pulls at his feet.
+
+The next instant there was such a sudden pull on all his legs that,
+with a huge thud Rataplan found himself lying on the ground. With one
+furious cry of rage he did his best to turn, displaying a flexibility
+of body and limb which was quite astonishing in so clumsy an animal.
+
+Rolling on the ground and uttering more cries of rage, it suddenly
+occurred to him to ask the nice, little elephant to help him. But
+alas! the nice, little elephant, Kinka, was nowhere to be seen.
+
+Having done her duty and treacherously inveigled him in to the snare,
+with a little, triumphant wave of her trunk and a funny, little,
+trumpeting noise she had marched with a sort of "conquering hero" air
+back to her stable, there to tell the other _koomkies_ of her prowess
+and successful capture.
+
+In vain Rataplan butted the tree nearest to him with all his huge
+strength; it never moved, scarcely even shook, and he rolled again on
+the ground in despair. He wound his trunk round and round one of the
+ropes, doing his best to break and split it, but the rope was good and
+strong and only squeaked dismally.
+
+He shrieked and roared, writhed and turned, until the forest re-echoed
+with his cries, and the cruel ropes cut into his ankles, making deep,
+red wounds which stained the ground all round his feet.
+
+After a time his shrill cries of rage developed into hoarse moans of
+humiliation and despair.
+
+All that night and the next Rataplan was left there. The ropes cut
+deeper and deeper into his poor, swollen ankles, his body getting
+fainter and fainter for want of food. But he was not a Rogue elephant
+for nothing, and would not give in.
+
+In vain a whole lot of _koomkies_ were brought out to try and induce
+him to follow them into the _keddah_; he was not to be tempted, and
+tore and strained at his ropes to such a degree that the _mahout_
+feared he would make wounds that could never be healed; so he took
+away the _koomkies_ and waited yet another night.
+
+The third night the _koomkies_ were brought out again, this time with
+Kinka at their head. But the sight of Kinka nearly drove Rataplan mad;
+he strained and tore at the ropes, trumpeting and roaring, until even
+the _koomkies_ were frightened. Could he only have got at Kinka, he
+would have torn her limb from limb. But although he stretched to his
+utmost, and his hind legs went out behind him in the struggle, he
+could not get near her.
+
+The _mahout_ was getting troubled, for Rataplan's ankles were now in
+such a state as to make him almost valueless, and he knew, even did
+the elephant give in now, it would be months before they were healed,
+if indeed they ever healed at all.
+
+Yet another long, weary day and night did poor Rataplan lay there,
+getting weaker and weaker and suffering untold agonies caused by those
+cruel ropes.
+
+He had by this time torn his ankles so fearfully that they were all
+ulcerated, and stiff from lying on the ground. To add to his misery,
+he had caught violent inflammation in his eyes.
+
+The _mahout_ realized that unless he got him into the _keddah_ soon he
+would be of no use at all, and once more did his best with _koomkies_
+and dainty bits of food to tempt him to follow into the _keddah_.
+
+But still Rataplan would not give in: his body was weak and getting
+visibly thinner, but his spirit was as strong, as wild and as
+unbreakable as ever.
+
+There was a consultation among the _mahouts_, and it was decided, as
+he was still so savage, there was nothing to be done but to leave him
+yet one more day.
+
+But the next day Rataplan presented a piteous sight. His poor ankles
+were swollen enormously; his eyes were so inflamed that he was quite
+blind, and, to make matters worse, the _mahouts_ saw that he was
+suffering now from the Ceylon Murrain.
+
+There was nothing to be done then but kill him.
+
+It had been a wet night which had made his poor, ulcerated ankles as
+bad as they could be, and the pain in his eyes was maddening.
+Suffering from the murrain, too, it was far too dangerous to take him
+among other elephants, and so the end of Rataplan, the Rogue, was
+that, in spite of his grand physique, his unbreakable spirit, and his
+indomitable patience, he was actually shot by the very things he had
+despised all his life--those silly little things that carried guns.
+
+And Kinka, when she knew that he was dead, was not even sorry. She
+only gave a triumphant little trumpeting as she thought of the triumph
+of her capture.
+
+And so no one grieved for Rataplan, no one cared or thought about him.
+But then we must not forget that he was and always had been Rataplan,
+the Rogue.
+
+
+
+
+GEAN, THE GIRAFFE
+
+
+A tall, stately, gentle creature, standing about eighteen feet high.
+
+A pretty, graceful head; large, tender, dark eyes; a beautiful, tawny
+coat, covered with rich, dark spots; a long neck; a rather short body,
+measuring about seven feet in length; slender, shapely legs,
+terminating in feet with divided hoofs; and a long tail, ending in a
+wisp of dark-colored hair, which was a splendid thing with which to
+whisk off the flies.
+
+This was Gean, the Giraffe, and she belonged to a tribe which boasted
+of the fact that they were the tallest of all animals. But they were
+not aggressive about it at all, for giraffes are the most modest and
+gentle creatures to be found anywhere. They are quiet and inoffensive
+in all their ways and movements, shy and timid to a degree, and so
+cautious and wary that it is extremely difficult to get near them in
+their wild state.
+
+Gean was just as timid and wary as the rest of her tribe; indeed, she
+was peculiarly so, for she had been unfortunate enough to lose her
+mother when quite young, and, deprived of that mother's care and
+protection, she had experienced some very narrow escapes from many
+kinds of dangers and difficulties, and these had made her suspicious
+of every fresh object she came across. There were times when she was
+really too cautious, and would not accept friendly overtures from
+strangers of her own kind.
+
+There was another young giraffe about the same age as herself, who had
+come to see her several times lately, and, although he was a fine,
+handsome animal and stood nearly two feet taller than Gean herself,
+she would have nothing to do with him. Not even when he took the
+trouble to reach up his long neck[Footnote: although a giraffe's neck
+is so long, it has exactly the same number of vertebrae as all other
+mammals--seven--but each vertebra is exceptionally long.--_Author_.]
+and, stretching his tongue out to its full length--about eighteen or
+twenty inches--break off a tender, young branch of the "camel-thorn,"
+which is a sort of acacia tree and considered a great dainty by
+giraffes, and offer it to her. Gean was very independent, as well as
+shy, and much preferred to pick leaves and blades of grass for
+herself.
+
+Groar took it all very well; he was disappointed, of course, but he
+preferred a young giraffe that was shy, and knew he should value her
+all the more if he had a little trouble and difficulty in winning her.
+So he waited patiently, hoping that some day he would have an
+opportunity of distinguishing himself, and the day arrived much sooner
+than he expected.
+
+Gean was pacing slowly up and down the open plain one day, but keeping
+pretty close to the low woods--for she avoided the high forest, not
+being able to keep as good a lookout there for her two greatest
+enemies, men and lions--when she suddenly scented danger. It was a
+long way off, it is true, but Gean had a very keen sense of smell. Not
+being with any herd at present, Gean was accustomed to look after
+herself, and generally managed to keep clear of enemies, although, as
+I told you just now, she knew what it was to have very narrow escapes.
+
+She was cautious enough not to stop walking, but kept slowly on,
+putting each foot down in a careful, dainty manner, and so softly that
+only the very faintest rustle could be heard, this being caused by the
+whisking to and fro of her tail, which made a curious little swish-
+swish as she moved. She took care, however, to look round in all
+directions, and, as her beautiful, round eyes projected in a peculiar
+manner, she was able to do this without moving her head at all. The
+only direction in which she could not look without turning her head
+was directly behind her, but this little difficulty was overcome by
+walking in a semi-circle for a few minutes.
+
+Suddenly Gean saw the enemy. It was a full-grown lion, and he was
+creeping cautiously out of the underbrush in the wood close by. It was
+not often that lions came out by day, but Gean had passed close to
+this lion's lair, and the odor of such a dainty morsel as a giraffe
+was too much for the lion, who decided to make the most of his
+opportunity.
+
+The moment Gean saw him, without moving her graceful, pretty head, she
+started off at full speed, and, although such a beautiful, graceful
+animal when still, or walking slowly, she certainly was awkward and
+ungainly when running. Her gait was clumsy and shambling, and, with
+her tail whisking to and fro all the time, she made an odd and
+undignified appearance. Her speed, however, made up for her ungainly
+movements, and for some time she outdistanced the lion by a long way.
+The lion was lazy, as usual, and, thinking he could easily overtake a
+giraffe, did not put forth his best speed. Consequently, he made the
+fatal mistake of allowing the giraffe a good start, and to his great
+surprise found he was losing ground.
+
+But, lazy and indolent as the lion is, he can be energetic enough when
+he chooses, and so the King of Beasts gathered himself together, put
+forth his great strength and best speed, and very soon it was Gean who
+was losing ground, while the lion was gaining steadily.
+
+Quivering with terror, and with her strength failing her, poor Gean
+began to feel hopeless. She could see the lion getting closer and
+closer, but not a sound did she make, for the giraffe is absolutely
+dumb, and makes no noise even when dying. On and on she went, trusting
+to her strong limbs, making curious, frog-like leaps and awkward,
+jumpy movements, her long neck rocking swiftly up and down as though
+pulled by some mechanical contrivance, and her tail swishing faster
+than ever.
+
+She knew now she could not keep up much longer, and at last, realizing
+she must give up the race, turned suddenly round and faced her enemy,
+sending forth such a shower of strong, vigorous kicks that the lion
+was not only surprised, but completely bewildered. He hesitated but a
+moment, however, and then prepared to spring. Crouching down, with his
+huge head close to the ground, he watched his opportunity, for he had
+no relish for springing straight at those flourishing heels, and Gean
+took very good care to keep her head carefully out of his way,
+although she was quite prepared to give him a good blow with a
+sidelong swing of her-muscular neck. But she knew perfectly well that
+she could not keep this up more than another minute or two, and her
+beautiful, brown eyes were distended with fear, and her breath came
+thick and fast.
+
+It would indeed have gone hard with her, but at that very moment Groar
+appeared on the scene, and, taking in what was happening at a single
+glance, he promptly went to the rescue. A shambling and clumsy object
+he looked, moving the fore and hind legs of the same side
+simultaneously, but in Gean's eyes at that moment he was the most
+beautiful thing she had ever seen. She kept up her kicking until Groar
+came up to her, and then he joined in with might and main, nourishing
+his four feet in the very face of the lion and daring him to do his
+worst.
+
+But the lion thought better of it. It was all very well tackling one
+giraffe, but to face four such pairs of heels was more than he cared
+about, and when Groar took him unawares in the midst of all the
+kicking by suddenly striking him a heavy blow with his neck, the King
+of Beasts concluded it was not a good time to prove his sovereignty,
+and, with a sulky growl, slunk off to his lair.
+
+As soon as the lion turned his back, poor Gean sank down utterly
+exhausted, her small head waving wearily to and fro, her long, black
+tongue hanging out of her mouth, and her breath coming in short,
+painful gasps. Groar comforted her as well as he could, caressing her
+tenderly, and every now and then drawing himself up to his full height
+on the lookout for danger. He never left her until she was able to
+move slowly back to the low woods, and then only to gather for her
+some tender shoots of camel-thorn and mimosa, and any young, tender
+leaves he could find.
+
+Gean took them all very gently, and seemed humbled and grateful, and
+when, a little later on, he suggested that she should let him always
+take care of her, she thought it over and finally concluded it would
+be a very nice arrangement. And so Groar took her home to his herd and
+introduced her to the leader--an old giraffe with a dark chestnut hide
+and a longer neck than any of the others--as his wife.
+
+And Gean was very happy, for Groar was a good and kind husband, and
+very devoted to her, and she no longer had to be always looking out
+for danger, for Groar was always watching, and guarded her with the
+greatest care. He took her for long walks through the woods, where
+they found nice, fresh food, and saw that she had her share of it, but
+they picked and ate only a few leaves or blades of grass at a time,
+for it is a provision of Nature that giraffes shall feed in this way,
+as their digestion is extremely delicate.
+
+In times of danger they would get close to a tree, lean their bodies
+against it, and then, putting their heads and necks under the
+branches, would be so completely hidden that sometimes the natives
+would mistake the giraffes for trees, and the trees for giraffes. Gean
+and Groar were more easily hidden than some of their cousins who lived
+in Northern Africa, for, being South Africans themselves, they were of
+a much darker color, and therefore not so noticeable.
+
+[Illustration: "GROAR JOINED IN WITH MIGHT AND MAIN."]
+
+It was in this way that they saved themselves one day, when, followed
+by hunters. These hunters were mounted on good, fleet horses, and had
+traced the pair of giraffes by their _spoor_, or footmarks. These
+footmarks were ten or eleven inches in length, pointed at the toe, and
+rounded at the heel, so that it was quite easy to find which way the
+giraffes had gone.
+
+Accordingly, the hunters followed the spoor, which went across miles
+of rough, uneven ground--for giraffes know perfectly well that they
+always have the advantage on rough ground, being able to leap over
+obstacles without diminishing their speed--and finally led them to a
+wood.
+
+Here the hunters paused, and, finding it impossible to ride through
+the thick growth, tethered their horses and left them in charge of
+some natives, while they, creeping cautiously forward, with guns in
+hand, tried to find out in which direction the animals had gone.
+
+But this was a very difficult matter, for there were no footmarks now,
+owing to the thick undergrowth, and, moreover, the giraffes were on
+guard. For this was their great object in living in low woods; it was
+quite easy to see an enemy approaching.
+
+Groar's long neck and small head had appeared at the top of some of
+the bushes just before the hunters entered the wood, and he knew
+perfectly well what it all meant. With a swift movement he withdrew
+his head, and, telling Gean to follow him, he led her to a nice, tall
+tree, and when she had settled herself comfortably, with her head
+under the branches, betook himself to another tree near by, and hid
+his own head in the same manner.
+
+So wonderfully did the giraffes blend with the bark and foliage of the
+trees, that, although the hunters passed close by, they were unable to
+find them. Little did they think while moving cautiously along that
+the very animals they were looking for were silently watching them,
+with gentle eyes, from between the branches of trees quite close to
+them.
+
+Not a muscle did either Groar or Gean move until they made quite sure
+the hunters had gone, and then, Groar declaring it to be quite safe,
+they withdrew their heads and necks from the branches, relaxed their
+stiffened limbs, and, moving their sloping[Footnote: The slope in a
+giraffe's back is caused by its elongated shoulder-blades. The fore
+and hind legs are exactly the same length.--_Author_.] backs from the
+trees, walked softly and quietly in another direction.
+
+They were both so stiff from standing in the same position for so long
+a time that they were obliged to go slowly at first, and it was a very
+good thing they did so; for suddenly they came to a deep pit, so
+cunningly and cleverly hidden, that it was a great wonder Gean had not
+walked straight into it. The pit was nearly ten feet deep, and a hard
+bank of earth had been built from one side to the other, about six or
+seven feet high. Had Gean fallen into it, her forelegs would have been
+on one side of the wall and her hind legs on the other, and she would
+have been balanced in such a manner that, in spite of any amount of
+kicking and struggling, it would have been quite impossible for her to
+obtain a foothold, and she would have been obliged to stay there until
+the natives came and killed her.
+
+As it was, she stopped just in time; but two such frights, in one day,
+were enough to make any giraffe nervous, and so they both rejoined the
+herd, and let the old leader keep guard while they had their evening
+meal in peace.
+
+Gean wandered off a little way by herself that night, and, as she
+seemed to wish to be alone, Groar did not bother her, but kept a
+strict lookout all the time. And in the morning she called him to look
+at something, and this something was a soft, helpless, little, baby
+giraffe, with delicate limbs and small body, a funny, scraggy, long
+neck and small head, with the very same sort of gentle, pathetic eyes
+that Gean herself had.
+
+And Groar thought it was the very finest baby he had ever seen, and
+was fonder and prouder of Gean than ever. As for Gean, she was
+sublimely happy, and was never tired of fondling and caressing her
+little one and attending to its many wants.
+
+For it was a delicate baby, and for some time after its birth it
+seemed very doubtful whether it would live or not. But Gean tended and
+nourished it, kept it nice and warm, and in due course of time it grew
+strong and healthy.
+
+And here we must leave Gean. She had a good home, plenty to eat, a
+kind husband and pretty little baby, and what more could any giraffe
+want?
+
+
+
+
+KEESA, THE KANGAROO
+
+
+The first thing that Keesa remembered was waking up in a dark, warm
+place, and feeling very hungry and a bit chilly.
+
+With a little shiver he feebly gathered himself together and crept
+closer to the warm side of his small prison.
+
+There was a curious something inside this warm part of his prison,
+which kept up a continuous, methodical beating, sometimes faster and
+sometimes slower, but never stopping.
+
+Keesa did not think much about it then. His tiny, flexible, little
+mouth was seeking instinctively for something to satisfy his hunger,
+and, having found it, he troubled himself no further about the little,
+throbbing sound that never stopped. He was too young then to know that
+it was the beating of his mother's heart; but as he grew older he
+learned to regard it as a very barometer for danger signals. He knew
+that whenever it began to beat quicker than usual his mother was
+scenting danger; and that when it throbbed very, very quickly the
+danger had come, and was causing his mother great anxiety on his
+account.
+
+All this he learned as he grew larger, but at this time he was only a
+few days' old; a tiny, soft, helpless thing, only about an inch and a
+half in length; and all he could do was just stay quietly in his
+mother's pouch--where she had carefully put him as soon as he was
+born--rest against her heart, and drink as much as he could.
+
+He stayed in this nice, warm place for several months, and his weight
+increased so gradually that his mother did not notice it.
+
+After a time, however, he began to find pouch-life rather monotonous,
+and so, one day, he poked his funny, little head out of the pouch and
+had his first peep at the world.
+
+It seemed to be a very pleasant world, but he had no idea before that
+his mother was so big, or that she could hop such tremendous
+distances.
+
+When he looked up at her he saw two little paws above him hanging down
+in just the position that a dog puts his paws when begging. Above
+these little paws he saw a small, graceful head, long and somewhat
+oval, with outstanding ears, soft, gentle eyes, and a flexible mouth,
+with cleft lips which opened every now and then and showed white but
+savage teeth which looked as though they could bite very sharply when
+their owner liked.
+
+Having scrutinized his mother from below, Keesa turned his attention
+downwards, and then noticed what extremely long hind legs she had, and
+that she was sitting on them and her tail in a very comfortable
+manner.
+
+Glancing instinctively round, Keesa saw that it was a very pleasant
+country, and that there were a good many others like his mother,
+sitting or moving softly about with long leaps, one and all keeping a
+sharp lookout for danger while munching the tender leaves and grass.
+
+Once having had this peep at the world, Keesa became very interested
+in it, and every day poked his little head out of the pouch and
+watched his mother's proceedings.
+
+One day, when she let herself drop on her forepaws to nibble the nice,
+green grass, Keesa, on peeping out, found his own mouth close to the
+ground. Out of mere curiosity he tasted a little bit of the herbage,
+sniffing it very carefully, first of all, with his funny little nose,
+and behaving, unknown to himself, in the way that all kangaroos behave
+when they first begin to eat green food.
+
+Having tasted the grass, Keesa found it extremely good, and the very
+next day, when his mother dropped on her forefeet to feed, his head
+came out of the pouch and down went his little mouth too.
+
+But this time out went one of his little, short, front paws and rested
+on the earth. One quick movement, and, to his astonishment, he found
+himself really in the world. Just for a moment he felt so terribly
+frightened that he leaped straight back into the pouch again, and his
+little heart beat as fast as ever his mother's did in time of danger.
+
+But the next moment curiosity got the better of him, and he was so
+proud of himself in being able to move about so nimbly that he was out
+of the pouch again, and this time, not feeling half so frightened,
+hopped and skipped about until even his mother looked at him with
+surprise.
+
+From that time Keesa always jumped out of his mother's pouch and ran
+about while she was feeding. He felt perfectly safe now, because at
+the least sign of danger all he had to do was to hop back again, pull
+down his small head and hide it, and everything was all right.
+
+But as time went on Keesa began to realize that although. Australia is
+such a beautiful country the life of a kangaroo is full of danger.
+
+Some peculiar beings called men had found out, it seemed, that the
+flesh of the kangaroo was very good eating; and once having realized
+this, they had no pity, but, whenever they wanted kangaroo flesh,
+hunted the animals and killed as many as they possibly could.
+
+Once Keesa's mother, and a number of other kangaroos, were having a
+comfortable feed on the plain, when suddenly numbers of men called
+hunters came from all parts and attacked the poor kangaroos with
+spears, clubs and horrible fire things.
+
+The poor animals looked wildly around with their pathetic eyes, and
+then swiftly and silently--for, like the giraffe, the kangaroo never
+makes a sound--tore backwards and forwards, wild and bewildered with
+fear, assailed on all sides by sharp arrows and spears, and by heavy
+things which struck terrible blows.
+
+[Illustration: "EVEN HIS MOTHER LOOKED AT HIM WITH SURPRISE"]
+
+Only two kangaroos escaped at this dreadful time; they were Keesa's
+mother and another kangaroo mother, both of whom had fought fiercely
+and desperately for the sake of their little ones.
+
+Away went the two kangaroos at breakneck speed, leaping from twelve to
+fifteen feet at a time. But the hunters were prepared for this, and in
+a few minutes the kangaroo dogs were after them.
+
+This was a terrible time. The terror and agony of Keesa's mother
+communicated itself in some way to him, and he shivered inside his
+pouch half dead with fear.
+
+On and on went the kangaroos, and close behind came the dogs. But the
+mother kangaroos, when too exhausted to run further, turned, only too
+ready to die, if need be, for their young ones.
+
+Keesa's mother was fortunate enough to find a fairly large tree, and
+against this she put her back, her little nose and mouth working
+wildly and agonizingly, her sharp, little teeth showing fiercely, and
+her usually gentle eyes looking fierce and desperate.
+
+Only two dogs had been sent after them: one faced Keesa's mother
+somewhat uneasily; the other followed the second kangaroo to the
+water's edge, only to be taken in her front paws and held under the
+water until he was drowned.[Footnote: A fact, and a common thing among
+kangaroos.--Author.]
+
+Keesa's mother, meanwhile, faced her enemy bravely, and for a few
+moments the dog could not make up his mind to attack her or not. But
+as he wavered the hunters' voices were heard urging him on, and, with
+a fierce yelp and a quick leap, he flew at the kangaroo.
+
+But Keesa's mother was prepared, and with a well directed blow from
+one of her hind feet her sharp, knife-like claws ripped him up, and
+the next moment he was lying on the ground panting his life away. The
+mother kangaroo waited no longer. She had done for her enemy, she must
+now look out for herself. A few long, swift strides and she caught up
+with the other kangaroo, and, having been told that the other dog was
+drowned, the two mothers went swiftly on, and on, and on, getting more
+and more weary with the weight of their little ones, for they were now
+growing very heavy, but never stopping until they reached a place
+where they knew they would be safe.
+
+This was only one of the many adventures that Keesa, as a baby, went
+through, and he no longer wondered that his mother was always looking
+about with frightened eyes, as though dreading some new danger.
+
+Keesa spent very little time in the pouch now, for he was nearly eight
+months old. After a while he did not care to stay in it at all, but he
+often went to it for a little drink. He was very much surprised one
+day, when he went to get that drink, to find another little head in
+the pouch, and another tiny, soft body nestled in the very place where
+he had so often nestled himself.
+
+Keesa was a handsome kangaroo, somewhat lighter in color than his
+mother, swift and agile, healthy and strong, with long, well marked
+hind legs, a straight, strong tail, that acted as a sort of stool
+whenever he wanted to sit down, and nimble little forepaws on which he
+rested occasionally when he wanted to feed; at other times they hung
+down as his mother's had done the first time he had made her
+acquaintance.
+
+There was one sad day when Keesa and his mother, with some kangaroo
+friends with whom they had become acquainted, were chased by men on
+horses. But the horses were not particularly good ones, and with their
+long, swift leaps the kangaroos got safely away.
+
+All, alas! but Keesa's mother. She, like all of her tribe, was
+addicted to a habit of looking backward, still, she would have got
+safely away now, if, while running at her swiftest speed, she had not
+looked behind her to see how close the hunters were. As it was she
+leaped violently against a tree stump and killed herself.
+
+Keesa had been very fond of his mother, and her death was a great
+grief to him, but he dared not stay, and so leaped on and on.
+Remembering her experience, he never once looked back or stopped until
+he had reached a place of safety.
+
+After this Keesa had to shift for himself, but he was now a hardy
+animal and got on remarkably well.
+
+His beautiful, light, tawny coat changed, as the cold weather came on,
+to a thick and woolly fur, which was very comfortable during the damp,
+cold weather. But, when the summer came again, the thick, woolly fur
+began to drop off and he resumed his summer coat once more.
+
+By this time Keesa was a fully grown kangaroo, and very handsome. His
+coat was a beautiful, tawny brown mingled with grey; the tawny part
+predominating on the upper portions of his body, and the grey on the
+under part; his clean, well shaped, little forefeet were quite black,
+as also was the tip of his tail; and his small, well shaped head, with
+its bright eyes and quick, sensitive ears, not to speak of the mobile
+little mouth showing its occasional glimpses of white teeth, and his
+newly sprouted little whiskers, made him a typical specimen of a well-
+grown, well-built, male kangaroo.
+
+He was a regular _Boomer_[Footnote: A _Boomer_ is the only kangaroo
+which provides really good sport, and is much sought after and hunted
+for this reason. He is a dangerous foe to man and dog, and generally
+proves more than a match for them both. A _boomer_ at bay is one of
+the most dangerous of animals, for he will not only attack the dogs,
+but the very hunter himself; oftentimes nearly cutting him to pieces
+with the terrible claws in his hind feet.--Author.] now, and prided
+himself on it. He had no fear of man or beast, and, although he had
+already afforded good sport in one or two hunts, he always had the
+best of it.
+
+At one time he ran for fourteen miles at one stretch, and, although he
+hated swimming, on coming to a little stretch of sea, and being
+pressed by the hunters, in went Keesa, and, notwithstanding a fresh
+breeze, he got safely over, shook himself, and then fell into his long
+leaps again as though nothing had happened.
+
+Altogether he covered nearly twenty miles that day, and, as he still
+seemed as fresh as ever and the land began to slope down, the hunters
+gave up the chase.
+
+Had they been going up hill they might have caught him, for in going
+up hill dogs always gain on a kangaroo, and no one knew this better
+than Keesa; therefore it was only to be expected that he should
+deliberately lead the way to where the land was in his favor.
+
+His leaps down hill were terrific, and the dogs, however much they
+tried, could not overtake him; and so Keesa always gained the day, and
+although he had many exciting hunts he was never caught.
+
+Strong and healthy and hardy, he lived on, and lived up to his name of
+_Boomer_, and is still living in New South Wales to this day, with a
+gentle, brown-eyed wife and a little baby kangaroo, who peeps out of
+his mother's pouch just as Keesa himself used to do when he was a
+baby.
+
+
+
+
+CARA, THE CAMEL
+
+
+The hot, red sun was sinking behind the hard, straight outline of one
+of the sandy deserts of Arabia. The Arabs had pitched their tents,
+unloaded and fed their camels, and were now making their evening meal
+from dried meat and a preparation of camel's milk, which had been
+mixed with meal and then allowed to become sour.
+
+Many of the camels were lying down--not that they were tired, for they
+had been taking their journey by easy stages, and among them were
+several with baby camels.
+
+Cara was one of the babies, and an extremely ugly baby he was, for a
+thin body, long, spidery limbs, homely head and funny little tail gave
+him a curious, unfinished look.
+
+Another baby was Camer. But she was as yet only an hour old, while
+Cara was a week and a day old, and stood three feet high on his thin
+legs. He was a sturdy little fellow in spite of his thinness, and had
+already given proof that he inherited the irritable, morose and
+grumbling nature of his race to a very marked degree; for from the
+first hour of his birth Cara had grumbled. Grumbled when his mother
+rested--as her kind master allowed her to do, for a few days after
+Cara's birth; grumbled when the Arabs and camels moved on; grumbled
+when any one touched him with a pat or caress, and grumbled when let
+alone. In fact, the only time when Cara did not grumble was when he
+took his meals, and this was simply because his mouth and tongue were
+occupied with getting his food.
+
+At the present moment he was feeling very discontented indeed. He had
+rather enjoyed following the caravan, trotting by his mother's side,
+and, except that he had been getting hungry, would have kept on
+trotting for some time longer, but they had all stopped quite
+suddenly, and Cara's mother, instead of giving her baby his evening
+meal, had sunk down instantly on the sand, and with a series of grunts
+and groans settled herself comfortably for a good rest.
+
+The Arabs had been very busy with their camels, and it was not until
+they had pitched their tents and settled to their supper that Cara had
+noticed with great astonishment that there was another baby camel a
+little way off. He began to wonder how it was they had not met before,
+and in his funny, camel-baby talk tried to speak to the newcomer; but
+Camer did not seem inclined for conversation. Her mother was lying
+down, and Camer was nestling as closely as possible to her with her
+odd-shaped little head almost hidden in the shaggy masses of woolly
+hair which grew on her mother's forelegs.
+
+This annoyed Cara, and he pranced awkwardly about, making queer,
+discontented noises, until his mother, noting his restlessness, rose
+up, felt and caressed him with her long, cleft, upper lip, and allowed
+him to have the meal he longed for.
+
+After the meal he found that Camer had risen up and was moving with
+feeble steps towards him. Cara at once went forward, and, after
+examining her with a superior air, gave a curious little grunt, which
+meant that he wished to be friends. Camer said she should like it,
+too, but here her mother, who was feeling irritable and nervous,
+thinking Cara was going to hurt her beloved one, came forward and gave
+him a good bite, to which Cara responded in true camel fashion by
+groaning and grumbling and making as much fuss as he possibly could.
+
+But Camer comforted him in baby fashion by caressing him, and then
+went to her mother, who had lain down again. And this is how the
+friendship between Cara and Camer began.
+
+The next day the Arabs once more packed up their tents, loaded their
+camels and continued their journey; very slowly and carefully, though,
+for the Arabs are invariably kind, thoughtful and fond of their
+camels; not like the Indian camel-owners, who, because they know they
+will receive payment for every camel that dies, sometimes purposely
+overload and ill-treat them.
+
+Away they went over the desert, the camels swinging slowly, clumsily,
+and yet easily along, although many of them carried from five to eight
+hundred pounds on their backs, and had already been traveling for
+three days without water. But their backs were made for burdens, and
+their feet specially adapted to walking on the loose sand; for each of
+the broad toes had a soft, wide cushion, and this cushion enabled them
+to have a grasp on the sand, and at the same time kept them from
+sinking into it.
+
+In his clumsy way, Cara trotted beside his mother, continually bumping
+against her as she walked slowly and heavily along, and having almost
+miraculous escapes from being kicked by the other camels. But he was
+getting stronger each day, and looked in amazement, not unmixed with
+contempt, at the new calf who had appeared the night before, and who
+was straggling feebly along, doing its best to keep up with the
+others. But the journey that day was a short one, for, as the sun grew
+hotter and hotter, Camer, the new calf, grew more and more feeble, and
+once more the Arabs dismounted and rested in the desert.
+
+But as the days went on Camer gained strength, and in a week's time
+was as lively as Cara himself. They were great friends by this time,
+and played together in a most awkward and ungainly manner, but one
+which their mothers greatly admired. Their friendship and gambols
+continued for many happy months, and then the Arabs prepared for a
+long journey across the desert in another direction.
+
+It took some time to prepare the camels. In the first place, their
+masters fed them until the humps on the camels' backs grew large,
+plump and fat. Then each camel was made to store as much water as its
+stomachs would hold, for a camel, like all ruminants, has four
+stomachs. Most of them could store as much as five or six quarts of
+water, which would last several days.
+
+After this the camels were loaded, and this was what Cara and Camer
+enjoyed most of all. It was such fun to watch some camel, who was
+particularly ill-natured, kneel down with a series of groans and
+grumbles in deep, bubbling tones, open his mouth savagely whenever his
+master came near him, and do his best with his big teeth and flexible,
+cleft lips to catch hold of some part of his master's body. But
+grumbling was of no use. The loads were strapped on in spite of it,
+and when all the camels were carefully loaded the caravan started on
+its long, wearisome journey across the desert.
+
+Cara and Camer rather enjoyed it at first. They had no loads to carry;
+had their usual good, warm food, and, what was better than all
+besides, youth and strength. But, on the second day, the heat grew
+appalling; not for the camels, for they love the broad glare of the
+sun, but for the Arabs, who, in spite of their hardihood, grew faint
+and weak as the sun, like a ball of fire, poured its scorching rays on
+the white, glistening sand.
+
+Then came a curious silence: a silence in the midst of silence; so
+deep and intense that it could almost be felt, while the air grew red
+like blood, and in a moment, with one accord, masters, servants and
+animals threw themselves on the sand. The Arabs lay with their faces
+downwards and their cloaks thrown over their heads; the camels, not
+even stopping to grumble, stretched their necks straight out along the
+sand, closed their curious, oblique nostrils and lay absolutely
+motionless.
+
+Cara's mother had often told him about this, and taught him how to
+close his nostrils when caught in a _simoom_. At first Cara wondered
+what had happened, and even when he saw his mother lay down and
+stretch her neck along the sand did not realize what it meant; but in
+another instant his mother had warned him, and as he lay down and
+closed his little nostrils he noticed a huge, curious cloud sweeping
+across the desert.
+
+And that was all he did notice, for the next instant he felt scorched
+and suffocated, while a heavy weight was on his limbs and body and
+head. How long he lay there quivering all over with fright and gasping
+for breath he never knew, but he was aroused by the groans and
+grumbles of the camels and the cries of the Arabs. He struggled up at
+last, and for a moment thought he too had been loaded for a journey,
+for the _simoom_ had covered him with a small mountain of sand.
+
+After a few snorts and groans, Cara shook himself and looked round.
+Most of the camels were on their feet by this time, and their masters
+were preparing to go forward again. At last they started, but before
+they had gone many yards the caravan stopped to wait for a camel who
+had lingered behind and was making cries of distress.
+
+It was Camer's mother. On the sand, lying in a limp, unnatural
+position, was Camer. No longer the bright, little baby-camel that Cara
+had known, but a quiet, inanimate thing, which neither answered nor
+moved in response to its mother's pitiful entreaties.
+
+One of the Arabs, seeing that Camer was dead, tried to lead the mother
+away with gentle pats and caresses, but the mother-camel would not
+leave the little one. It was true that she had been thinking for the
+last few weeks of relaxing some of her motherly duties, and insisting
+on her baby getting its own food with the other camels, for Camer was
+then ten months old, and no mother-camel cares to keep her babies
+trotting after her for a much longer time than that.
+
+But the sight of the little, dead body aroused all her motherly
+feelings, and she yearned after her baby as though it had just been
+born. In vain she fondled and caressed it; in vain she felt its head,
+its limbs, and the small body which was fast growing cold, but no
+response came to her motherly cries and no notice was taken of her
+tempting offers of food. The little camel lay limp and still, and when
+the Arab, finding that coaxing and caressing were of no use, tried
+harsh words, Camer's mother turned savagely on him and bit him through
+the arm.
+
+The Arab knew camels too well to attempt further persuasion, and, with
+angry words, for his arm burned and smarted, walked off and left
+mother and baby in the desert. There was every probability that the
+mother-camel would starve to death, for, although able to eat the
+hard, sharp thorns which are found in the desert, and even pieces of
+dry wood or other hard substances which are found occasionally, the
+camel cannot live long on this sort of food. But there was nothing to
+do but leave the camel behind, and this the Arab did with much regret,
+not only for the loss, but because he loved the animal more than any
+other that he owned.
+
+Cara grieved and fretted over the loss of his little companion, but
+his mother told him, in camel language, that had Camer's mother taught
+her to close her nostrils in a proper manner during a _simoom_, she
+would not have died. As it was, the hot, acrid sand had suffocated the
+poor little thing.
+
+Cara listened to all this, but made the most of the opportunity for
+grumbling, and fretted, fumed and fidgeted until his mother gave him a
+sharp bite as a reproof. This was the first time Cara had ever been
+punished, but his mother was beginning to tire of him now, and,
+instead of liking him always near her, seemed much more satisfied when
+he wandered off with the other camels.
+
+Then came an eventful day in Cara's life. This was when they reached
+the end of their long journey, and very thankful Cara was to get to
+it; for all the camels, in spite of their endurance, were weak and
+haggard for want of food and water. Five long, weary days had the poor
+animals carried their loads, going sometimes twenty-five to thirty
+miles a day, and all that time not one drop of water had they been
+able to get. Moreover, they scarcely looked like camels, for their
+nice, plump humps had almost entirely disappeared, and this was
+something that the Arabs noted with anxiety.
+
+But, oh, how they grumbled and groaned! And how savagely their mouths
+opened at the least provocation! But their poor mouths and tongues
+were dry and cracked with the heat, and they extended and retracted
+their flexible lips in the vain effort to get a little moisture.
+
+But the journey was over at last. Arrived at their destination, the
+camels sank wearily down, and once relieved of their burdens lay at
+full length, while the Arabs were bringing them food and drink.
+
+Cara looked round in surprise; there were strange men and women about,
+and strange animals that he had not seen before. There was a great
+deal of noise, too, which he did not approve of, and he, himself,
+appeared to attract a good deal of attention. He was made to turn
+round and show himself so many times that at last he lost his temper
+completely, and snapped and snarled in the most savage manner. But
+finally a rope was thrown over his head, and he was led away, much
+against his will, by a strange man. Cara would not have gone at all,
+only that the cord around his neck hurt so much when the man pulled
+it, that he found that it was much better to follow him.
+
+From that day Cara never saw his mother again. But as he had plenty of
+food in the shape of green vegetables and roots, and had a nice,
+comfortable place in which to lie down, Cara--I grieve to say--soon
+forgot all about his mother, and made himself perfectly at home in his
+new surroundings. He was quite happy--although he never forgot to
+grumble--as there were many young camels with him, and fine times they
+had together. But he often thought of Camer and her nice little ways.
+
+So things went on until Cara was four years old, and then his troubles
+began, for he was no longer to be an idle animal, spending all his
+time in gamboling about, but was taught to wear first, a halter, then
+a bridle, and finally a thing was put on his back, which nearly
+frightened him to death. Not that it was so very heavy, but because he
+had never had anything on his back before, and he did not like the
+feeling of it. He made as much trouble as he possibly could, and
+grumbled to his heart's content, but it was of no use. The horrible
+thing turned out to be a saddle, which was strapped on in spite of
+kicks and groans and snappings of his strong, white teeth, and
+finally, finding that it was of no use, Cara gave in and carried his
+burden patiently, as all other camels do.
+
+But all this training took some time, and it was not for another year
+or two that Cara was really of much use. But he was a particularly
+strong, well-grown young animal, and, in spite of his grumbling, was a
+valuable animal.
+
+He reached his full growth when he was sixteen years old, and was then
+a fine specimen of an Arabian camel. He had good, broad feet, with
+well-developed cushions; sinewy limbs; a strong body, and a very fine
+hump, of which he was extremely proud.
+
+He changed masters again at this time, and, to his astonishment, found
+that he was the chief camel, and was to carry the master of the tribe,
+preceding the others, attended by horses and servants. Cara now had a
+fine time of it. He had very little to do except to carry his master
+and a very handsome saddle. His journeys were short, and altogether he
+had about as easy a time of it as it is possible for a camel to have.
+His master was fond and proud of him, for he was wonderfully handsome
+for a camel and of abnormal size.
+
+At one time he rendered his master a great service, for there had been
+a long drought, and no water could be found anywhere. Cara, however,
+had the acute sense of smell which all camels have, and one day when
+very thirsty broke out of his stable, and, smelling water about a mile
+off, set forth to get some. He was followed by some of the servants,
+who guessed what had happened, and, to their great joy, Cara led them
+to a spring of fresh water.
+
+No doubt he would have lived to a good old age--say forty or fifty
+years--but that one day, breaking out of his stable again--a thing
+Cara was rather fond of doing--he wandered about, and, coming across a
+nice-looking, green plant, he promptly proceeded to eat it. But, alas!
+the nice-looking plant was a deadly poison called by the Arabs "camel
+poison," and, soon after eating it, Cara became very ill, and was
+scarcely able to get back with slow and weary steps to his comfortable
+stable, where, after a few short groans, he lay down and died.
+
+And this was the end of Cara.
+
+It was very sad, and his master shed bitter tears over his handsome
+camel. But, you see, it was Cara's own stupidity, for, like the rest
+of his tribe, he would always eat anything that was green, no matter
+where it grew or what it looked like.
+
+
+
+
+SICCATEE, THE SQUIRREL
+
+
+Poor Siccatee was in great trouble.
+
+She had been very busy for some time past laying up food for the
+winter, and it had taken many weeks' hard work. She had selected the
+very best nuts, acorns, corn, berries and seeds, and all through the
+beautiful autumn days had scarcely rested for a moment, so eager had
+she been to lay in a good stock.
+
+Not a single unsound, worm-eaten or empty nut had she allowed to go
+into her stores. She had taken each one in her little fore paws,
+looked it carefully over, turning and twisting it about and examining
+it from every point of view with her keen little eyes; and then, when
+she had made quite sure that it was a good one and perfectly sound,
+she had trotted off with it in her quick way, which was something
+between a hop and a gallop, and hidden it in a nice place at the root
+of some old tree, or in some cleverly hidden crevice.
+
+Her husband had helped her as much as he could, and had contributed
+many dainties.
+
+Their beautiful home was in a wood by the side of the sea, and the
+people in the big house at the bottom of the wood sometimes threw out
+dainties in the shape of fruit, scraps of meat and bread, and many
+kinds of berries.
+
+But Siccatee herself was too frightened to go down on the beach, for
+she was a very nervous little thing. Sentre, her husband, was quite
+daring, and not easily frightened. They had worked very hard together,
+and their children, who were now getting quite strong and big, had
+done their best to help them. Only that morning Siccatee woke up
+feeling quite bright and cheerful, for she had accumulated nearly
+enough winter food for herself and her little ones; but then, that
+very afternoon, just as she was taking two big beechnuts to one of her
+secret hiding-places, she saw two Horrible Humans standing close to
+it.
+
+Siccatee suddenly stopped, hugging the two nuts tightly to her breast
+with her funny little paws, and whisking her tail nervously up and
+down, making waves in the pretty, gray fur, while her nervous little
+mouth worked convulsively. For, oh, what should she do if they found
+her treasures?
+
+Quick as a flash she bounded behind a tree, for, with her wonderfully
+quick eyesight and senses always on the alert, she scented danger in a
+moment.
+
+Once behind a tree, nothing could be seen of Siccatee but her bright
+eyes and just the tip of her bushy tail. And even these were not
+noticed by the Humans.
+
+After all, the Horrible Humans were only a little boy and a little
+girl. But, oh, what mischief they did in the next few moments! They
+seemed to be picking ferns and flowers, and for a few moments Siccatee
+hoped that they would pass her hoarding-place unnoticed. But, alas!
+just as they were turning away, the little boy caught sight of the
+hollow in the tree, and, having a boy's natural curiosity, he
+straightway went to investigate.
+
+Siccatee's little heart beat and throbbed and thumped until she felt
+nearly suffocated. Her bright little eyes almost started out of her
+head with fear, and her tail waved, and waved, and waved--a true index
+of the agitation of its owner.
+
+She remembered that she had hidden her treasures in the tree as far
+back as she could go, and had carefully covered them with some powdery
+earth. Perhaps they would think there was only earth in the hollow and
+not disturb it.
+
+But in another moment the boy gave a scream of delight. For a moment
+Siccatee could not see what he was doing, as his body was bent over
+the hole. Then he suddenly stood up and called to his sister, and
+there, dragged out on the ground and strewn all about, was one of
+Siccatee's beautiful winter hoards!
+
+She did not know herself, until she saw it thrown out, what a quantity
+of food she and her family had collected.
+
+The Humans did not seem to want the things after all, for the boy
+kicked them about, which made Siccatee very angry. And the little
+girl, after picking them up, threw them down again.
+
+It was so dreadful to see her precious treasures strewn about in this
+fashion, and kicked and bruised, that Siccatee, in spite of her self-
+control, gave a little, sobbing cry.
+
+The children heard it, and suddenly caught sight of her, and then, oh,
+what a chase began! The boy began to throw stones and pieces of wood,
+and actually dared to throw some of her own nuts at Siccatee.
+
+By this time she was at the top of the tree, and now her grief changed
+to anger--real anger--and she sat on one of the boughs and scolded as
+hard as she could. Her funny little "prit, prit, p-r-i-t," amused the
+children, and the more she scolded the more they laughed.
+
+At last Siccatee grew disgusted and left that tree to go to another,
+and then another, and still another; springing such distances and at
+such a height that the children thought she would be dashed to pieces
+every moment. But not a bit of it. Siccatee, like all squirrels, was
+very sure-footed, and rarely made a false step. If, by any chance, she
+should loose her foothold, she would spread out her legs and funny,
+bushy tail, drop lightly to the ground and bound away as though
+nothing had happened. But she took care not to lose her foothold now,
+with those Horrible Humans so near. All she thought about was to get
+away from them as quickly as possible, and to lead them away from her
+other hiding-places.
+
+Luckily they had found but one. She had several others near the big
+tree--for this was her home tree, and there she and her husband had
+lived for two or three years, and reared several families.
+
+[Illustration: "SAT ON ONE OF THE BOUGHS AND SCOLDED AS HARD AS SHE
+COULD."]
+
+But while all this was going on, Siccatee called to her husband, and
+in a very few minutes he joined her. He was much bigger than Siccatee
+and not so nervous, and on hearing what had happened flew into a great
+rage, and dared and defied his enemies in the same way that his wife
+had done--that is, by sitting on a bough and scolding them.
+
+The children pelted the two squirrels with everything they could find,
+but they dodged so quickly and so cleverly that not a single thing
+touched them.
+
+But after a time the children grew tired of throwing stones and
+sticks, and as it made their necks ache to look up so high, they gave
+up the chase and went home, and that was the last that Sentre and
+Siccatee saw of them for a long time.
+
+But this unpleasant incident had upset them both very much, and when
+their children joined them a few minutes later, they gave them many
+warnings and cautions about always keeping a sharp lookout for danger.
+
+At last all ventured down, and, while keeping a sharp lookout with
+their bright little eyes, gazed on the ruin the children had wrought.
+Fortunately, it was not the most valuable of their hoards, for it
+contained no eggs or insects.
+
+After much consultation and discussion, the squirrels decided not to
+use this hiding-place again--at any rate, not that winter--for it
+would never do to run the risk of having it disturbed a second time.
+
+So they set to work, found a nice crevice in a big rock, and worked
+hard all day long collecting another store.
+
+Siccatee would not allow her family to eat too many nuts just then.
+She knew that the time was coming when young birds, mice and insects
+would be very scarce. So she impressed it upon them to make the very
+most of their time, and eat as much of that kind of food as they could
+get. They might have a nut or two, occasionally, she said, and
+meanwhile she would teach them the proper way in which to eat a nut or
+an egg.
+
+Siccatee had found an egg in some hay in a little wooden hut, next to
+the house at the foot of the wood, and this she had carried very
+carefully to one of her stores. She considered that this would be a
+good time to teach her children--there were two of them, fine young
+specimens of American squirrels--their first important lesson.
+
+So she stood up, holding the egg firmly with her fore paws, then, with
+a crisp snap of her sharp little teeth, she broke the shell, and
+cleverly sucked out the inside of it; not all, because she wanted her
+little ones to taste and see how good an egg really was. And very good
+they thought it--so good that in a few moments the egg was empty and
+the two young squirrels were quarreling over the shell. But Siccatee
+soon settled that by a scolding and several sharp pats.
+
+But she had not finished her lesson yet, and next showed them how to
+eat a nut. She held the nut very much in the same way that she had
+held the egg. First of all, she bit off one end of the nut with her
+teeth, then broke away the rest of the shell, carefully pulling off
+the little brown husk on the kernel, then munched it in her funny
+little way as though it was the greatest dainty she had ever tasted.
+
+The young squirrels grew quite excited over this, and kept breaking
+and peeling nuts until their mother told them they had had enough, and
+sent them off to bed for the night.
+
+Soon after this winter suddenly appeared, covering the earth and trees
+and bushes with a thick, white mantle--so thick and white that all the
+paths in the woods were hidden and all the trees and bushes looked
+alike, but Sentre and Siccatee and their children knew their home,
+and, having wonderful memories, never made a mistake about finding
+either their home or their stores of food.
+
+Some of their storehouses were quite a distance off, and in various
+directions, but never by any chance did either Sentre or Siccatee
+forget where they were. And, although the soft, white mantle had
+covered all the little hiding-places, neither were in the least
+uneasy, but, when one or the other wanted something for dinner, they
+trotted off lightly and nimbly, making straight for one of the hoards;
+scratching away the snow, and having taken out a few nuts, or berries,
+or dried scraps of meat, or bread, scrambled off to eat it at his or
+her leisure.
+
+It was a very hard winter, and had it not been that these little
+American squirrels were such good housekeepers they would have fared
+very badly, and their young ones would probably have died from cold
+and want. But they had plenty of food and a nice, warm nest--the very
+same nest in which they had lived for several seasons.
+
+This nest was made of leaves, moss, grass, little twigs, hair,
+feathers, little scraps of wool which the sheep had thoughtfully left
+on the brambles--anything, in fact, that was soft, and comfortable,
+and warm. It was woven so carefully that neither rain nor snow could
+get into it, and was so firmly wedged in its place that no wind could
+blow it away. Therefore, when they had all taken a little exercise,
+had a good meal, and trotted home again, they nestled down in their
+warm, cozy home, and were just as happy as they could be.
+
+But when Christmas was over and January had come and gone, the young
+squirrels got restless and tiresome, and began to behave very badly--
+so badly that sometimes they did not come home for a couple of nights
+and days, and at last they went away altogether.
+
+But the parent squirrels did not seem to mind it, and it was rather a
+relief to be quiet and peaceable, and not have so much noise and
+quarreling, and as Mother Earth was beginning to look green again,
+Sentre and Siccatee felt very happy and were scarcely ever apart.
+
+They began to find mice, young birds and insects again, and very glad
+they were, for they were tired of dried roots and odd scraps.
+
+All that spring they were very busy, as usual, for squirrels always
+seem to be busy, no matter what time of the year it may be. They are
+busy in the spring getting ready for the little baby squirrels; busy
+all the summer attending to them and feeding them; busy all the autumn
+collecting their winter stores, and busy all the winter finding their
+food and teaching their children the manners and customs of
+squirreldom.
+
+As the spring went on the two squirrels grew more busy, if possible,
+than ever, and by the beginning of summer, in the old nest which they
+had done up and renovated, were four, tiny baby squirrels, and both
+Sentre and Siccatee were fully convinced that they were finer babies
+than they had ever had before. They both took the greatest care of
+them all through that summer, and when autumn came round once more
+began the same thing over again--collecting food for the winter and
+teaching their little ones how to eat eggs and nuts; how to climb
+trees, and leap from bough to bough, and how to drop in time of danger
+on their outspread little feet and bushy tails, and so save themselves
+from injury.
+
+And, curiously enough, one day Siccatee came across the same Horrible
+Humans that had caused her so much trouble the year before. They were
+both a little taller and broader, but that they were the same there
+could be no doubt. Siccatee found out that they came to the house at
+the foot of the hill every year, and very sorry she was, for it was
+only last year that they had spoiled one of her best storehouses.
+
+This year something far more terrible happened. Of all her four
+children, Siccatee loved best of all little Graycoat, who was
+certainly a very beautiful baby squirrel. He was so soft and fluffy;
+had such a beautiful, silvery gray tail; such pretty, delicate feet
+and limbs, and neat, small head, with bright little eyes that were
+never still for a single moment.
+
+Now, Graycoat was fond of wandering off by himself--being a bit of a
+dreamer--and one beautiful day he happened in some extraordinary way
+to jump right into the lap of one of the Humans, who were sitting
+there in the woods.
+
+It was the lap of the little girl, and in an instant she had thrown
+her apron over Graycoat and he was a prisoner.
+
+In vain he cried and shrieked for his mother, and in vain she answered
+from the bough above, chattering and scolding and calling him
+beseechingly in most piteous tones. But the little girl kept tight
+hold and carried poor Graycoat to the house at the foot of the hill,
+and here, after being petted and stroked, and looked at until he was
+nearly dead with fright, Graycoat was put into a horrible prison with
+iron bars; and although he climbed and climbed and worked hard all
+day, he never seemed to get any further up and could see no chance of
+getting out. The children, wishing to be kind, but not realizing how
+dreadfully cruel it was to keep him in the cage at all, put his little
+prison out on the veranda, and it was with an aching heart and tears
+of agony that Siccatee saw her beloved little one shut up in that
+cruel cage.
+
+She crept close and talked to Graycoat in a soft, guttural tone, and
+when night drew on, and all was still and silent outside the house,
+Siccatee would go to the prison and bite and gnaw with her little
+teeth, and scratch with her little paws, straining every nerve in her
+poor little body to set her darling free.
+
+Graycoat's poor little heart would beat with hope every time his
+mother came, and, when she hopped swiftly and softly away in the early
+morning, Graycoat's little heart would sink again, and he would send
+forth a pitiful little cry after his mother--a cry that went to her
+very heart.
+
+From the time that Graycoat was taken prisoner Siccatee scarcely ate
+or slept. Carefully hidden behind the nearest tree, her bright little
+eyes would peep out, and her soft tail wave up and down while she
+watched every action and incident in the new life of her little one.
+
+As night crept on, she would once more steal forth to the cage, and
+try again and again at the same useless, hopeless task of breaking
+those cruel bars.
+
+She had not forgotten her other children, but she knew they could now
+look out for themselves, had plenty to eat, and a good, comfortable
+home in the old tree. So she paid little attention to them, and
+devoted all her thoughts and energies to her unfortunate, little
+Graycoat.
+
+Then came one cold, frosty night--so cold that the poor little baby
+squirrel shivered and shook as though with an ague. Siccatee sat as
+close to the bars of the prison as she could sit, and did her best to
+warm Graycoat with the heat from her own little body. But Graycoat
+missed the nice, warm nest in the tree, and although the side that was
+nestling against his mother was fairly warm, his other side felt cold
+and stiff.
+
+In fact, he felt stiff all over, for the unnatural life, the different
+food, the cruel prison bars, and last, but not least, the cold, frosty
+night were too much for him, and quite suddenly he left off leaning
+against his little mother, and lay on the floor of his prison cold and
+stiff.
+
+Poor Siccatee was in great distress. She ran round and round the cage,
+calling him, scolding him and beseeching him to speak to her. Her
+bright eyes were full of tears, and her poor little body shook with
+cold and distress.
+
+In vain she put first one tiny paw through the cage and tried to
+arouse him, and then the other. It was no use. Graycoat neither moved
+nor answered, and at last with a pitiful little cry Siccatee lay down
+by the cage, put one little paw through the bars as though in a last
+appeal to her darling, and, shivering with cold and anguish, drew one
+long sobbing breath, and lay just as still as Graycoat.
+
+And when the children came in the morning, they were greatly surprised
+and deeply distressed to find two dead squirrels--one baby squirrel
+inside the cage, and one mother squirrel outside.
+
+But even then they did not seem to realize how dreadfully cruel they
+had been in suddenly taking away a wild, free creature from the fresh,
+open air, beautiful woods and trees, and, best of all, joyous freedom,
+and putting him in a tiny, narrow cage, where there was only just room
+enough for him to turn round.
+
+They could not realize that nothing they could do or give him could
+ever make up to the active, little creature the loss of his beautiful,
+woodland home and his free life.
+
+
+
+
+LEO, THE LION
+
+
+Leo was a full-grown, African lion, and one of the finest specimens of
+his race. Not only was he the king of beasts, but he was the king of
+all other lions for miles and miles around the country in which he
+lived.
+
+From a little, tawny cub, when he had played and frolicked with his
+brother and sister, he had given proofs of his extraordinary strength.
+His mother had at last decided he was too rough to play with the
+others, so bruised and knocked about were they on more than one
+occasion after romping with him.
+
+The muscles of his thick paws and sturdy limbs stood out like knotted
+cords even as a cub; his claws cut like little sickles, and his hard,
+rope-like tail could give a blow that would knock his brother or
+sister head over heels.
+
+As he grew up he gave promise of the magnificent animal he eventually
+became. Added to his wonderful strength he had marvelous daring, even
+for a young lion, being absolutely fearless.
+
+Long before his mane had fully grown the other lions stood in awe of
+him; for, although at times he was indolent and lazy, like the rest of
+his kind, and would not exert himself unless obliged to do so, there
+were other times when he allowed nothing to stand in his way.
+
+His favorite food happened to be buffalo and giraffe, and although
+they were both extremely troublesome things to get hold of, Leo cared
+not. He liked buffalo and giraffe, and he intended to have them. The
+other lions would never go out of their way if they could get an
+antelope or a jaguar, because they were easy to strike down and were
+very good eating; but to obtain a buffalo or a giraffe meant running
+long distances, and this is what a lion does not care to do.
+
+With his great strength he can give tremendous springs, but, owing to
+his indolent nature, he dislikes a long-continued race, which is apt,
+before it is finished, to be somewhat tiring, even to a lion.
+
+Buffaloes and giraffes are made for running and think nothing of it,
+but the lion is built in a different manner, and, moreover, he knows
+that these animals are so wonderfully quick of hearing that they
+generally obtain a good start to begin with.
+
+But Leo cared nothing for this: if he wanted a buffalo he had it, even
+if he raced half the night through for it. As a matter of fact, the
+longer the race the more he enjoyed the feast. What could be nicer
+than, after racing for miles after a nice, fat buffalo, to pull it
+down with his strong paws, to tear open its throat, and drink the warm
+blood?
+
+Sometimes he ate a part of the flesh, but not always; he was somewhat
+fastidious, and so that he had the warm blood, he more often than not
+left the carcass for the wolves and hyenas, or any other animal who
+cared to have it.
+
+There was perhaps even more delight in obtaining a giraffe than a
+buffalo. For a giraffe can skim over the ground at an amazing pace--so
+swiftly, so silently, that not a sound can be heard except the soft,
+gentle swish of its funny little tail.
+
+The stately carriage of the giraffe does not appeal to the lion, and
+the graceful neck, with its pretty head and round, gentle eyes, has no
+effect on him; all he thinks of is the tender flesh and delicate
+flavor which belong peculiarly to a giraffe.
+
+There is no struggle as with the buffalo when the lion springs upon
+the giraffe. There is no roar or noise of any kind, for the giraffe is
+absolutely dumb, and makes no sound even when dying.
+
+But Leo was fastidious even about the giraffe: he only ate the parts
+he liked best, and left the rest for the lower animals.
+
+At other times, when the indolence of his nature overcame him, Leo
+would content himself with a young antelope or any other animal which
+was easy to capture. When food was scarce he would use the lion's
+tactics to get it.
+
+In the first place, he would be very careful to go against the wind,
+so that the peculiar odor, which all animals that belong to the cat
+tribe have, should be blown behind him, and so not convey any warning
+to the animals he was approaching. If he failed to find anything, he
+would resort to tactic number two. He would put his huge mouth close
+to the ground and roar, moving his head in a half-circle all the time;
+by doing this it was impossible for the animals to tell from which
+direction the sound came, and, wild with terror, the foolish creatures
+would rush out in all directions, very often into Leo's very mouth.
+
+After this he would creep indolently back to his comfortable lair and
+have a good, long sleep. For sleep is one of a lion's greatest
+enjoyments. He sleeps after a night hunt; sleeps during the heat of
+the day; in fact, when there is nothing else to do, and whenever he
+has an opportunity. Belonging to the cat tribe, he has the cat's love
+of sleep and ease very strongly developed, and is about as indolent an
+animal on occasion as can be imagined.
+
+When Leo was fully grown he was a magnificent animal, and even the
+other male lions stood in awe of him. He looked what he was--a very
+king of lions, when, after a long sleep, he rose up in all his majesty
+of strength, shook his magnificent mane and lashed his tail, with its
+curious little black tuft, to and fro as though eager for a fight.
+
+He was acknowledged by all his brethren, almost before he had reached
+his maturity, to be the king of them all; and Leo took the honor as a
+matter of course, and kept up his reputation to the very letter.
+
+He was the terror of the villagers by night, for he had already become
+known, and the animal creation lived in deadly fear of him.
+
+He would stalk into the villages in the coolest and most daring
+manner, passing under the very noses of the guns, take up some lamb or
+sheep or other small animal, and walk coolly off with it, growling in
+his most impudent manner the while. In vain did the guns blaze forth
+fire and smoke; in vain were traps set in all directions. Leo was not
+to be caught: he eluded them all, and went his way, and became more
+and more a living terror and a dread.
+
+When he took unto himself a wife he grew fiercer still, and his rage
+and passion at the slightest sign of any intruder kept all other
+members of the tribe at a safe distance.
+
+In due course of time he had a small family, and once in possession of
+these precious cubs his strength and fierceness increased, and his
+daring knew no bounds. His roars struck terror into all hearts, and
+his craftiness and extraordinary cunning inspired a superstitious fear
+among the natives, which made them speak of him with hushed breath.
+
+But pride must have a fall, and Leo's fall came in a somewhat curious
+manner.
+
+It happened that food was very scarce, and that the young cubs were
+growing more and more hungry as the days went on.
+
+Leo was a proud father, and the fine, sturdy cubs which belonged to
+him were the admiration of all the other lions who had ever had the
+privilege of seeing them. He would go through almost anything for
+himself, but for his wife and cubs he cared not what he faced or what
+he dared, so that he obtained what he wanted.
+
+They had eaten up most of the young things which had been thriving on
+the various farms, and there seemed to be nothing left but either a
+sheep or a bullock. Being lazy, Leo did not care to carry either a
+sheep or a bullock to his lair; he preferred something lighter.
+
+And so it happened one evening that, as he made his way towards the
+village--making up his mind that if there was nothing else he must
+have a sheep--he suddenly came across the dead body of a little Kaffir
+boy lying by the wayside.
+
+The Kaffirs very seldom bury their dead, and so the mother had laid
+her beloved one under a shady bank, and left him with a few leaves
+strewn over him.
+
+At first Leo hesitated. He had never tasted Kaffir, and he also knew
+that it was a bad thing to eat. But he was very hungry himself, and
+his wife and family were hungry, too; and the little Kaffir boy would
+be light to carry.
+
+After smelling and turning over the body, he decided first to taste it
+and see whether it would be good for his family to eat.
+
+Alas! once having tasted it, Leo was done for. It was the most
+delicious food he had ever tasted, and he was unable to stop eating
+until he had made a full, heavy meal. Then he looked at the poor
+little carcass; there would still be enough for the cubs, and yet he
+hesitated.
+
+He knew it would be bad for them; he knew that, once having given it
+to them, they would be spoilt for all other food; but he had eaten so
+heartily himself, and was already getting so lazy and sleepy from the
+effects of his meal, that he had no energy nor inclination to hunt for
+any other food that night. So, taking the remains of the little Kaffir
+boy in his strong mouth, he trotted swiftly off to his lair, and put
+it down temptingly in front of the cubs.
+
+There were two of them, and they were ravenously hungry; without more
+ado they set to work, and tore and crunched with their sharp teeth and
+strong little jaws, until there was not a vestige of the little Kaffir
+boy left.
+
+The lioness, seeing there was only sufficient food for the cubs, did
+not attempt to take any, but, hungry as she was, looked placidly on
+while the young ones satisfied their hunger.
+
+[Illustration: "HE WOULD TAKE UP SOME SMALL ANIMAL AND WALK COOLLY OFF
+WITH IT."]
+
+Leo looked at her guiltily, and expected reproaches. But, as it
+happened, his wife had not noticed what kind of food he had brought;
+it had been too much torn to be recognizable, and she concluded it was
+the remains of some small animal he had killed.
+
+At any other time he would have gone out again to fetch some food for
+his wife, but he was so heavy and sleepy that, with one big yawn, he
+sank down, stretched out his huge paws in front of him, and, nestling
+his handsome head comfortably between them, sank into a deep sleep.
+
+From that day Leo was no longer the same. He was restless and
+irritable, snappy and fierce even to his wife and children. He raced
+no more after buffaloes or giraffes, or even for antelopes or jaguars;
+all he wanted was human flesh.
+
+Once having tasted it, he cared for and could eat no other. And as
+time went on his magnificent coat began to come off in great,
+unsightly patches, his eyes and mouth got sore and red, and his limbs
+grew weak and rickety. His roar was no longer the fierce, grand,
+triumphant roar that it had been; it resembled a hoarse cry of pain
+now, and his little ones--instead of being sturdy little cubs as they
+had been--had grown thin, miserable, and mangy.
+
+Altogether Leo was in a miserable state; and, to add to his misery,
+his wife turned against him. The sight of his mangy coat and bloodshot
+eyes, not to speak of the sore, drooping mouth, filled her with
+disgust, and she growled fiercely whenever he came near her.
+
+In vain he brought her food to eat; but the food was always dead
+Kaffir, and she would not touch it.
+
+She appeared, too, to turn against the cubs, and, instead of fondling
+and caressing them as formerly, kept them aloof and chastised them
+severely with her heavy paws whenever they came too near.
+
+Soon after this one of the cubs died, and Leo's grief was painful to
+witness. He licked it all over, put his huge paw on it, and turned it
+from one side to the other, uttering queer little sounds all the time,
+and, when he found it would neither move nor respond to his caresses,
+gave a prolonged howl of misery which struck terror into his wife's
+heart.
+
+She had had enough of it by this time; she disliked a mangy husband
+and scrofulous children, and so the next evening quietly took her
+departure to some other place where the surroundings were more
+congenial.
+
+Leo tottered back to his lair that night with staggering, uneven steps
+to find his wife had gone and that his last remaining cub had just
+died.
+
+With a cry of pain, something between a roar and a deep growl, Leo
+stretched himself over the two little, dead bodies of his children and
+pined and fretted away.
+
+He no longer went for food, not even for Kaffirs, and the villagers
+and animals in the neighborhood wondered what had become of him, and
+whether his absence meant some fresh daring on his part.
+
+But there was no more daring for Leo. From the time he laid his long,
+warm body over the cold forms of his children he never rose again.
+
+For three days he lay there, doing his best to bring them back to
+life; but on the third day his great head, with what remained of its
+magnificent beauty, sank for the last time on his heavy paws, and Leo,
+the king of lions, was dead.
+
+And so this grand, strong, noble animal lost his life through eating
+human flesh, which he knew quite well he ought not to touch.
+
+
+
+
+CHAFFER, THE CHAMOIS
+
+
+On one of the craggy heights of the Alpine mountains, in Switzerland,
+Chaffer stood, one fine, clear day in October, looking out over the
+landscape, and wondering what he should do and where he should go.
+
+For, sad to relate, he had just been turned out of the herd by an old
+chamois, who considered that he and those of his own age had a better
+right there than some of the young males. So, with a few others,
+Chaffer had been driven off, but not until he had made a good fight
+for it. He was fairly strong, and did not at all relish getting the
+worst of anything, but he was young yet and knew his time was coming--
+the time when he would drive that old chamois out of the herd far
+quicker than he had been driven, and get the best of him in more ways
+than one.
+
+He was a fine young animal, and as he stood there at that dizzy
+height, his four feet planted firmly on the peak, he showed to very
+best advantage. Chaffer stood about two feet high at the shoulders,
+and was about three feet in length, not counting his short, black
+tail; his yellowish-brown body was streaked down the back with a black
+line, which defined the spine, while his beautiful head--the face and
+throat a peculiar yellowish-white, with a brownish-black mark which
+went from his mouth to his eyes--was surmounted by a splendid pair of
+horns nearly come to perfection.
+
+These horns were from six to eight inches long, black and shiny,
+slender and round, rising from the forehead perpendicularly, and
+curving sharply at the extremities into hooks. Very proud Chaffer was
+of them, for they meant; so much to him. They meant, for one thing,
+that he was now almost full grown, and that he would soon be of an age
+to take his place in the antelope world as a champion and fighter. He
+could hold his own now with some of the males, and, although he had
+just been driven out of the herd, several others had been forced out
+with him, so he did not trouble himself much about it.
+
+The only thing he was puzzled about was what he should do next, but
+this little matter was decided for him in a manner he never dreamed
+of. He was some way from the herd now, but at that moment he heard the
+well-known whistle of the sentinel chamois.[Footnote: Each herd has a
+chamois who acts as a sentinel. At the slightest sign of danger this
+sentinel gives a peculiar whistle, not particularly shrill or
+piercing, but which has a curious, penetrating power and carries a
+great distance. Not only does this sentinel give warning of danger,
+but he indicates from which direction it is coming.--_Author._] In an
+instant Chaffer was off, leaping over wide chasms, climbing over crags
+and dizzy heights, sliding down dangerous, slippery places, but always
+going in the opposite direction to the approaching enemy.
+
+For Chaffer knew now what the danger was--it was a man; and he could,
+with his wonderful power of scent, smell him, although he was still a
+great distance away. Once having realized that it was a man, Chaffer
+lost no time, but made his way at once up the steepest crag he could
+find. It was much easier for him to go up than down, for his legs were
+adapted for this purpose, The hind ones being much longer than the
+front ones.
+
+His small, neat feet were formed for climbing; his forefeet had very
+sharp hoofs, which, when descending, Chaffer would dig into the ground
+to gain a foothold, and his hind feet had curious, false hoofs. That
+is to say, the outer hoofs were higher than the soles, and this
+enabled him to have a grip on the slightest notch or projection on the
+face of the rocks, so that it was almost impossible for him to slip.
+In descending the rocks, he would place his forefeet close together
+and push them in front of him; he could then slide down the face of an
+almost perpendicular cliff with the greatest ease and safety, and
+alight at the bottom without so much as a scratch.
+
+In going up a very steep hill, he would stand up on his hind legs, put
+his forefeet on some narrow shelf or ledge of rock, and then, with a
+sharp little bound, draw his body up, and stand with all four feet on
+a space scarcely big enough for a full-grown man.
+
+Chaffer tried this plan now, and with good effect for a time, but he
+could smell the man coming nearer and nearer, and began to be terribly
+frightened. Timid and nervous to a wonderful degree, and of a
+cautious, suspicious nature, Chaffer's excitement grew intense, and
+his small, pointed ears quivered painfully. On he went, never stopping
+to glance round for a single instant, for it was not necessary; he
+knew only too well what was behind him, and his one object was to get
+away.
+
+At this moment, however, there was another whistle from the sentinel
+of the herd, much fainter this time because farther off, but
+containing the information that there was danger at the top of the
+mountains as well as at the base. Chaffer hesitated a moment, but he
+decided to go on now, whatever came; he was far more at home on these
+sharp crags and dangerous heights than he was on smooth, even ground,
+and he could go where it was quite impossible for a man to follow.
+
+So he gave a few more leaps, a few more bounds, although the scent of
+the man now was so strong as to bewilder him, and then landed on a
+tiny ledge face to face with a hunter!
+
+It would have been hard to say which was the most surprised--the
+hunter or Chaffer. As a matter of fact, the hunter had been carefully
+watching another chamois a little lower down--a young male who had
+been turned out of the herd with Chaffer--and had no idea a second
+chamois was so close to him until Chaffer alighted on the ledge of
+rock at his very feet. The two looked at one another for an instant in
+deathlike silence, their eyes wide open with surprise and fright; for,
+had the chamois only known it, he could, with one touch of his horns,
+have sent the hunter whirling through space and onto the rocks
+beneath, where he would have been dashed to pieces.
+
+Then, with a wild leap, Chaffer sprang--sprang down the precipitous
+chasm which yawned beneath them, a distance of nearly thirty feet. As
+he went down, with his graceful body hanging in the air, and his
+handsome head, with its curved horns, thrown back, he turned himself
+diagonally, striking his feet sharply every now and then against the
+face of the rock in his descent, and alighted at the foot in perfect
+safety.
+
+Meanwhile, the hunter, although he was a hardy Swiss mountaineer, was
+so frightened at his narrow escape that he gave up the chase for that
+day and went home, followed by the other hunters. They had been out on
+this expedition four days already, and had faced great dangers without
+getting a single chamois. They were brave and patient men, and as they
+earned their living by chamois hunting--one of the most dangerous and
+precarious ways of earning a living--had been ready and prepared for a
+certain amount of risk. But four days in the mountains, with nothing
+but dried meat for food, added to the intense cold and exposure, not
+to speak of risking their lives several times a day, was about as much
+as any man could stand, so, when Chaffer and his companions got away,
+the hunters decided to go home and hunt them another time.
+
+But the chamois were also frightened, and more nervous and timid than
+usual for some time after this, and kept a sharp lookout themselves,
+not trusting so much to the sentinel, for they considered he had not
+given them warning enough the last time.
+
+Chaffer had been so thoroughly scared that he kept himself hidden in
+chasms and crevices for days, only coming out every now and then to
+feed and to give a hurried glance round. Food was getting scarce now,
+too, and he would very soon have to go without the fresh grass and
+herbage which grew on the mountains, and make the buds of the pine,
+fir and juniper trees do instead. But he could treat himself to an
+occasional bit of salt from the sandstone rocks which are to be found
+in the Alps, and of this he was extremely fond; it also helped to keep
+him in good health.
+
+It was a hard winter that year, and when the snow lay thick and white
+not only on the mountains, but in the valleys, Chaffer had as much as
+he could do to find enough to eat. Occasionally he would be able to
+scrape away the snow, and get tiny bits of grass and other green
+stuff, but it was not enough to keep him alive, and he was obliged to
+content himself with the buds of trees and any little bit of
+vegetation he could find.
+
+He did not mind the cold in the least, for he often stayed on the
+snow-clad heights in summer from preference; but when this winter had
+really set in, with its exceptional severity, Chaffer betook himself
+to the wooded land which lay just below the glaciers, and roamed about
+there until spring once more appeared. But he did not care for wooded
+districts; he preferred peaks and ravines which had a northern aspect.
+So, as soon as he possibly could, he left the low lands and once more
+climbed his beloved mountains.
+
+The cold was still intense, but underneath his ordinary covering of
+hair Chaffer had another coat of short, thick, greyish wool, and this
+protected him, and kept him nice and warm. His outer coat had changed
+during the winter from a golden brown to a dark chestnut, and, as the
+spring advanced, it changed again to a pretty, light color, which was
+almost grey.
+
+Chaffer never forgot the first spring day after that awful winter,
+when the snow, having melted from some of the mountain ranges,
+disclosed fresh young grass and tender herbage. How delicious it was,
+and how Chaffer enjoyed it! He had grown quite thin and gaunt, his
+finely formed muscular neck was lean and scraggy, and his limbs felt
+weak.
+
+But a week or two of good feeding, with an occasional bit of salt,
+soon put him right, and by the time summer arrived Chaffer had not
+only regained the strength he had lost in the winter, but had
+developed more power and growth in many ways. He had rejoined the
+herd, for the old chamois had left it by this time, and Chaffer and
+some other young males had determined that, come what might, they
+would allow no old chamois to turn them out again.
+
+It was a beautiful summer, and the herd, which numbered about twenty,
+had a fine time. They sported and leaped from crag to crag--climbed up
+to the highest and most inaccessible peaks, where they would stand
+sniffing the clear air, and look out with their beautiful eyes over
+the picturesque landscape which lay like a vast panorama before them--
+glide down the chasms and precipices, and take leaps and bounds which
+would have made almost any animal but a chamois giddy.
+
+And, during that summer, Chaffer grew fat and sleek and handsomer than
+ever, and by the time October came again was the largest animal in the
+herd. Only the year before he had been wretched and miserable and very
+lonely; now he was settled and contented and very happy, for, not only
+had he refused to allow the old chamois to enter the herd again, but
+he had chosen a pretty and graceful little wife, and was just as proud
+of her as he could be.
+
+She was a beautiful creature, and her dark, liquid eyes looked timidly
+and pathetically out from beneath her nicely developed horns--for both
+male and female chamois have these appendages--while every movement of
+her delicately formed body was full of grace. It was no wonder Chaffer
+was proud of her, and when she presented him later on with a fine
+little kid, he was prouder than ever.
+
+The baby chamois was a pretty little creature, and quick and active to
+a remarkable degree. But she had also inherited her parents'
+sensitiveness and timidity, and never left her mother's side; where
+the mother chamois went, there the little one followed closely, and
+when a chasm or ravine was too wide to cross with a leap of her small
+body, the mother made a bridge of her own body by throwing herself
+across, with feet planted firmly on either side of the chasm, and on
+it the little one sprang lightly and gracefully over in safety.
+
+Chaffer was not always with them; he had a good many other things to
+attend to, but he kept careful and watchful guard over them, and his
+keen senses of sight and hearing were always on the alert for danger.
+
+One fine day in the following spring, when the kid was growing big and
+strong, the herd had collected on a favorite feeding-ground, and was
+browsing in calm enjoyment. Suddenly the sentinel lifted his head,
+and, stamping his fore feet on the ground, gave the whistle of
+warning.
+
+The chamois were on the alert in an instant, and, scenting danger to
+windward, flew wildly in the opposite direction. As a rule, they were
+able to escape, but this time they had been trapped, for the same
+hunters, who had tried in vain so many times to catch them, had formed
+a circle round them now, and had narrowed it until they were close to
+their prey.
+
+Chaffer leaped and bounded, followed by his wife and little one, and
+was one of the very first to leave the feeding-ground behind; but he
+was also the first to meet the hunters face to face--not at such close
+quarters as at that memorable time when he had sprang on the same
+ledge with the hunter, but just close enough for those hunters to take
+a good, steady aim at him.
+
+There was a loud report--another--and another, and Chaffer, stunned
+and bewildered, found himself lying at full length on the ground,
+while a horrible pain in his body made him feel sick and faint. In
+vain he lifted his head, and tried to raise himself; his head sank
+slowly down again on the soft grass, and his body would not move. He
+kept his eyes fixed on the hunters, who crowded round eagerly, but a
+misty veil floated in front of them, and everything looked blurred and
+dim. He made one more brave effort, and, with a spasmodic jerk, half
+lifted his body; but the exertion made the stream of blood, which was
+oozing out of his side, spurt out in quick, sharp rushes, and with a
+pathetic sigh and a convulsive movement of the beautiful form, which
+had been so full of life and activity only a few short minutes before,
+Chaffer let his handsome head fall back for the last time, and died.
+
+The hunters, seeing he was dead, directed their attention to the
+mother chamois and her little one. The little chamois was on the
+ground, quite dead, and the mother was standing over her beloved one,
+her feet on either side of the poor little carcass, dyed a deep red
+with the blood of her offspring. During Chaffer's life, his wife had
+left it to him to defend her, but, deprived of his help, and bereft of
+her little one, she stood at bay--no longer the gentle, timid chamois,
+but an indignant, furious animal, ready to defend her kid with her
+life.
+
+Not being sure whether the baby chamois was dead or not, the hunters
+tried to make the mother leave the small body, but in vain. Not only
+did she stamp her feet in defiance, but butted at them with her horns
+in a savage manner that surprised them. At last there was nothing to
+do but to shoot her, for they could not waste time, and the skin of a
+very young chamois was exceedingly valuable.
+
+[Illustration: "CHAFFER WAS THE FIRST TO MEET THE HUNTERS FACE TO
+FACE."]
+
+So, as she stood there, reckless and daring, and absolutely fearless
+through her motherhood, there was a quick flash, another report, and
+the mother chamois, the pretty wife of Chaffer, of whom he had been so
+proud, dropped over the body of her baby and mingled her blood with
+his. She died quicker than Chaffer, and she did not look at her
+murderers as he had done, but kept her eyes fixed on her little one,
+and her last movement was made towards it.
+
+So Chaffer, his wife and little one all died on the same day, and in
+the same manner, and even the hunters, rough and hardy mountaineers as
+they were, had an uncomfortable feeling whenever they thought of the
+brave death of the mother, and her pathetic defense of her little one.
+
+But they were hunters, and it was their living, and so in due course
+of time Chaffer's fine pair of horns were sold, the skin of his wife
+was turned into soft, yellow leather, and the skin of his little one
+was made into gloves.
+
+
+
+
+JINKS, THE JACKAL
+
+
+Jinks lay at his master's feet, his forepaws stretched out in front of
+him, and his sharp-pointed, black nose nestling comfortably on them.
+To all appearance he was asleep; but every now and then his sharp,
+bright eyes would open, and glance swiftly round in all directions, so
+swiftly that it was hard to realize he had opened them at all.
+
+It was an exceptionally hot morning, even for India, and Jinks' master
+stopped reading, to sigh with the heat and wipe his streaming face.
+Jinks was only too glad of an interruption; he had been still quite
+long enough, and, in his restless, fidgety way, wanted to be doing
+something. So, as his master yawned, sighed and fluttered his silk
+handkerchief, Jinks rose up, stretched himself luxuriously, and,
+following his master's example, yawned too.
+
+He was a fine-looking animal as he stood up and wagged his bushy, fox-
+like tail, and his master was struck, for the first time, with his
+handsome appearance and size. For he had known Jinks from a tiny baby,
+having carried him home in his arms after he had found him with his
+dead mother, and fed him warm bread and milk, getting in return many a
+nasty bite from the vixenish little animal, who had all the
+viciousness of his race.
+
+But, in due course of time, what with repeated kindnesses and tender
+care, Jinks had grown not only tame, but quite gentle, and was now
+extremely fond of his master, and never happy unless with him. His
+master returned his affection warmly, and the two were close
+companions; went out for long walks together, when it was not too hot;
+had their meals together, and would have shared the same room in the
+bungalow, had it not been that Jinks had a most unpleasant smell at
+times, which civilization could not dispel, and which made it quite
+impossible for him to be kept indoors at night. Indeed, there were
+times when this unpleasant odor was so manifest in the daytime, that
+Jinks was sent to his kennel in disgrace.
+
+He always felt the disgrace keenly, and, although he invariably went
+at once when he was told, he did so under protest, with his bushy tail
+and dog-like head held down in a shamefaced manner, and a peculiar
+gleam in his eyes which spoke not only of shame, but of anger, only
+kept under through force of discipline. For his master, understanding
+his nature, had never allowed Jinks for one moment to get the better
+of him or disobey him in the smallest thing, and Jinks knew too well
+how a certain small dog-whip felt to wish for any more of it. He had
+been a pup up to this time, and just as full of wickedness and
+mischief as he could be.
+
+The occupants of the bungalow had gone through the same experiences--
+somewhat worse, perhaps--as most people have who bring up a puppy by
+hand, and had not only found all kinds of small garments strewed about
+indiscriminately, dragged out and pulled to pieces, but had at times
+lost articles altogether. Occasionally, a few particles would be found
+in Jinks' kennel, but Jinks never appeared to know anything about
+them, and, in answer to their accusations and scoldings, only put on a
+quizzical, enquiring air, as though he really had not the least idea
+what they were talking about. Even when caught in the very act, he
+would pretend not to know what was meant; but when the dog-whip came
+across his back he would give such an appalling howl that his
+chastisers would stop for very terror, lest he should wake up the rest
+of his kind in the neighborhood.
+
+Jinks did not know there were any of his own kind in the neighborhood.
+As a matter of fact, he had never thought about himself at all, but,
+having all he wanted in the shape of food and sport, had made himself
+quite content and even happy. As he grew from babyhood he got more
+mischievious still, and gave no end of trouble by eating and
+destroying nearly all the grapes on the vines, and fruit on the trees
+and bushes.
+
+Then, one night he had a beautiful time. His master had tied him to
+his kennel, as usual, and left him for the night, and Jinks was just
+settling down to sleep, when he suddenly heard a rustling overhead in
+the tall bushes. The rustling was caused by a silly chicken, who, in
+some way or other, had lost its way, and was now so extremely unwise
+as to go to roost over the head of a young jackal.
+
+Jinks had never tasted chicken, great care having been taken about
+this for many reasons; but, somehow, as soon as he found out what was
+roosting just above him, he had an irresistible desire to get that
+chicken and see how he tasted. Unfortunately, he was tied up, and his
+master never allowed him a long rope; but Jinks, having once made up
+his mind, was not going to allow a rope to stop him.
+
+He therefore set to work in the most determined manner to break it,
+stretching himself away from his kennel with all his might, but so
+noiselessly--for he had all the cunning of his kind--that even the
+chicken, who was uneasy and restless, heard not a sound. But, strain
+and tug as he would, Jinks could not break the rope, for it was a
+strong one, and, although he possessed good muscles and sinews, and
+pressed every nerve into service, there was only a funny little squeak
+caused by the strands of the rope rubbing together, and there it
+ended.
+
+Jinks sat down for a few moments on his haunches to think it over. He
+had no intention of giving up, and, although he had not the slightest
+idea of the flavor of chicken, he felt that the time had come when he
+must have it, come what might. So he set his clever brain to work,
+while his keen, crafty eyes glanced in all directions, but never lost
+sight of the chicken for a single instant.
+
+He had lost his domesticated look for the time being; and as he sat
+there, with his bright eyes gleaming, his rough tongue hanging out of
+his open mouth, and an expectant look on his furry, oval face, he
+looked just what he was--a strong and healthy young jackal.
+
+Suddenly he thought of something, and without an instant's hesitation
+lay down to carry out his idea. Taking the rope in his strong white
+teeth, he gradually, in a silent, stealthy manner, began to gnaw the
+strands one by one. Now and then he would stop just for a moment to
+moisten his lips and to make sure that the chicken was still there;
+then he would continue the gnawing as before. When he got to the last
+strand, what his strong, powerful teeth had nearly accomplished, his
+rough, coarse tongue finished, for it was covered with thorn-like
+protuberances capable of scraping the flesh off an ox.
+
+There was a little snap, and Jinks was free. He had never wished to be
+free before, but the chicken had given him his wish for freedom, and
+he meant to have the chicken. With one swift spring he caught the
+bird, and in another moment his teeth were buried in its breast and
+back, and the unfortunate straggler from the home roost was giving his
+last cry, choked in its infancy by another grip from Jinks' mouth.
+
+Jinks took the dainty morsel inside his kennel; for, now he had caught
+the chicken, he had a guilty feeling, and, moreover, he wanted to
+enjoy it in peace and privacy. And, oh, how he did enjoy it! Never in
+all his life had he tasted anything so delicious--it was so young, and
+juicy, and tender, and the flavor of it! He was obliged to stop every
+now and then to lick his lips and relish it to the utmost, for he
+would not have missed an atom of the pleasure for the world.
+
+He ate the whole thing--flesh and bones and even the entrails: he also
+ate a few feathers, which he did not particularly care about; but it
+was impossible to get the delicious food without, and so he did not
+care much. By the time he had finished, the only remains of the
+chicken were the feathers, which floated about as though seeking for
+their lost home.
+
+By morning Jinks had removed every trace of his night's doings but the
+broken rope and the feathers. He had licked every tiny spot of blood
+off his mouth and coat, but he could not tie himself up again, and he
+could not get rid of the feathers, although he had made several clever
+attempts. He had tried to catch them with his mouth and paws, but they
+had evaded him in the most wonderful manner, and had maddened him at
+times by floating round him, and even alighting on his very nose, as
+if to taunt him. In vain he slapped his nose sharply with his paw each
+time he felt that nasty, irritating, tickling sensation. He always
+gave his nose a hard knock, while the feathers went floating gaily off
+as before. He gave it up at last, and lay down in his kennel with a
+meek expression on his face, but a guilty look in his eyes.
+
+It was the custom for one of the servants to untie Jinks in the
+morning, so that he could go at once to his master. Occasionally his
+master would come and set him loose himself, and take him for a
+morning walk before it got too hot, so that whoever found Jinks had
+been untied naturally concluded the other had done it.
+
+So it was on this particular morning. Jinks, after lying in his kennel
+for some time with his meek expression, suddenly remembered this, and
+so resolved to go into the house as though he had just been untied. He
+had cunning enough, however, to wait until he heard the servants
+moving about, and then he got up slowly, and, with his usual bright,
+wide-awake air, made his way into the house and to his master.
+
+And this was the very morning when Jinks had been lying at his
+master's feet, and, as he rose up, that his master noticed what a
+handsome animal he had grown, and how big he was getting. There was no
+doubt he was a fine animal. He was nearly full-grown now, and stood
+about fifteen inches high at the shoulders, and measured nearly two
+feet from the tip of his nose to the beginning of his bushy tail. He
+had a handsome head, good, muscular limbs, and a beautiful coat of
+greyish-yellow color, rather dark on the back and head, but much
+lighter and softer underneath the body and on the insides of the legs.
+His bright, full eyes changed color repeatedly, but, to a close
+observer, one dominant expression was always in them--an expression of
+the deepest craft and cunning.
+
+As he stood there, looking at his master with a subdued, enquiring
+kind of manner, the latter realized that he was almost a full-grown
+jackal, and began to wonder whether, after all his domestic training
+and surroundings, he would ever show the characteristic traits of his
+kind. Up to now he had been gentleness itself, and was as meek and
+obedient as any domesticated dog, but he had wild and savage blood in
+him, and there was a peculiar gleam in his eyes at that moment that
+his master could not quite understand.
+
+The truth was, Jinks was growing uneasy and uncomfortable under his
+master's close scrutiny, and began to wonder, after all, whether he
+did not know all about that chicken. He had never looked at him in
+this way before, and it both annoyed and irritated him to a frightful
+degree, and he grew restless, and finally turned his head so that he
+could not see the steady, embarrassing eyes of his master.
+
+But, as he turned his head, his master caught sight of one tiny spot
+of blood on his neck which Jinks had evidently overlooked. He said
+nothing for a moment, and then called Jinks to him in a kindly,
+caressing manner.
+
+Jinks hesitated. He had grown suspicious, and he did not like his
+master's manner; in addition to which, he could not forget that he was
+guilty about the chicken; so, when his master reached forward to pat
+him, Jinks, thinking he was going to slap him, suddenly turned round
+and bit him sharply through the hand. It was the very same hand that
+had fed him from a baby, and cared for and tended him all through his
+babyhood and young days, and up to this time had protected him from
+all harm and danger.
+
+But that was nothing to Jinks now. He scented danger, and the
+treacherous meanness of his nature came suddenly to the fore. He
+forgot the care and kindness of his master; forgot everything but the
+fact that those eyes were still looking at him, and that they made him
+feel restless, irritable and wild. He had had this wild feeling for
+some time now, but he had been keeping it in restraint, fearing that
+dog-whip and dreading the anger of his master; but now, for some
+reason or other, he did not care what his master thought of him, and,
+as he snapped fiercely at his master's hand, he growled and snarled as
+savagely as any wild jackal.
+
+Without a moment's hesitation, his master, with his free hand, caught
+Jinks by the throat and called for help. Luckily, two servants were
+close by, and came immediately, and Jinks' master gave orders to fetch
+a gun and shoot him at once.
+
+But Jinks was not born to be shot in that manner. As he felt that grip
+on his throat, he suddenly realized his strength, and with one great
+wrench he tore himself free, snapping and snarling in true savage
+fashion, and showing his fang-like teeth in an appalling manner. He
+would have sprung straight at the throat of his master, but that at
+that moment there was a flash of fire, a terrific bang, and Jinks,
+scared out of his wits, fled, howling in the most miserable way.
+
+This was the last Jinks saw of his master, or his master saw of him,
+for some time, for after that he returned no more to the home which
+had sheltered him so long, but roamed the country at will, and made
+night hideous by his screams and howls. He wandered about for some
+time, seeking for a companion of some sort, but the only animals at
+all like himself were one or two domestic dogs which lived in the
+neighborhood, and of these, for some reason or other Jinks was afraid,
+and so kept at a safe distance.
+
+Now, in his old life, Jinks had always slept at night and moved about
+in the daytime, but now he got into the habit of hiding himself by day
+in woody jungles and such places, and at night going out and wandering
+about in search of food. He wondered once or twice what had made him
+feel so differently. He did not know that it was partly due to the
+fact that he had tasted fresh blood. True, it was only chicken's
+blood, but it was blood all the same, and it had awakened the latent
+thirst for it in him, and this, combined with the fact that he had
+just reached the age of an adult jackal, accounted for his suddenly
+getting so wild and savage.
+
+All this, however, Jinks could not understand. He only knew that he
+felt lonely and miserable, and that his restlessness would not let him
+keep still more than a few minutes at a time. At last he began to get
+very hungry, for he was not accustomed to getting his own food, and
+did not know the way in which to set about it. He began to wish he
+could find another chicken, and his mouth watered at the very thought.
+
+Then one evening he came across some sheep feeding in a field, and,
+being hungry and desperate, he killed one, and then gorged himself to
+such a degree that he could scarcely walk away.
+
+He had a good, long sleep after this in one of the shady jungles, and
+when he woke up was too lazy, for a time, to trouble himself about
+anything. His loneliness, however, increased daily, and as the days
+went on he grew so miserable that he gave vent every now and then to
+dismal, blood-curdling howls, which echoed and re-echoed through the
+woods, scaring all the wild creatures and striking terror into their
+hearts.
+
+Then, one night, when he was very hungry again, and could not find
+anything to eat, he suddenly remembered that he had left some of the
+flesh on the sheep he had killed a few nights ago. He would go and
+find it, and if the vultures had not finished it he would have a good
+feed. He had almost forgotten the way, but when he had gone a short
+distance he could smell it, for it had become rotten by that time, and
+was nothing but putrid flesh. Jinks had never tasted putrid flesh, but
+he did not seem to feel any dislike to it, for as he smelt it he
+licked his lips in pleasurable anticipation, and hurried on in his
+quick, silent way.
+
+He was not happy, however, and when he was nearly there gave one of
+his piercing cries--something between a wild scream and a dismal howl
+--a cry which, to his bewilderment and surprise, called forth a
+perfect chorus of screams, shrieks and howls which startled him almost
+to death. He stood absolutely motionless for a few moments, with one
+paw uplifted, and his eyes and ears strained to the utmost. Horrible
+as the shrieks were, there was something familiar and comforting about
+them, and he felt joyous and frightened at the same time.
+
+When the howls began to die away, he felt impelled to send forth
+another shrieking scream, and this was again answered in the same way
+as before. This time Jinks did not stop to listen; he went hurriedly
+forward to find out what it was.
+
+And what a sight met his eyes! There, just in front of him, was a
+whole pack of animals exactly like himself crowded round the carcass
+of the sheep he had killed a few nights ago. Nearly all the animals,
+at the moment he came upon them, were standing with uplifted heads,
+their sharp noses pointing at the peaceful moon, howling and screaming
+at the top of their voices. In a few moments some of them stopped, and
+continued their occupation of tearing off the rotten flesh of the dead
+sheep, and swallowing it greedily. Dozens of vultures hovered
+overhead, and, watching their opportunity, dived down every now and
+again and tore a piece of flesh from the carcass with their powerful
+beaks, and then hurried off, making unearthly noises which, joined to
+the howls of the jackals, made the most awful discord imaginable.
+
+When the jackals had all stopped howling, Jinks moved slowly forward,
+with a deprecating air, for he was not sure of his reception. And,
+indeed, had he known what sort of a reception he would get, it is
+doubtful whether he would ever have ventured forward at all. For the
+moment the jackals caught sight of him, with one accord they left the
+carcass of the sheep, and with a few swift bounds surrounded him. They
+very soon let him know he was a stranger, and an unwelcome one, and
+before he had time to realize the state of affairs he had received
+several sharp bites.
+
+His smell was against him, to begin with, for a tame jackal loses much
+of the strongness of the odor peculiar to him, and a pack of jackals
+rather prides itself on the strongness of its smell, for this smell
+keeps away many things that are unpleasant to them in the shape of
+enemies.
+
+But Jinks was not going to stand still and be bitten to death, so he
+promptly turned upon his assailants, and bit and tore some of them so
+savagely that the others paused. One old jackal, being keenly jealous
+of new arrivals in the shape of strange jackals, took upon himself to
+catch Jinks by his foreleg, a mistake he had reason to regret, for
+Jinks--who was abnormally strong, and possessed the peculiar little
+excrescence shaped like a cone on his head, and which generally
+denotes a leader of a pack--suddenly seized his opponent by his
+throat, and refused to let go until he was dead. Then, shaking him as
+though he had been a little terrier, he laid him down with a growl,
+and looked round as much as to say:
+
+"Now, then, who comes next?"
+
+None of the jackals seemed to be particularly anxious, for now that
+Jinks was standing among so many of his fellows, he found he was just
+a little taller than any of them, and this little gave him. an immense
+advantage. He snapped and bit one or two more just to show them he was
+still ready to go on; but, although they all howled and screamed
+again, they were not anxious to fight. The newcomer had killed their
+leader, and they were afraid of him.
+
+Jinks wasted no time. He had not stayed long enough in captivity to
+become really tame or timid, and this one fight had made a jackal of
+him, and he took care to let them know it. He was wildly excited, and
+daring enough at that moment for anything, and his daring and
+recklessness inspired the jackals with respect, and, in spite of a few
+dissenting voices, Jinks promptly took the leadership of the pack
+without more ado. It all came as natural to him as though he had been
+a wild, free thing all his life, and dependent on his own resources
+for food and shelter.
+
+In that moment he forgot all his past life, and only realized that he
+was a strong, full-grown animal; that he was the leader of the pack,
+and that the others, for some unaccountable reason, were afraid of
+him, and ready to acknowledge that he was their master.
+
+And so Jinks, having chosen his position, kept it. And this was not
+the only thing he chose and kept. He chose several wives from the
+pack, and took care to have the best and youngest, no matter how much
+he had to fight for them, or how much the others resented it. He was
+quite willing to prove his right to them by as many fights as might be
+needed; but if he fancied a wife he never rested until he had won her,
+and then woe betide anyone who so much as looked at her.
+
+But it was not long before the pack knew better than to dispute Jinks'
+will; he was a splendid leader, daring, brave and as full of pluck and
+cunning as any jackal could wish.
+
+So he reigned supreme for many years, and fine doings there were
+sometimes among the pack.
+
+[Illustration: "JINKS WAS NEVER SO HAPPY AS WHEN HE WAS LEADING HIS
+PACK."]
+
+Jinks' pack was the largest for miles round, and numbered over two
+hundred animals, not to speak of young pups. He had quite a large
+family of his own by this time, for a jackal mother generally has four
+or five pups at a time, and Jinks had a good many wives. He was proud
+of them all, in his way, but he cared more for the chase and hunting
+expeditions than anything else, and was never so happy as when he was
+leading his pack either after sheep and antelopes, or taking it to
+visit some of the farm-houses, towns or villages in search of food.
+
+The pack grew to be famous, after a time, for its ravages and daring,
+and the distant sound of its awful howling would make the unfortunate
+inhabitants of the various places shrink and shiver with terror. It
+came to such a pass, after awhile, that a price was set upon each
+jackal's head, and a few of them were killed off, but only a few.
+There was so much danger attendant on attacking such a large number,
+that only one or two men were daring enough to attempt it.
+
+One of these daring men was Jinks' old master, and so terrible had
+been the mischief done by the jackals, not only to his sheep and
+cattle, but to his fruits and crops, that he determined, come what
+might, to destroy as many of the vicious creatures as he could. The
+villagers and farmers had been obliged to keep their livestock locked
+up, and even then, in a few cases, the daring brutes had broken in,
+taken what they wanted, killed a few animals besides, just to show
+they had been there, and then made off.
+
+The consequence was, that the jackals had to depend on antelopes and
+smaller animals, and, these being very scarce, they were almost
+famished. Jinks was obliged to lead his pack to one of the towns where
+there was plenty of offal and refuse of all kinds, and here the
+jackals did good service, for, having cleared the streets of putrid
+and pestilential matter, the town, which had been down with fever,
+recovered its health and regained its strength.
+
+Having cleared the towns and villages of all the refuse, the jackals
+grew more daring still. The live stock was still locked up, and in
+such a way now that, do what they would, they could not get in the
+sheds and houses; so they betook themselves to the bungalows, and
+actually entered the larders and helped themselves.
+
+It happened one night that Jinks led his pack to his old home--the
+place where he had been so carefully reared. Whether he remembered the
+place it is impossible to say, but his master was waiting for them
+with a number of other men, and, as they were all armed with guns, the
+pack had a warm reception.
+
+As a rule, no matter how much the inhabitants of the bungalows were
+prepared, the moment that horrible, howling scream began they lost
+their nerve, and became so frightened and bewildered that they were
+only too thankful if the jackals took what they wanted in the shape of
+food and they escaped with their lives.
+
+But Jinks' old master and the men who were with him were made of
+different stuff, and when, with their usual howl, the animals sprang
+upon the house, they were met with a volume of fire and smoke that
+frightened and subdued them for a moment. When they recovered
+themselves, they were met with more fire and smoke, and, as the latter
+cleared away, numbers of them could be seen stretched out on the
+ground, limp and senseless.
+
+Among these was Jinks--brave, plucky, crafty, treacherous Jinks--who
+had led his pack to the home which had nourished and fed him, and to
+the master who had tended and cared for him.
+
+As soon as the pack found that their leader had fallen with so many
+others of their kin, and as the horrible smoke and fire kept on, the
+remaining members of it turned and fled, howling, moaning and
+screaming at the top of their voices.
+
+When all had gone but the dead or dying, Jinks' master came forward to
+where Jinks' handsome body was lying motionless.
+
+"I really believe this is Jinks," his old master said, in surprise.
+And Jinks he proved to be, for he remembered that peculiar, little,
+bony projection on Jinks' head, and, although it could not be seen,
+being covered by a funny little tuft of hair, he felt for it and found
+it, and this, with the size and markings of the animal, were
+conclusive.
+
+"Poor old Jinks!" his master said, regretfully, stroking the still
+handsome head and body. "He was a beautiful animal, but just as
+treacherous as the rest of his kind."
+
+Now, as a matter of fact, Jinks was not dead yet, and at the sound of
+the old, familiar voice he opened his eyes, now dim and misty with
+suffering, and looked at his old master in the way he had been used to
+do when he was only a pup and dependent on him for everything. And, at
+the sight of this, his master, who had grown very, very fond of his
+pet after having him all those years, broke down completely and cried
+like a child. His friends persuaded him to go away, and, feeling that
+he could not bear to see his old pet actually die, he consented and
+went into the house, where he did his best to forget the sad episode.
+
+And what about Jinks? Well, as soon as his master had disappeared,
+Jinks, although wounded, took himself off in a stealthy manner and
+rejoined his pack. He had intended to feign death[Footnote: It is a
+well-known fact that jackals will sometimes feign death as a means of
+escape.--Author.] until attention was taken from him, but the sound of
+his master's voice had been too much for him, and he had opened his
+eyes in spite of himself. He had, however, been crafty enough to close
+them again and keep perfectly still until they all drew off, and then
+he slunk away, as I have just told you.
+
+He was sick and feeble for some time after this, and his pack despised
+him for it, but after awhile he recovered and was himself again. But
+whether he had had a shock, or whether he still had a tiny bit of
+affection for his old master in that treacherous heart of his, will
+never be known.
+
+As soon as he was strong again lie led his pack to a new neighborhood,
+and, as he was never seen or heard of again, he probably shared the
+fate of most wild animals and died a tragic death.
+
+
+
+
+PERO, THE PORCUPINE
+
+
+Not far away was a funny, bristly-looking ball, which moved and
+rustled and squirmed about, and yet for the life of him the little
+dog, Jock, could not make out what it was.
+
+There seemed to be no head nor tail, nor beginning nor end. But it was
+not still for a single moment, and the long, sharp things that rustled
+so much, and made such a curious sound, were from ten to fifteen
+inches long.
+
+These things, which looked like quills, were thick in the middle,
+tapering to each end, and had little black and white rings all the way
+round them.
+
+Jock could not imagine what it could be, but at this moment the round,
+prickly ball began to move towards him, and Jock backed away, sniffing
+and snarling, and keeping at a safe distance from those sharp-pointed
+things which looked like big, thick needles.
+
+When the prickly ball was quite close to him, it moved round, and
+then, to his surprise, Jock saw a peculiar head with small ears, tiny
+eyes--very like a pig's--and a thick, heavy nose or muzzle.
+
+It was evidently an animal, but Jock had never seen anything like it
+before. The front part of its body was covered with hair, and upon the
+head and neck there were some very long, stiff hairs, which formed a
+curious sort of crest, and this crest the animal moved up and down in
+the fiercest manner imaginable. All the rest of its body was covered
+with long, sharp quills or spines, which looked like hundreds of
+small, prickly spears sticking out all over it. Its legs were short,
+and on its feet were sharp and strong claws.
+
+Suddenly Jock knew what it was. It was a porcupine.
+
+Now Jock had not been out in West Africa very long, and, though he had
+been told by his dog friends of the porcupine, this was the first time
+he had really seen one, and he did not care for the experience at all.
+
+However, he was not going to be afraid of a porcupine, and, as it did
+not look particularly fierce, but rather stupid, and moved in a very
+slow and clumsy manner--the curious rustling appearing to be the only
+noise it could make--Jock stuck up his tail, drew himself up and
+barked. Barked loudly and angrily, and tauntingly, and the porcupine,
+instead of going away or running at him, or doing any of those things
+Jock expected it would do, simply turned its back and rustled its
+quills more fiercely than before.
+
+This made Jock angrier than ever, and he barked and growled and
+snapped, his teeth, and, had it not been for the prickly spines, would
+have given the porcupine a good bite. As it was, he felt nothing but
+contempt for it, but his contempt was short-lived.
+
+Before he realized what was going to happen, Pero, the porcupine, came
+at him backwards, and suddenly Jock was pierced in over a dozen places
+by those sharp, cruel quills.
+
+In an instant his barking and snarls were changed to dismal howls of
+pain. In vain he tried to turn and run away. He was fastened to the
+porcupine as though with so many nails, and his agony was almost
+unbearable.
+
+Pero suddenly walked away from him, and, without once looking back,
+shambled in her clumsy, plantigrade[Footnote: A plantigrade is an
+animal which walks on the soles of its feet.-Author.] fashion back to
+the mound of earth, where she had been carefully burrowing a hole for
+her winter home. It would have been finished by this time if Jock had
+not disturbed her, and she was naturally angry.
+
+[Illustration: "JOCK HAD NEVER SEEN ANYIHING LIKE IT BEFORE"]
+
+She cared nothing whatever for the dog's howls or moans of pain. She
+had done with him now and had left him several of her quills as
+mementoes of the occasion.
+
+In vain Jock tried to get rid of them, but Pero had driven them well
+in, and was wise enough to know that where she once drove her quills
+there they stayed, until, perhaps, they worked themselves out in the
+opposite direction.
+
+For the quills of a porcupine are so peculiarly made that when once
+they are driven into the flesh, instead of working their way out, they
+go deeper and deeper, often boring right into the vital parts of an
+animal, and so killing it.
+
+In days gone by some people believed that the porcupine was a most
+dangerous animal, and that whenever it saw an enemy approaching it
+just threw some of its little, pointed spears at him and so killed
+him. But this belief came from an old fable, for the porcupine cannot
+throw its quills, but he can push them in, in the same way that Pero
+pushed her's into the terrier, and then leave them to work their
+mischief.
+
+Had Jock been a wiser dog, he would have known better than to have had
+anything to do with the porcupine. But he was only an ordinary English
+terrier, and, as I told you, had not been long in West Africa.
+
+A horse would have known better, for all horses are afraid of
+porcupines, and will never face an irritated one if they can possibly
+get away. As a rule, the very rustle of a porcupine's quills will make
+a horse take to his highest speed in terror.
+
+Neither leopards or tigers care to face this animal, for they seem to
+know instinctively how dangerous its quills are.
+
+Once having inserted her quills, Pero paid no further attention to
+Jock, but went on burrowing and burrowing with her curious, snout-like
+nose, and never rested until she had made a nice little cave in the
+earth, where she could be warm and comfortable all through the winter.
+
+She was in a great hurry, for it would soon be time to go to sleep,
+and before going to sleep she had some important duties to perform and
+would be very busy.
+
+Meanwhile, poor little Jock limped off painfully. He had eight or nine
+quills sticking into his shoulders and one had gone into his sensitive
+nostrils.
+
+In vain he tried to get rid of them. The longer they were in his flesh
+the deeper they went. If he had gone home his human friends might have
+taken them out for him, and so saved his life; but he was frightened
+and bewildered, and, like all animals when in pain or trouble, his
+first thought was to go away to some quiet place and hide himself in
+his misery. Having found such a place, there he stayed, poor little
+dog, in terrible pain, until one of the quills, which was nearly
+twelve inches long, went so deep as to touch his heart.
+
+So Jock stayed in the hiding-place he had chosen for himself, and no
+one ever found out what had become of him.
+
+Pero went on placidly with her work in her clumsy manner, and never
+stopped until she had finished her winter home. Then she knew she must
+go out and collect some food.
+
+Her food consisted of plants, the bark of trees, and fruits of
+different kinds; and then there were succulent roots and plants to be
+found and dug out of the ground, and these provided both food and
+drink, for the moisture was quite enough to quench the porcupine's
+thirst.
+
+After this Pero rested a little, for she was very, very tired.
+
+It was September now, and by the end of the month or the beginning of
+October she would be busy again.
+
+So she made the most of her time, eating and taking things easy.
+Having finished her work, she felt entitled to do this, and one
+morning, when the bright, clear daylight penetrated the mouth of her
+winter home, it fell on two funny little objects, and these funny
+little objects were baby porcupines.
+
+[Illustration: "BUT OH! WHAT HAVOC HE MADE!"]
+
+They were not prickly like their mother, but just soft, helpless mites
+with curiously-shaped bodies, and funny little heads and snouts, which
+made them look very much like pigs.
+
+An animal covered with hundreds of sharp quills, from ten to twelve
+inches in length, each of which can pierce like a little stiletto,
+does not sound like a particularly comfortable thing to have for a
+mother. But the baby porcupines were quite happy, and their mother,
+clumsy as she was, was clever enough never to let any of the quills
+touch her little ones. She was warm and soft enough underneath, and
+her babies were just as comfortable as any other animals' babies are.
+
+Although Pero had laid in her stock for the winter, she went out every
+night to get food. By doing this she achieved two things: she kept her
+winter stock, and she got fresh food for the time being.
+
+Everything went on very well, and Pero and her babies were perfectly
+happy in their little home, when one night Pero had a startling
+adventure.
+
+She was going along doing her best to walk quietly, although this was
+next to impossible, for the quills in her tail would rustle, no matter
+how carefully she walked, when she suddenly became conscious of a
+tall, dark form coming towards her. She knew well enough what that
+was. It was a man, and anything in the shape of a man had to be most
+carefully guarded against.
+
+Without an instant's hesitation, Pero suddenly doubled her nose
+between her forelegs, and rolled herself into a tight ball, leaving
+all her long, prickly spikes outside. This was a very convenient way
+of avoiding danger, but the only drawback to it was that, while she
+was coiled up, she could see nothing and hear very little.
+
+However, she knew that the wisest thing was to keep perfectly still.
+And when she did this she was seldom touched. This time, however,
+something turned her over, and over, and over, till she felt sick and
+faint and dizzy; so dizzy at last that she suddenly unrolled herself a
+little bit in order to see where she was. To her great joy, she saw
+that she was near her burrow, and, with a wonderfully quick movement
+for so clumsy a creature, and with a peculiar rustling of all her
+quills, Pero crept quickly into her hole, leaving the man perfectly
+astonished.
+
+For some time she lay there with her babies, quivering and shaking
+with fright--for the man was trying to get in. The light was getting
+broader and brighter, and at last, in sheer terror, Pero began to
+burrow further into the mound.
+
+She went at it with nose and head and paws, as hard as she could go,
+scraping quickly with her sharp-clawed little feet, throwing the earth
+behind till she nearly smothered her babies, and pushing her snout-
+like nose into the earth as hard and fast as she could.
+
+How long she would have gone on with this can never be known, but one
+of the babies, nearly suffocated with the earth, set up a little,
+whimpering cry, and Pero's motherly heart responded at once.
+
+She knew it was a cry of pain--of distress--and so she suddenly gave
+up the burrowing and turned back to her little one.
+
+It was a good thing she did so, for she had to do some more burrowing
+work in order to get the babies out of the earth which she had thrown
+over them. But by the time she had done this she realized that the man
+had stopped trying to get in, and so she was able to lie down.
+
+Her tired little body was quivering with excitement; her nostrils
+opening and shutting convulsively, and her little heart beating like a
+trip-hammer. She gathered her babies to her and gave them their
+evening meal, but all the time she was listening for the enemy.
+
+He was indeed an enemy, and was deeply disappointed at not being able
+to get Pero, for there were so many burrows about there, and the
+porcupines had done so much mischief to his various crops--potatoes,
+carrots, rice and roots of many kinds--that he was determined to
+destroy them.
+
+So determined was he to kill them, that he was already having dogs
+trained to take up the scent of the porcupine--dogs who would not be
+quite so stupid as Jock, although in many cases they would probably
+get a few quills.
+
+There were two reasons for killing the porcupines. One was to get rid
+of them and their destructive propensities; the other was that they
+provided an article of food, their flesh being very white and
+palatable, resembling pork or veal.
+
+But the man had failed this time, and Pero was determined that she
+would not risk that danger again. So, the next day, she made a little
+tunnel from her present home into another hole that she had carefully
+burrowed out.
+
+Then for some days and weeks she was again busy collecting food. And
+this was hard work, as roots and plants were getting scarce.
+Meanwhile, the babies were growing strong and sturdy, and their tiny
+quills were just beginning to peep out.
+
+Pero finished her work at last, and her second winter home was as
+carefully and well stocked as her first one.
+
+She decided that she would only go out once more in order to get just
+two roots which she wanted, and then she would settle down for the
+winter. But this once more was just once too often, for,
+unfortunately, the man was on the watch, and, just as Pero was coming
+slowly out of her burrow, she received a stinging blow on the nose,
+which completely stunned her.
+
+This is why the porcupine always takes special care to protect its
+head by rolling itself into a ball. Any blow or wound on the nose is
+capable of completely stunning it, and for the time being it can be
+handled and carried away.
+
+Pero was a fine specimen of a porcupine. She was about three feet and
+a half in length, and stood about a foot and a half high. Therefore
+she was well worth having, and, owing to her size, she was kept alive.
+
+When she recovered her senses, she found herself in an iron cage, with
+a cold, stone floor, and she realized, after many futile efforts to
+get out, that she was a prisoner.
+
+Here she stayed, for the man kept her as a curiosity, and, although
+she fretted and grieved for a time at the loss of her babies, as the
+winter grew on she began to get very, very sleepy, and by the time she
+woke up had forgotten all about her burrow--all about her winter home,
+and all about her little ones.
+
+But, as she had comfortable quarters, good food and an easy life, she
+grew, in time, accustomed to her prison. She made the best of it, and
+soon became not only quite tame, but even fond of the man who had made
+her a prisoner.
+
+
+
+
+TERA, THE TIGRESS
+
+
+The day had been exceptionally hot, but a light breeze sprang up
+towards dusk and softly rustled the dry, dusky, jungle grass, making
+it bend and shimmer in graceful, undulating waves. The rustling
+resembled the swaying of corn, and as the breeze increased it became
+more and more pronounced. One part of the long grass rustled more than
+the other; it did not stop even when the breeze had passed over it on
+its way to other grasses.
+
+The rustling grew louder, and, instead of the gentle, swaying motion
+caused by the breeze, the grass suddenly parted and bent in opposite
+directions, and from the middle there softly stepped out a full grown
+tiger. For a few seconds he stood perfectly still. His four, velvet
+paws were planted firmly on the ground; his pliable tail was waving
+slowly to and fro, and his bright yellow eyes glanced quickly and
+sharply in all directions. He was a splendid fellow and quite young.
+His light, tawny-yellow body was exquisitely marked with dark, velvety
+stripes--some double, some single--but each stripe even and regular.
+His legs, down to his soft velvety-looking paws, were marked in the
+same way, and his long tail had rings of the same dark color all the
+way down. The under parts of his body, his throat and chest, and the
+long hair which grew in little tufts on either side of his face were
+of soft, creamy-white. His large, round head, with its small,
+upstanding ears, was marked much in the same way; while his fine
+whiskers gave him the appearance of a huge cat, and so in a way he
+was, for he belonged to the cat tribe and had all the instincts of the
+race.
+
+It was beginning to grow dusk, but Tranta was early to-night. This was
+the reason that his eyes had a somewhat peculiar look just then, for
+he did not care very much for light. It made the pupils of his eyes
+contract from their usual vertical slits into small, round spots, and
+when this was the case he could not see very well.
+
+As Tranta stood there, every sense on the alert, there was another
+rustle close by, but of this he took no notice. The grass waved as
+before, and no human eye would have been able to discover anything but
+grass, but in another moment a second striped, tawny body came forth,
+somewhat smaller than Tranta, but marked in the same way, and moving
+with the same lithe, noiseless steps. This was Tera--Tranta's wife--
+and she was one of the fiercest tigresses for miles round.
+
+Not far off, hidden cunningly in the jungle grass, were four fine
+cubs, who looked like big, playful kittens. This was the first time
+Tera had left them, and she was unusually cautious and careful.
+
+Tranta stopped listening as soon as his wife appeared, and began to
+move softly and stealthily off; his furry body scarcely showing
+against the jungle grass and making no sound whatever. The truth was
+Tranta had an idea that the beaters were out, and he was looking for a
+couple of nice _korinda_ [Footnote: The _korinda_ is a bushy shrub
+with large, drooping branches, covered with thick leaves. Tigers so
+habitually use this bush that hunters invariably look out for it when
+tiger hunting.--_Author_] bushes, where he and his wife could hide for
+the time being; but on account of the cubs he did not want them to be
+too far away from or too close to his lair, and Tera followed him at a
+little distance in an undecided mood, for she was troubled. Her first
+thought was for her little ones, and with the cunning of the tiger she
+wished to lead the beaters away from her cubs. So it was that, with
+stealthy, but hesitating steps, she followed Tranta, who had come out
+earlier than usual, in order to provide against to-morrow's danger.
+But on the way to find the _korinda_ bush, something happened that
+turned Tranta's attention.
+
+It was not entirely on the beater's account that Tranta wanted a
+_korinda_ bush; a _korinda_ is an ideal place in which to lie in wait
+for a young bullock, and, when the bullock comes, it is easy to spring
+out, strike him down, and drink his warm blood. And Tranta was getting
+hungry. He was also very thirsty, and, as he began to smell water, he
+decided to go and have a good drink before hunting further.
+
+Pushing his way through the thick undergrowth, he suddenly came to a
+little stream, and there, just by the water, bending their beautiful
+heads to drink, with their small, graceful feet planted firmly on the
+bank, stood two beautiful, spotted deer.
+
+Now, two of the special dainties that a tiger loves are spotted deer
+and peacocks; but he prefers the spotted deer. It is dainty and
+delicious food, and difficult to get on account of the deer's
+timidity. Tranta's yellow eyes gleamed, and, as lie was not in a very
+good position to spring just then, he decided to wait until the deer
+should more a little closer. So he drew in his breath and flattened
+his fur to make himself as small as possible, and the jungle grass
+behind him, by blending so wonderfully with his coat, helped to hide
+his presence.
+
+But the deer seemed suspicious, and lifted their graceful heads in a
+quick, nervous manner, glancing timidly around with their large,
+gentle eyes, and sniffing doubtfully. At that moment a third deer
+appeared close to Tranta, and the temptation was too great. With one
+swift spring Tranta landed on the deer's back, his teeth in its
+throat. It was a merciful death, for Tranta never let go until the
+deer ceased to struggle, and then he promptly proceeded to make a good
+meal.
+
+He looked round for Tera, but Tera had made the most of her
+opportunities and had killed one of the other deer, and so had a meal
+of her own. As soon as she had eaten as much as she wanted, she tore
+off great pieces of venison, and, taking them up in her mouth, trotted
+back to her lair. She had forgotten all about the _korinda_ bush by
+this time, and thought only of her cubs. She was just beginning to
+train them, and to consider that they needed a little stronger food
+now than she could give them, and a nice bit of venison was the very
+thing to begin on. She took no notice of her husband at all, but, in
+her silent, stealthy way, crept back to her lair and put the dainty
+temptingly in front of her little ones.
+
+The young cubs, up to this time, had been very kitten-like in their
+behavior, purring and frolicking about, and only emitting occasional
+little growls when thrown about or disturbed by one another. But, at
+the sight of the fresh meat, the wild blood showed itself, and, with
+simultaneous springs, four little tawny bodies alighted on the
+venison, tearing it and growling in true tiger fashion.
+
+Tera looked on proudly. She was delighted to see this display, for it
+showed that they inherited the family spirit, and she encouraged them
+in it. She caught hold of a piece of the meat herself and growled and
+snarled, lifting her upper lip and displaying her strong, yellow
+fangs, in order to show them the way in which to behave.
+
+The little ones learned their lesson quickly. By the time they had
+finished the pieces of venison they were about as savage specimens of
+the cat tribe as could be found anywhere. Not only did they gnaw and
+tear, and growl, but they used their small claws, which were just
+beginning to grow. Contracting their feet, until the claws, which were
+like little sickles, curved slowly inward, they slashed the venison
+until it looked as though it had been cut with so many knives.
+
+Tera was more pleased than ever to see them use their feet in this
+fashion--for a tiger's chief weapons are in its feet, and it can tear
+a man, horse or bullock to pieces in a very short time with these
+powerful weapons.
+
+After they had finished their meal the cubs lay down, licking the
+spots of fresh blood which were left on their noses and paws, and
+giving funny little growls at the reminiscences of the feast.
+
+But Tera was uneasy about the beaters, and, having had her evening
+meal, she did not go out again that night. She was restless and
+unsettled, and kept a sharp lookout until the early morning. Then she
+fell into a sound sleep, lying with her forepaws tucked comfortably
+under her and her head resting on them. But in the midst of this
+restful sleep Tera suddenly sprang up, her tail waving threateningly,
+her whiskers twitching, and her keen eyes fierce and defiant.
+
+Just outside the lair Tera could see a group of natives banging,
+screaming, yelling and beating pans, accompanied by a horrible
+drumming sound which nearly deafened her. The cubs, frightened and
+bewildered, crouched round their mother and nestled closely to her.
+
+Had it not been for her cubs, Tera would have gone out in spite of
+all, for the noise was terrifying and bewildering, and she scarcely
+knew where she was or what she was doing. But she had her little ones
+to think of, and, at that moment, would rather have died than have
+left them.
+
+Her fur bristled up with rage, and she prepared to fight to the death.
+She knew exactly what was happening; knew perfectly well that the
+cruel hunters were behind the beaters, and that they were only waiting
+for her to come out so that they could use those horrible things full
+of fire.
+
+And so, fortunately for her, she stayed where she was, and thus not
+only saved her own life, but probably the lives of her little ones.
+
+The beaters, concluding there were no tigers about, moved off, and, as
+soon as their voices died away in the distance, Tera--after caressing
+her cubs--lay down and gave them their morning meal, keeping a sharp
+lookout, meanwhile, with uplifted head, nervous ears, and eyes that
+gleamed like amber.
+
+Meanwhile, Tranta, who had found a particularly nice _korinda_ bush,
+and crept into it, considered himself safe. He knew the beaters were
+coming; he had heard them when they were doing their best to lure Tera
+forth, so he crouched still closer in his hiding-place.
+
+As the noise stopped he knew, with his tiger instinct, that they would
+soon find him out, and they appeared sooner than he expected. Then the
+howls, screams and banging made the worst and most terrifying noise he
+had ever heard in a tiger hunt. He was pretty sure of himself. He had
+had some narrow escapes before this, but so far had always managed to
+get out safely. So, in spite of the noise, he kept perfectly still.
+
+But these beaters were very daring. They not only came close to the
+_korinda_ bush, but they actually parted the branches, and the noise
+became so terrible and deafening that at last Tranta grew bewildered,
+and sprang out, scarcely knowing what he was doing, and not caring
+much, either.
+
+He wished now that he had stayed in the jungle. Certainly the hunters
+could have seen him, but he might have crept off in some way. But now
+he had no time to think, for, as he sprang out, there was a sharp
+"Bang," followed by a "Ping! ping! ping!" and Tranta suddenly felt a
+sharp pain in his leg.
+
+The pain was so great that he was obliged to go on three legs and hold
+up the fourth, which hung in a limp manner and hurt him dreadfully.
+The fright and shock maddened him, and he turned and faced the hunters
+defiantly, snarling in his fiercest way and showing his huge mouth and
+cruel teeth. But, as he turned, there was another "Ping! ping!"--a
+flash of fire almost in his eyes, and Tranta reeled.
+
+The next instant he recovered himself, and, not liking the fire,
+turned round and made swiftly for the river. The beaters and hunters
+followed, and did their best to turn him from the water, but they were
+not quick enough. In spite of having only three legs to use, Tranta,
+with a few swift springs, got to the water first, and there he had the
+best of it.
+
+He was a beautiful swimmer, and, even with a wounded leg, could swim
+well enough to get away from his enemies.
+
+A short distance from the shore a small ship was lying at anchor, and
+Tranta cunningly made straight for it. The two natives who were in
+charge of it promptly went over one side as Tranta climbed up the
+other, and, although a few shots were fired after him as he clambered
+on board, they went wide of the mark, and Tranta lay down on the small
+deck and licked his wounded leg.[Footnote: A fact.--_Author._] He
+stayed there all that day, and neither the beaters nor the hunters
+dare go near him. But at night he crept over the side of the ship and
+swam to shore, and, as he scrambled out of the water, a well-directed
+shot killed him. He was a fine specimen of a tiger, and, as his leg
+had only been broken, his skin was unharmed, and later occupied a
+place of honor in a palace.
+
+Tera wondered what had become of Tranta, but, as she was very sleepy
+and tired, the day passed on, and his absence caused her no
+uneasiness. She was a little surprised that he did not appear in the
+evening, but finally wandered out by herself, and was fortunate enough
+to come across a fine bullock. She did not take any of it to her
+little ones this time. She knew perfectly well that too much meat
+would not be good for them, so gave them their usual evening meal of
+nice warm milk.
+
+Tera was a little uneasy all through that night, as Tranta did not
+return, but she took it very calmly. She had been growing indifferent
+to him lately, and the cares of her growing family were taking up all
+her attention.
+
+As the days went on and Tranta did not appear, Tera forgot all about
+her husband, and devoted all her time and attention to her cubs.
+
+She waited another week or two, and then, after studying their size
+and strength, she concluded that it was quite time to teach them how
+to hunt and kill for themselves. So, to the cubs' great joy, they were
+allowed that same evening to accompany their mother on a hunting
+expedition.
+
+Tera was a good mother, and took great pains in teaching them how to
+walk, where to walk, and when to walk; how to draw in their fur in
+times of danger; how to hide themselves in the long, jungle grass
+until it was difficult to tell which was grass and which was tiger;
+taught them, in fact, all the accomplishments necessary to make them
+good Bengal tigers. Their own instincts told them the rest, and they
+proved very apt pupils.
+
+Softly and silently Terra's supple body wended through the tangled
+undergrowth of the jungle, followed by the four cubs, who growled,
+whimpered and gamboled about like so many kittens.
+
+At last the cubs began to get tired. It was just when they were
+thinking of refusing to go any farther that Tera told them--in tiger
+language--that here was the end of their journey. Crouching softly
+with her head on her paws, her fierce, yellow eyes fixed on some
+moving objects in front of her, and her lips and whiskers moving
+excitedly, Tera told them to look.
+
+They had come to the end of the jungle now, and facing them was an
+open field. In the field were seven or eight young calves--the very
+things on which to teach young tigers how to kill. Telling her little
+ones to watch her, Tera, with one mighty bound, sprang at the nearest
+calf, bringing him to the ground with the force of the blow. She
+alighted full on the back of the calf, and her long teeth fastened
+themselves in its poor, quivering throat.
+
+It was soon over, and, almost before the calf was dead, the four cubs,
+fired by the sight of blood and their mother's example, sprang, with
+cruel ferocity on the carcass, and tore and dragged it to pieces.
+
+[Illustration: "TERA SPRANG AT THE NEAREST CALF, BRINGING HIM TO THE
+GROUND."]
+
+But Tera had not brought them there simply to eat. Her part was to
+teach them to kill, so, administering a sharp pat to each, she made
+them leave the body of the calf and attempt a little killing for
+themselves.
+
+At first the cubs grumbled and growled, and even scolded their mother
+in their anger, but, in a very short time, they grew just as excited
+over the killing process as they had been over the eating, and,
+although one calf would have been enough to last them for days, they
+never rested until every one of the little animals was dead, for the
+killing had aroused all their savage instincts.
+
+Tera looked on proudly, but at last insisted on their returning home.
+With her strong teeth and sickle-like claws she tore off pieces of
+meat, and each little cub, seizing a piece savagely in his mouth,
+trotted after its mother, who led the way straight back to their lair.
+
+After this, however, Tera had rather an anxious time, for, once having
+taught the cubs to wander forth, she could not keep them at home, and,
+as she had thoughtfully made her lair near a farm, the cubs amused
+themselves night after night by killing as many animals as they could
+find.
+
+Wantonly destructive, the cubs gave way to their ferocious and
+bloodthirsty nature, and, as they grew stronger, they would sometimes
+kill three or four cows at a time--calves, pigs, anything, in fact,
+that came in their way.
+
+Whether it was the meat diet or the freedom, Tera could never make
+out, but, certain it was, that very soon, instead of consulting their
+mother and depending on her for everything, the cubs grew fierce and
+savage, and snarled whenever she came near them.
+
+Being able now to supply themselves with food, they no longer cared
+for the food their mother provided, and one night, when Tera had put
+up with it for some time, she quietly slipped off and left them to
+look out for themselves.
+
+She forgot her children as easily as she had forgotten her husband,
+and in a very short time was comfortable and happy by herself.
+
+Having no ties or cares, she wandered farther afield, and finally made
+her home in another jungle. It was, she concluded, a much better
+jungle than the other; but the very first day she took up her quarters
+in it there was a great disturbance.
+
+From her hiding-place Tera peeped forth, and saw three or four huge
+elephants moving slowly towards her. The elephants were carrying
+curious things on their backs--something like boxes, and in these
+boxes were men with guns.
+
+Now, Tera would always attack an elephant if it was alone. But she
+certainly did not like the idea of attacking three or four of them. So
+intent was she on watching the elephants slowly moving towards her,
+with their huge forms swaying heavily along, that it was with a sudden
+shock that she realized that something was behind her.
+
+Turning her head with a swift movement--that only a tiger can make--
+she saw two other elephants, and at the same instant there was a blaze
+and a cloud of smoke. With a wild roar, Tera sprang full at the
+nearest elephant; her four paws, with their cruel claws, sank deeply
+into his skin, while her great, yellow head almost faced the head of a
+man.
+
+There was a moment's pause, and another blaze of fire, and then Tera,
+in spite of convulsive efforts, felt her grasp on the elephant
+loosening. Dazzled and bewildered, she suddenly found herself at the
+elephant's feet. In a hazy manner she was conscious that something was
+touching her. Beyond this she knew nothing, for her muscular body was
+losing its strength, her yellow eyes were growing dim and misty, and
+her life blood was staining the jungle grass a deep crimson. For a few
+moments she lay perfectly still, and then, with a long-drawn,
+shuddering gasp, threw back her handsome head and died.
+
+It was a cruel death, perhaps, yet it was merciful, for it was far
+better to die like that than to grow old, or sick, and be torn to
+death by one of her own kind, or left to starve in the jungle.
+
+And, curiously enough, her skin eventually went to the very same
+palace where Tranta's had been sent some time before.
+
+
+
+
+HIPPO, THE HIPPOPOTAMUS
+
+
+Hippo came to the conclusion, in his heavy, phlegmatic way, that
+perhaps, as it was getting dark and he was very hungry, it would be as
+well to go and get something to eat. So, moving his huge body, and his
+short, stumpy legs, he prepared to look around and find his supper.
+
+He was not handsome, by any means. He had an enormous body, a wide
+head and nose, big mouth and teeth, and, although he only stood about
+four feet high, his tiny eyes, ears and tail made him look ridiculous,
+for they were out of all proportion to the rest of his body. As he
+crawled out of the damp, marshy ground in which he loved to pass his
+time, he seemed one of the ugliest and most awkward of animals, and so
+indeed he was.
+
+He had not even a hairy or furry coat to hide some of his ugliness,
+but an unpleasant, oily skin of the color of dark chocolate, so thick
+that no ordinary bullet could possibly penetrate it. On all parts of
+his body the skin was three-quarters of an inch thick, while on his
+back it was more than twice that thickness.
+
+Therefore, Hippo was pretty safe from the attacks of enemies, a fact
+of which he was well aware, and, not being sensitive in any way, or
+nervous, he was not given to trouble or worry.
+
+He made his way slowly towards a nice corn-field, which he had found a
+few days ago, and the only thing he felt at all uneasy about was that
+some of the other hippopotami might also have found it. Hippo belonged
+to a herd consisting of from twenty to thirty hippopotami--mothers and
+fathers, sisters and brothers, relations of all kinds, and several
+little baby calves. They agreed well together, on the whole.
+
+The only time they grew quarrelsome was when they were selecting new
+wives, or when one of them had discovered a field of corn or rice, and
+found that the others wanted to explore it, too. Then some nasty
+things were said, and some terrible fights took place; for, although a
+hippopotamus is such a heavy and ungainly creature, he can move
+swiftly when he is angry.
+
+However, this time Hippo wended his way to the field of corn without
+the others noticing him, and, arriving there, walked slowly through
+the ripe grain, his short legs and thick body doing an enormous amount
+of damage. He never ate what he crushed down--only what he actually
+cut with his wonderful teeth. [Footnote: The teeth of a hippopotamus
+are very large and powerful, and those in the under jaw grow forward
+and outward, not straight up and down, as in most other animals. The
+large teeth weigh from five to eight pounds each, and, being excellent
+ivory, keep white under almost any conditions.--_Author._]
+
+Opening his huge jaws, he put his mouth to the ground, and, pushing
+his lower jaw in front of him, cut down the corn as though with a
+sickle. He ate leisurely as he went along, and his supper took him
+some time, for, as he had an enormous appetite, and could carry from
+five to six bushels of food in his body at a time, it was a big meal.
+
+On he straggled, cutting down as he went, and dragging his awkward,
+splay-footed body after him until the beautiful field of corn was
+utterly destroyed, for before he left it he had walked nearly all over
+it. If what he had eaten had been all that he destroyed, that would
+have been bad enough, but he trampled and ruined far more than he ate,
+and the owner of the field, when he saw it the next day, was nearly
+wild with rage and disappointment. He had spent so much time and
+trouble over his crops, and so much damage had been done lately by
+these tiresome animals, that it was getting very serious indeed. He
+resolved that something must be done, and done quickly. Guns and
+bullets were no use; he would get up a party and try harpoons.
+
+But of all this Hippo knew nothing, and, having finished his evening
+meal, returned in the same leisurely way he had come, and, laying his
+huge body down in a nice soft spot, he went to sleep and slept all
+next day.
+
+When he woke up, he had a good time in the water, swimming long
+distances, taking long dives, and amusing himself by sinking his
+enormous body to the bottom of the river, and coming up again every
+now and then to breathe. He made plenty of fuss over it, too, puffing
+and grunting in his own peculiar way.
+
+Having had such a good feed the night before, Hippo was in no
+particular hurry for his evening meal, and, as several of the other
+hippopotami were also enjoying themselves, he stayed where he was. His
+wife was resting in a shallow part of the river close by, her whole
+body under water with the exception of a part of her back and head.
+Her baby calf was sitting on dry land, as it were, for his mother had
+taken him under water a good many times, but had to bring him up to
+the top so often for him to breathe that she had grown tired of it,
+and so had put him on her back, where he was not only dry but safe.
+
+Hippo took very little notice of his wife and child. He was not at all
+demonstrative, and, as long as he knew they were safe, did not trouble
+himself farther about them. So that he had plenty to eat, could have
+nice swims and dives, and was not molested in any way, Hippo was a
+very peaceable animal; but once interfere with him in any way, and it
+was another matter altogether.
+
+And this particular evening something did interfere with him, and it
+not only annoyed Hippo, but made him furious with rage and anger, and
+a furious hippopotamus is an extremely dangerous creature. It happened
+in this way.
+
+Hippo was just coming up after a good, long dive, when he noticed on
+the river a number of boats filled with men. Now, he did not mind men
+or boats, if they only went on their way and let him alone. The river
+was often dotted with boats filled with Kaffirs and white men, but, as
+a rule, they were sensible enough to keep a good distance from the
+herd of hippopotami. So, when Hippo became conscious that the boats
+were coming towards him, he was not only surprised but annoyed. He was
+in the middle of his aquatic performances for one thing, and he did
+not like to have boats and men so close to him for another. However,
+although he was irritated, he was not going to bother himself about
+either the boats or the men as long as they let him alone.
+
+But this was just the very thing the men in the boats had no intention
+of doing, for they carried harpoons, and had come out for the express
+purpose of killing as many hippopotami as they possibly could. So, as
+Hippo rose to the surface, and before he had time to get over either
+his surprise or annoyance, one of the men in the nearest boat suddenly
+stood up, and, throwing a harpoon with terrific force, sent it right
+into Hippo's shoulder.
+
+For a moment Hippo was too astounded to do anything; then, as he
+realized what had happened, he moved swiftly towards the boat. But
+another harpoon was thrown from a second boat, and Hippo's attention
+was taken off the first one only just in time. His thick skin broke
+out into tiny red spots, called the "blood sweat," for he was now
+pretty well excited. He had not thought much about his wife and little
+one before, but now he knew they were in danger, and must be
+protected. With one muscular movement of his big body--wonderfully
+agile for so clumsy a creature--he swam towards the boat, and, before
+the occupants realized what was going to happen, Hippo had seized the
+boat in his great mouth and crushed one end of it into splinters. Two
+of the men were killed instantly, and the others soon after, for Hippo
+used his terrible mouth and teeth with appalling effect.
+
+In a very few minutes all that remained of the boats and men--with the
+exception of the first boat, which had promptly made off when Hippo
+turned--was floating down the river, and all the evidences of the
+fearful occurrence were the excited hippopotamus and the crimson stain
+in the water caused by the blood of the unfortunate hunters.
+
+Hippo was still in a fearful rage, however, and could not forget the
+attack on him. The wounds in his back and shoulder helped to remind
+him of it, for each harpoon had a barb at the end, and, no matter how
+Hippo rubbed and strained, he was unable to get them out, and only
+made the wounds throb and burn more than ever. He snorted and raged,
+and in his anger blew such a blast of air from his nostrils that it
+swept his little son off his mother's back and into the
+water.[Footnote: When in a violent rage, the hippopotamus will
+sometimes blow the air from his nostrils with force enough to knock
+over a strong man. We are told by some authorities, that one has been
+known to upset a boat in this way when not quite near enough to crush
+it with its teeth.--_Author._]
+
+Hippo's wife was frightened and indignant, but promptly brought her
+little one up again, for he was very young as yet, and not able to
+stay under water for any length of time, and set him on her back as
+before, keeping a sharp lookout with her tiny eyes for fresh danger.
+
+A very disastrous hunt it had been for all concerned. Five men had
+lost their lives, but not one hippopotamus had been killed. So the
+hunters decided to wait for some other evening when the hippopotami
+were off guard again. The hunters had no idea of giving up, for the
+destructive propensities of the animals were not their only reason for
+wishing to destroy them: the hides, tusks and teeth of hippopotami are
+of considerable value and bring a good price.
+
+So they waited a few days, and then set forth once more. By this time
+Hippo had succeeded in breaking off one of the harpoons, and bending
+the other, but the barbs, which hurt so dreadfully and caused him such
+intense suffering, he was unable to get out in spite of all his
+efforts. They were still there, and, if Hippo could only have known
+it, they were likely to stay there, for they had been made for that
+express purpose.
+
+Hippo had now developed into a most dangerous animal, for the pain and
+inflammation of his wounds, added to his naturally savage disposition,
+had driven him half wild, and he roamed about in his slow, clumsy
+manner, not even caring to eat, and savagely attacking everything that
+came in his way. So fierce and bad-tempered had he become by this
+time, that even his wife carefully kept out of his way, and his little
+son had been terrified nearly to death ever since his father, in a
+sudden fit of passion, had turned on him and bitten him cruelly with
+his terrible teeth. His wife finally took the precaution of taking up
+her position farther down the river, but keeping fairly close to the
+herd.
+
+Hippo missed her and the baby calf, and felt lonely and miserable, but
+he did not take the trouble to follow them, for his wounds were
+getting worse, and the torture was now so great that he could not
+think of much else. In vain he sank his huge body in the cool water,
+hoping to ease the burning and smarting--in vain he took long swims
+like the "river horse" he was--in vain he dived to the bottom of the
+river and stayed there until he was obliged to come to the surface to
+breathe--in vain he kept his whole body under water, with just the end
+of his broad nose peeping out--it was of no use. The pain got worse,
+and horrible twinges kept shooting through his shoulder and body,
+until at last he gave up trying to ease it, and bore it as well as he
+could.
+
+And then, one evening when it was getting cool and peaceful, and the
+evening shadows were beginning to make everything look dim and misty,
+a boat came softly over the water, and once more a man stood up in it,
+and once more threw a harpoon at Hippo, who had been standing so still
+that the boat had been able to come quite close, and the hunter to
+take good, steady aim.
+
+The harpoon this time went straight into one of Hippo's eyes, and,
+although it was a cruel stroke, it was also a merciful one, for it
+touched the brain, and in a very few minutes Hippo, with a few
+spasmodic efforts, blew his last blast of rage, snorted and groaned
+for the last time, and, with a mighty stirring of the waters, rolled
+heavily over in the African river, by the side of which he had been
+born, and died.
+
+And then the hunters threw up their caps and cheered for joy, for they
+had at least killed one of their enemies and one of the finest
+specimens in the whole herd. As, at the time of his death, he had been
+standing in a shallow part of the river, it was possible with great
+trouble to drag the huge carcass out, but it took the strength of ten
+horses and the ingenuity of as many men to do it.
+
+The hunters measured him carefully, and found that he measured nearly
+twelve feet from one end of his body to the other, that he stood about
+four feet high, and that his tusks, hide and teeth were the best and
+finest that had been seen for many a day. It turned out to be a
+fortunate thing that Hippo had been in such a dangerous mood during
+the last few days, for the other hippopotami had followed the example
+of Hippo's wife and moved a little farther down the river;
+consequently, the hunters were able to complete their task without any
+molestation from them.
+
+As for Hippo's wife, she grieved very little about him. He had made
+himself so intensely disagreeable lately that she had grown rather
+tired of him, and, moreover, animal like, she did not like a sick or
+wounded comrade near her, and a sick husband was a thing to be
+despised.
+
+Besides, she had her baby calf to think of now, and he took up most of
+her time. What with feeding him, teaching him to swim, dive, sink
+himself in the water, and come up frequently to breathe, she was busy
+all day long. The calf was rather stupid and slow, and was not easy to
+teach, and altogether she had a good deal of trouble with him.
+
+At one time she missed him for a while, and at last found him very
+nearly dead under the water, for, like most young things, he thought
+he could do just the same as his elders, and had tried to stay
+underneath as long as an old hippopotamus. The consequence was, he was
+nearly suffocated or drowned, for it is only the adult animals who can
+stay any time under water, and even they are obliged to come up often
+in order to obtain fresh air.
+
+So Hippo's wife--or widow, as she was by this time--administered a
+severe punishment to her son by first giving him a bite, and then
+refusing to give him his supper. She began, after a time, to refuse
+him his supper so often, that the baby Hippo at last made up his mind
+to get other food, and in a very short time found out that rice, corn,
+grass, roots and such things were very good to eat, and, when his
+mother began, not only to treat him with indifference, but even with
+dislike, he took to vegetable food altogether, and grew slowly, but
+steadily, as stout and strong as his father, Hippo, had been.
+
+And when a whole year had gone by, Hippo's wife had another husband,
+and in due course of time another baby calf, and had just the same
+sort of trouble as she had gone through with Hippo's son. But she had
+forgotten all about Hippo's son by that time, and not only Hippo's
+son, but Hippo himself.
+
+But Hippo was not forgotten by the hunters. Some of them had cause
+enough to remember him, for he had killed their relatives in his
+fierce attack on that memorable night when he had first felt their
+harpoons. They had, however, other things to remember him by which
+were better. One thing was the money which they had received for his
+hide and ivory teeth, and which had been spent in replacing the
+damaged crops; and the other was a pair of magnificent tusks which
+they had kept as a memento of him, and which hung in the hall of the
+pretty African house in which the hunters lived.
+
+And when visitors came to the house and admired the tusks, the hunters
+would relate the story of the terrible beginning and triumphal end of
+the capture of Hippo, the hippopotamus.
+
+
+
+
+OSRA, THE OSTRICH
+
+
+There is an old Eastern legend to the effect that, once upon a time,
+ostriches, in addition to being the largest and strongest birds on the
+face of the earth, were also the proudest, the most contemptuous, and
+the most egregiously conceited birds in creation.
+
+So inflated with pride were they at their superior size and strength,
+that they looked down upon all their feathered companions, taunted and
+twitted them, and were forever exhibiting their wonderful powers of
+flight and beauty of form.
+
+On one occasion they intimated to the smaller birds that they were
+going to fly to the sun, and winged creatures from far and wide, of
+all sizes and species, and of all colors, came to witness this
+wonderful feat.
+
+Phoebus, the sun god, furiously angry at such unheard of presumption,
+waited until they were a little way up, and then punished them by
+suddenly singeing off their wings.
+
+Deprived of their power of flying, the ostriches fell so heavily to
+the earth, and struck the ground so violently, that it made a deep
+mark on their breasts. This has been reproduced in all succeeding
+generations from that time to this.
+
+This is the reason that ostriches have such tiny wings, and that one
+and all have this peculiar mark on their breasts. Never, from that
+time to this, has any ostrich been able to fly. But even this has not
+entirely subdued their pride and arrogance, and their insufferable
+conceit.
+
+Osra, who was an African ostrich, had his full share of pride and
+conceit. He certainly was a very fine, full-grown male bird, and the
+beautiful, white, flowing feathers of his tail and wings were
+exceedingly handsome.
+
+He stood eight feet high, and measured over six feet from the tip of
+his beak to the end of his tail, while his weight must have been fully
+two hundred pounds.
+
+Handsome as he was, he looked a little out of proportion--like all of
+his kin. He seemed to be too large in some places and too small in
+others; while some parts of his body were thickly covered with
+beautiful, flaky feathers, and other parts had no feathers at all,
+only a few, little bristles: in some places the skin was quite bare.
+
+His small, flat head and long neck were almost destitute of feathers
+or hair, and yet his quick, bright eyes were surrounded by long, thick
+eyelashes, that many a fashionable beauty might have envied.
+
+His long legs, with only a few bristles on the thighs, had a curious
+effect under the rich feathers of his tiny wings, while the lower
+parts, covered with large, thick scales and ending in big feet, with
+only two toes each, were other details which added to his curious
+appearance.
+
+Osra, at this time, was a very important bird indeed, for he possessed
+six wives, and, as all these wives had been laying eggs lately, he had
+had a very busy time.
+
+For the wife of an ostrich considers if she lays the eggs that is all
+she can be expected to do. The males do all the hatching, even making
+the nest in preparation for the eggs.
+
+Osra, strong as he was, had a very busy time hollowing out that nest
+in the sand, and scraping up a small wall all round it so that his
+wives could, if they liked, place the eggs on end, and so not take up
+so much space. For all his wives laid in the same nest, and as there
+were already over twenty eggs, and each egg was a large one, it needed
+a good big nest.
+
+Not that Osra's wives were over particular about the eggs being
+actually in the nest, as long as they laid them near it. Ostriches
+don't believe in being too fastidious; any eggs that happened to be
+outside the nest would be there for the young ostriches to eat when
+they were hatched. For, as the wife of the ostrich considers she has
+done her duty when she has laid the eggs, so the father considers he
+has done his duty when he has hatched them with the help of the sun.
+Once they are hatched he is practically done with them, for no ostrich
+ever made a good parent yet, although in time of danger they will do
+their very best to guard their young.
+
+There had been a time when Osra had some very exciting fights, but
+this had been when he was selecting his wives. He did not believe in
+allowing any other ostrich to get a wife that he wanted, and he had
+never yet been beaten. More than one fully grown, male ostrich had he
+killed while having an argument on this point, and he always found
+that the wives which cost him the most fights and the greatest amount
+of trouble were the ones he liked the best. This is something like the
+seal, who does not think any wife worth having unless he has to fight
+for her.
+
+He had no time for fights now, and, moreover, having got as many wives
+as he wanted and the ones he wanted, there was no occasion for
+fighting. And so he led a quiet, domestic life at this time; walked
+about with his wives by day and helped to get them food, and then,
+when the sun was no longer strong enough to help in the hatching, Osra
+went and sat on the eggs, where he stayed until the sun got up again.
+And so it went on until the young ostriches came out.
+
+Osra felt very proud of them, for they were fine, healthy young birds,
+and although they had rather a quaint air--being covered with a
+curious, bristly-looking growth, which made them look like young
+hedgehogs--from the very day they kicked off the thick, glossy,
+yellowish-white shell which had covered them, they could run about and
+even pick up their food from the ground.
+
+They soon ate up the odd eggs that were lying about, cracked them
+easily with their strong little beaks, and scraped out the inside as
+though they had been practicing it for years. By the end of a
+fortnight they were about the size of barn-door fowls, and quite
+independent.
+
+Neither Osra nor his wives had taken much notice of them during this
+eventful fortnight, except to glance at them occasionally and
+acknowledge to themselves that they were exceedingly fine young birds;
+but, when they were able to trot about in this manner, and were no
+longer troublesome, the parents occasionally took them for walks, and
+a very fine family they were, too.
+
+They had many adventures during these walks, some of them very
+exciting ones.
+
+Once, as they were striding across the plain, they saw a stranger
+approaching, and although Osra was somewhat suspicious, he yet had
+sufficient curiosity to let him come quite close, and even among them.
+
+The stranger was a somewhat curious ostrich, and did not walk in quite
+so dignified or stately a manner as an ostrich usually does. His head
+and neck moved somewhat stiffly, in curious little jerks, and his
+legs, although they were very white, were rather a curious shape.
+
+Still there could be no doubt that he was an ostrich, because his back
+was covered with ostrich feathers, and no one can imitate an ostrich's
+head and neck.
+
+And so the stranger was allowed to come into their very midst, and
+just as Osra was thinking of inspecting him more minutely, for he did
+not approve of strangers, there was a fearful noise, a blaze of fire
+and smoke, and one of his wives and two or three of his children fell
+dead.
+
+Osra waited no longer; with a peculiar sort of guttural chuckle he
+stretched out his long legs, and with tremendous strides--which
+covered from twenty to twenty-two feet at a time--flew like the wind,
+followed by his remaining wives and little ones.
+
+Away they went, taking no thought or heed of the young ones so that
+they got away, and when they had been racing for some time at the rate
+of twenty miles an hour, Osra was surprised to find himself and his
+wives back at the very same spot!
+
+There were the bodies of his wife and children, and there also was the
+stranger ostrich.
+
+Osra was taken by surprise, for although he was not particularly good
+at hearing, he prided himself on his sight, and he was a little
+puzzled to know how he could have got to the very same spot again
+without seeing where he was going.
+
+But, startled as he was, and puzzled as he had felt at this stranger
+ostrich, he suddenly did what, had he only done before, might have
+saved the lives of his wife and children.
+
+Kicking out sideways with one of his powerful legs, he knocked that
+stranger ostrich over, and over, and over, with such a blow that his
+head and neck flew in one direction, a curious thing, from which came
+out more fire and smoke, in another, and a straight body with the head
+and face of a man, or what was left of it, went in a third, and lay
+perfectly still.
+
+Osra hesitated a little, and then went up and examined each part of
+the ostrich. It had only been an imitation ostrich after all; for the
+head and neck were mounted on a stick, the feathers were only sewn on
+to a skin stuffed with straw, and the curious, little white legs
+belonged to a man who was now quite dead.
+
+Osra and his wives paced slowly about for some time, and after a while
+were joined by their little ones, who were worn out and exhausted by
+the long run.
+
+This was one adventure, and one that frightened the young ones very
+much. But they had a good time afterwards, for Osra led them, with
+slow and stately steps, to a farm close by, where there were some
+nice, young broods of soft, fluffy chickens, and tiny, little yellow
+ducklings running about with their mothers.
+
+With a cool and indifferent air Osra and his wives took up the little
+fluffy chickens one by one, and swallowed them whole; the poor
+bewildered mothers clucking and screaming, and spreading out their
+wings, wondering where on earth their families had gone.
+
+Having picked up all the fluffy little chickens, they went on and
+picked up the little yellow ducklings, and the poor mothers hissed and
+scolded, and did everything in their power to defend their darlings
+from these huge, horrible, creatures which demolished them so quickly.
+
+While they were doing this the young ostriches set to work and ate up
+all the stray eggs they could find, one or two small animals, and some
+young wild birds who were so unsophisticated as to believe them to be
+mother hens, and so injudicious as to hop quite close to them in order
+to pick up the corn.
+
+Having eaten all they could find, the family prepared to depart, the
+old birds, followed by the mother hens and the mother ducks, in
+terrible distress and furious anger.
+
+In vain they pecked, hissed and scolded at the huge legs and two-toed
+feet of the ostriches. The legs and feet went solemnly and haughtily
+on, occasionally stepping on the poor, distracted mothers, who cared
+not what they did or what happened to them now that they were bereaved
+of their little ones.
+
+Away they went through the farm with their peculiar, swinging walk,
+followed by their young ones, who ate up all that came in their way,
+and felt that this delightful feast more than made up for their
+terrible fright in the earlier part of the day.
+
+But just as they were going out of the gate of the farm Osra suddenly
+saw, in a sort of paddock, another ostrich, and stayed behind to say
+something to her.
+
+[Illustration: "OSRA AND HIS WIVES TOOK UP THE CHICKENS, ONE BY ONE,
+AND SWALLOWED THEM WHOLE."]
+
+In some curious way the gate of the paddock opened, and Osra--proving,
+with all his high opinion of himself, how extremely stupid he could be
+on occasion--walked gravely in. As soon as he was in, the gate of the
+paddock closed in the same mysterious way, and it was not until he had
+been talking to the strange ostrich for some little time that he
+realized, with an awful shock, that his wives and children had gone,
+and that he was a prisoner.
+
+Now, he had liked the strange ostrich very much, and, although she had
+told him that she was not an African ostrich, he thought her very
+beautiful; at the same time, he did not wish to stay with her
+altogether, away from his wives and children, and, as soon as he found
+that he was a prisoner and that they had gone, he did his very best to
+make his escape.
+
+But the paddock was strong, and, although Osra could run round and
+round it in a few minutes, he could neither jump nor fly over the
+fence.
+
+And so, in spite of his great strength, in spite of his huge body and
+wonderfully muscular legs, he could do nothing, for he could not fly.
+And so he had to suffer the punishment for the wrong-doing of his
+predecessors.
+
+He was as savage and dangerous as he could be for a long time, and his
+captors were extremely careful to keep out of the reach of his hard,
+straight bill and strong, powerful legs.
+
+For a little while he would not even eat, but this did not last long,
+and it was by the persuasion of his new friend that he began to take
+his food again.
+
+Once having done this, he grew more reconciled, and, as he found that
+his new companion was very beautiful, he began to forget his wives and
+children, and in time--although not without many struggles to get out
+and many savage onslaughts at the fences--he settled down into an
+ordinary African farm ostrich, and was perhaps just as contented as
+any of his companions.
+
+He never saw his wives and children again; for the matter of that, he
+did not want to. In time he had six wives of his own at the farm, and
+strutted about in his grave, dignified and conceited way, proving
+himself a fairly good husband, but always ready for and somewhat
+greedy about meals. And, although he was never allowed out on the
+farm, as some of the American ostriches were, he grew in time to be
+quite contented, and even fairly happy.
+
+
+
+
+SEELA, THE SEAL
+
+
+There had been a terrible storm on the Pacific coast--such a storm as
+even the oldest fisherman, who had lived in the same little fishing
+village on the North American shore all his life, never remembered to
+have seen before.
+
+For days sulky, smoke-like clouds had been gathering in the sky, while
+the sea grew darker and darker in hue, until its darkness was
+accentuated into an inky appearance by the white-capped waves, which
+grew bigger and fiercer as each hour drew on. And at last the storm
+had burst after a deadly silence that could almost be felt--burst with
+such vindictive fury that houses and buildings, which had stood
+steadfast for years, toppled and fell down like a house of cards,
+while the stately vessels which had braved many a storm were tossed
+about and wrecked upon the rocks.
+
+Even the fish in the sea were surprised, and after a little
+consultation decided to swim nearer the shore and keep quiet until the
+storm had spent itself. The fish were not the only ones that came to
+the conclusion that the shore was the best place.
+
+Seela, a full-grown seal, who thought a great deal of himself and all
+belonging to him, liked the sea to be a little rough at times. He knew
+perfectly well that roughness always meant a good meal of fish
+afterwards, but so much roughness as all this he did not care about.
+Therefore, when he had stood it for some time, and found that he could
+hardly keep himself from being dashed against the rocks, and the big
+pieces of ice which came floating along on the top of the waves, he
+spoke to his wives and told them to follow him to the shore.
+
+And when they arrived there and scrambled up in their awkward,
+shambling manner, their sleek, lithe bodies looking as though there
+were no bones in them, but only soft, flexible muscles, the fishermen
+on the shore looked at one another in despair. For they knew only too
+well what the advent of seals meant. It meant that, instead of their
+catching the fish and so feeding their wives and families, the seals
+would do both for themselves.
+
+It was not often that seals visited that part of the land, but they
+had been there before, and a bad time they made for the poor
+fishermen, who had nearly been ruined the last time, and had made up
+their minds that, should the seals ever come there again, they would
+not rest until they had destroyed them. Not that they were of much
+value, except for the fat of their oily bodies, for they were neither
+hair seals nor fur seals, but just common seals, with nothing to speak
+of but the habits, traits and characteristics of all other families of
+seals and sea lions.
+
+"There's that old rascal that was here last year," one of the
+fishermen exclaimed, pointing at Seela. "I know him because he has
+only one eye, a part of one of his front flippers has been torn off,
+and he is covered with scars and wounds."
+
+Seela was certainly not handsome, and as he shambled up to a place of
+safety he looked a very sorry object indeed. As a rule he never went
+on shore when the fishermen were there, but he was sure of two things
+at that time, and one was that the shore was the best place for the
+time being, and the second was that it was far too dangerous and
+treacherous a spot where he had landed for the fishermen to venture
+close enough to harm him.
+
+So, cunning old rogue as he was, he shambled up and settled himself as
+well as the still terrific wind would let him, taking very good care,
+however, to keep close enough to the water to be able to slip in at a
+moment's notice. His wives followed him obediently, and seemed gentle
+and meek enough for anything. In his curious, hoarse voice he told
+them it was pretty safe, and that they need not be concerned about the
+fishermen.
+
+Accordingly, they stayed where they were until the storm began to
+subside, and then, seeing the fishermen prepare to come closer, Seela
+gave the alarm, and, shambling down to the water with peculiar, little
+jumpy movements, they all, with one turn of their slim, lithe bodies,
+slipped into the water as though they had been oiled.
+
+Then they had a fine time. As it happened, they met a large shoal of
+fish just making for the shore, and, being tremendously hungry--and
+all seals have enormous appetites, being able to easily eat ten pounds
+of fish a day, and it takes about forty herrings to make ten pounds--
+they caught and swallowed as many as ever they could eat. Not only
+that. When they had gorged themselves, and their jaws ached with the
+constant gulping, they amused themselves by chasing the fish for
+miles--so many miles that the shoal returned no more to that
+particular place, and the poor fishermen suffered again, and their
+wives and babies went hungry.
+
+But Seela cared nothing for the fishermen or their wives and children.
+He had his own wives to think of, and, as he liked that particular
+part of the shore in stormy weather, he determined to visit it again
+after a while.
+
+So, for a time, he and his wives enjoyed themselves. They swam and
+dived, turned and twisted about in the water, went down to the bottom
+of the sea and up again, snorting, puffing, panting, and just making
+as much fuss as only seals can. Sometimes Seela would take a good,
+long breath and disappear for some time, and, while his wives were
+looking out for him to appear in one direction, he would suddenly pop
+up in another, and this he seemed to think was great fun.
+
+When they had led this sort of life for some months, and had made
+occasional visits to the land on various parts of the coast, one or
+two of his wives told Seela they wanted to go to some nice, quiet,
+sunny place, where there were plenty of fish to be had, and then it
+was that Seela decided to pay another visit to the shore where the
+fishermen lived.
+
+It seemed ages since they had last been there; the storms were nearly
+over now, for it was May and getting nice and warm. The coast by the
+fishermen's village was not only a nice place in stormy weather, but
+nice and sunny in fine weather, and Seela thought those even banks by
+the shore would be the very place for his wives just now. So he led
+the way, and the fishermen found them all one morning comfortably
+settled on the shore close to the water, basking lazily in the sun.
+
+At first there was general alarm among the fisher folk, and plans and
+schemes were set afloat to either capture or kill the seals, for there
+was every probability that a whole herd would shortly appear if Seela
+and his wives were allowed to remain. But, by the time they were ready
+to carry out the scheme they had adopted, an event happened on the
+beach which made the fishermen decide to wait awhile, and this was the
+appearance of two or three little baby seals. Such funny-looking,
+little things they were, only about twelve inches long and each
+weighing about three or four pounds apiece.
+
+Unlike most newly-born animals, their bright, quick little eyes were
+wide open, and they looked around in the most inquisitive manner, and
+were just as curious as seals always are, even in their infancy. They
+were wonderfully active, too, and began moving about within a few
+minutes of their birth, uttering soft little "bahs" for their mother,
+and making themselves quite at home.
+
+The mothers were very devoted to the calves, and tended and fed them
+in the same way that all mammals feed their young. They had all been
+very quiet and docile before the birth of the calves, but, as soon as
+they became mothers, the wonderful mother-love made them alert and
+fierce in defence of their children. Seela looked on at it all with
+great satisfaction. It was just what he had expected, and, having seen
+that the mothers and babies were happy and comfortable, he proceeded
+to enjoy himself by sliding into the water at every opportunity, and
+gorging himself with fish to his heart's content.
+
+For some time the mother-seals and their young made the rocks their
+home, basking in the warm sun by day, and taking short excursions into
+the sea in order to get a little exercise and food for the mothers.
+The calves had not been allowed to go into the water until their first
+coats of very thick, soft and greyish fur had dropped off, and then,
+as some of them seemed a little reluctant, their mothers pushed them
+in, and, once having found how enjoyable swimming and diving were,
+they were only too ready to follow afterwards.
+
+Indeed, sometimes they wanted to go in too often, and, as the mothers
+did not always like them to go in alone, there were some fine
+scoldings and grumblings occasionally. But, on the whole, they were
+very happy. They had been joined by other seals now, and their numbers
+had increased to nearly a hundred, and, although there were a few
+terrific fights every now and then among the fathers of the various
+families, the herd behaved well and appeared to have quite settled
+down.
+
+By this time the fisher folk had got so interested in the little seal
+calves that they gave up all thoughts of killing their fathers and
+mothers, and just let them alone. They were kindly, warm-hearted
+people, and, had it not been that they had been obliged to face so
+many hardships and difficulties caused by the seals chasing away the
+fish, they would never have so much as thought of lifting a finger to
+hurt them. As long as they behaved themselves, they resolved not to
+molest them.
+
+And so things went on until there came one unfortunate day when Seela,
+going out for his usual feast and frolic, discovered a beautiful array
+of fishing nets, arranged in such a manner that any fish would be
+tempted just to go in and see what they were. But Seela resolved to do
+a little bit of mischief himself, and, taking the lead, got adroitly
+between the shoal of fish and the nets, and so drove the fish exactly
+in the opposite direction. Not content with this, he chased them until
+he could chase them no longer, and then found that he had left all the
+other seals behind.
+
+It took him until the next day to find his way back, and when he got
+home he found everything in confusion and uproar. Two of his wives had
+been killed, and one was a favorite, for it had taken several
+desperate fights to win her, and he therefore, naturally, valued her
+more than the others.[Footnote: It is a well-known fact that no seal
+cares for a wife unless he has had a good fight for her. The fiercer
+the fight, the more valuable the wife.--_Author_.] Some of his
+children, too, had disappeared, and only a few seals were on the
+shore.
+
+The fact was, the fisher folk, driven wild by this last crafty and
+treacherous act of Seela's, resolved to have no more pity, but just to
+destroy as many of the intruders as they could. So, as soon as the
+seals returned and settled themselves down again, the fishermen, armed
+with clubs and knives, surrounded the animals and dispatched a good
+many, by first giving them a good blow on the nose with a club, and
+then finishing them with knives.
+
+They did not mind killing the adult seals, but there was something
+very pathetic about killing the calves. The poor, awkward little
+things did their very best to run away, and kept uttering their
+peculiar little "bahs" all the time, but their walk or shamble was
+very tiring, and required a great effort, and only too soon they sank
+down utterly exhausted, asking, in their poor, dumb way, that their
+lives might be spared.
+
+But the only lives which were spared were those of the seals who were
+quick and fortunate enough to slide into the water, and so swim out of
+danger. The others were all killed, and this was the reason Seela
+found such uproar and confusion on his return. In vain he looked for
+his favorite wife--in vain he called his other wives and children. No
+one answered, and the few remaining seals seemed subdued and
+frightened.
+
+The only effect the sound of Seela's hoarse, harsh voice had was to
+bring out the fisher folk again, and these, armed with their clubs and
+knives, were overjoyed to find Seela himself, for whom they had been
+on the lookout. They made straight for him, but Seela was too old a
+hand. With one turn of his flexible body and limbs, he was in the
+water again, and no weapon could touch him but a harpoon, and this
+they did not possess.
+
+He took care not to go on land again, and would have kept away
+altogether, but that, as he was swimming and diving, he came up once
+to breathe, and, as he was puffing and panting, he suddenly heard some
+very enticing sounds, which made him stop and listen. It was only one
+of the fishermen playing a simple tune on a little whistle, but Seela
+loved music of all kinds, and was always attracted by it.
+
+In this case he promptly left the water, and although he knew there
+were enemies and danger about, he went recklessly on, his harsh,
+hoarse bark or grunt giving place to a plaintive bleat. He scrambled
+up to his old spot, and the farther he went the farther off the music
+seemed to be, and although he was getting very tired, he could not
+resist the charm and fascination of the music, and so shambled on
+until he was quite a distance from the water.
+
+So taken up was he with the sweet sounds, and partly because of his
+blind eye, that he never noticed a fisherman coming up on one side of
+him--never realized that anyone was near him until he felt a sharp,
+stinging sensation on his nose, and then a much sharper, far deeper
+pain in his side. He knew well enough then what it was, and with a
+loud, harsh cry he turned fiercely round to find the fisherman had
+crept round to his other side and stabbed him again.
+
+Seela thought no more of the fisherman after this; he only thought of
+the agonizing pain all over him and of the water--the cool sea water,
+where he would not only be eased and comforted, but where he would be
+safe. But alas! he had gone so far from the water in his eagerness to
+get near that treacherous music that it was now impossible to get
+back. It was always a great effort for him to walk on land and very
+exhausting, but now he was getting so weak that he could scarcely move
+at all.
+
+In vain he looked round for that fisherman, but the fisherman took
+very good care to keep on the blind side of him, for a wounded seal is
+a dangerous animal to face. In vain he tried over and over again to
+turn round and make his way back to the sea, all the time sending
+forth harsh cries, which filled the air with curious echoes.
+
+His voice grew hoarser and fainter after a few minutes, and his
+flabby, soft body was now lying in a pool of thick, dark blood, which
+trickled down the banks and crept in between the grass, stones and
+pebbles as though to hide itself.
+
+Presently there was a convulsive struggle, a faint sound like a soft,
+hoarse whisper, and Seela was dead. He had been a real old rascal in
+his time, and had scarcely ever thought of any one but himself:
+moreover, he had robbed the fishermen time after time of their food,
+and yet he had died at last, not from any fresh treachery or meanness,
+but simply from a love of music, which had drawn him on and led him to
+his death.
+
+
+
+
+BRUNIE, THE BEAR
+
+
+Brunie was feeling very lonely and sad, and sat, with her brown body
+all huddled up, sucking the soles of her feet in a subdued,
+disconsolate manner.
+
+For the summer was over; October had come with its autumnal chills and
+cloudy days, and Brunie's husband had already betaken himself to his
+winter quarters to commence his long sleep, utterly regardless, and
+supremely indifferent, as to what became of his wife.
+
+He had fattened himself well before retiring by eating large
+quantities of honey, nice ripe cranberries, blueberries, raspberries,
+strawberries, cloudberries, and all sorts of other berries which grow
+so plentifully in the Scandinavian forests; not to speak of some
+beautiful, ripe corn, which he had eaten in a luxurious manner--
+seating himself on his wide haunches, and collecting with his
+outstretched arms great sheaves at a time, the ears of which he picked
+off and consumed at his leisure.
+
+Then he had laid in a good stock of ants and ants' eggs, together with
+the remains of pine leaves, and other substances which he had
+scratched out of the ants' nests.
+
+Old Bruin knew perfectly well that this matter, composed of pine
+leaves and other substances, was absolutely essential to him for the
+winter, for this is what makes the "_tappen_." And as the bear sleeps
+the whole of the winter without food, nature has provided this
+wonderful contrivance by which he can go on sleeping and remain as fat
+as ever.
+
+As his stomach receives no food, it naturally becomes empty, and, when
+empty, subsides into a very small space. Then the "_tappen_" comes
+forward, blocks up a passage in the stomach, so that no food can pass
+through the system, and stays there until the bear wakes up in the
+spring. Then, as soon as he begins to take food, everything goes on as
+before.
+
+Brunie knew perfectly well, as she sat there sucking her feet--for she
+changed the thick, hard skin which covered the soles of her feet every
+winter, and the sucking helped the new growth--that it was quite time
+she also looked out for and prepared her winter home.
+
+And so when she had sucked them a little while longer, she hunted
+round for some nice convenient cave or hollow, and chose one which was
+hidden so cunningly that no one but a bear would have guessed at its
+existence.
+
+Some bears make a big hillock of moss, and crawl into the middle of
+it, but Brunie preferred a cave; it was warmer, more private, and not
+so likely to be discovered, for she was looking forward to an
+important domestic event, and wished for privacy.
+
+Having selected her winter home, she collected as many branches of the
+pine tree as she could find, and with some dry leaves, grass and twigs
+nearly filled up the cave, only leaving just enough room for herself
+to crawl in.
+
+She, also, had been feeding well, and had become tremendously fat, for
+some of her feasts had been enormous.
+
+But it was the end of October before she had completed her house and
+prepared to settle herself for her winter nap. The last thing she did
+before she went in was to have a big feed of honey, and a lot of
+bother and trouble she had to take to obtain it. For the little bees
+resented the big, brown animal coming and deliberately, eating up the
+whole of their winter stock which had taken them one long, long summer
+to collect.
+
+But Brunie cared nothing about their anger, and their tiny stings
+could not penetrate her long, thick coat, and a good feed of honey was
+always worth a little trouble.
+
+So, after patting the hives with her big paws in order to make the
+bees fly away, she lifted up the beautifully made honeycombs and
+devoured them ravenously.
+
+Having eaten as much as she possibly could, she then betook herself,
+feeling very subdued and lonely, and very, very sleepy, to her nice,
+comfortable cave, and in a short time was fast asleep.
+
+She remembered nothing more and never knew--and indeed was far too
+sleepy to care--that one of those horrible hunters had passed by the
+very mouth of her cave without knowing she was there.
+
+But he had found Mr. Bruin, however, a little further on. He also was
+so dreadfully sleepy that he could not rouse himself, and the hunter
+could hardly get him even to turn over so that he could get a good
+shot at him.
+
+But he was able to manage the deed very comfortably, as Bruin showed
+no signs of waking up; and having killed him, dragged him out with the
+help of some other hunters, stripped off his nice warm coat, and then
+had a good meal of bear steak, of which hunters are very fond.
+
+But Brunie never even heard the shots which killed her husband,
+although they were so close by, and the vibrations made the very
+leaves and twigs on which she was lying quiver again.
+
+She slept heavily on and on, in her snug home, but about the beginning
+of February woke up, gave one big yawn, and then bustled about.
+
+For she was a very important bear that day.
+
+The next day she was a more important bear still, for she was a mother
+bear, and had four pretty little children--very small, only about six
+or eight inches in length, but finely made little animals, and all
+healthy and strong.
+
+Very, very pleased and proud Brunie was of them, and very tender and
+careful.
+
+She had forgotten all about Bruin, her husband, now, her only thought
+being for her little ones.
+
+She kept them carefully in the nice warm cave until the cold weather
+had passed, and the little bears knew that all they had to do if they
+felt chilly was to creep up to their mother, and nestle in among her
+nice warm fur.
+
+And, oh, how proud Brunie felt when she had them all nestling up to
+her like that! And, oh, how happy she was! Surely no bear ever had
+such beautiful cubs as hers! And so well had she chosen her home that
+no one--not even a hunter--ever found the mother bear and her little
+ones.
+
+Her naturally affectionate nature glowed with love, and not once did
+she leave her children until the spring had fairly set in, and she
+began to think it was time to set about finding a little food for
+herself.
+
+It was, however, very scarce. There were no nice berries or corn, and
+very little honey left. But she found some winter vegetables and
+several kinds of roots, nuts, snails, small limbs of aspen trees, and
+plenty of acorns; so that she was able to make a good meal, and then
+lumber heavily back to her cave.
+
+It was April now, and the other mother-bears began to make their
+appearance with their various families, and the male bears, too, began
+to wake up and come out.
+
+Once having got over their long winter sleep, bears begin to be
+sociable again, and take an interest in their fellow-creatures.
+
+The mother-bears were particularly busy, for they had to teach and
+educate their little ones, and there is no quainter sight on the earth
+than a heavy, lumbering, brown mother-bear followed by her funny
+little woolly cubs.
+
+Brunie commenced to take her children now for daily walks, showed them
+the most likely places to find dainty bits of food, taught them to
+climb and dig, and, as they grew older, to swim; and, by way of
+amusement when resting occasionally, told them about their many
+relations who existed in all parts of the world.
+
+She told them about their various cousins: the Black Bear, the Syrian
+bear, the Grizzly bear of America the Thibetan sun bear, the Polar
+bear of the Arctic regions, the Aswail hear of India, the Bruany bear
+(also of India), the Sloth bear, the White bear, and the Brown bears
+who lived in Asia.
+
+The bear family was so varied, and so enormously large, Brunie
+explained to them, that she did not even know one-quarter of her own
+brown bears who lived in Northern Europe.
+
+She told them, too--for she was a very intelligent mother-bear--that
+in whatever country bears lived they were peculiarly adapted to it.
+The Polar bear, for instance, had nice thick fur all over the bottoms
+of his feet; this protected him from the intense cold of the ice, and
+also prevented him from slipping. Then the bears who lived in hot
+countries did not have such thick coats as those who lived where it
+was cold.
+
+"But," said Brunie, in conclusion, "all bears are very much alike, and
+have much the same habits; all can climb, dig and swim, and all are
+very, very fond of honey."
+
+And the little bears listened to it all, and thought what a nice
+little mother-bear Brunie was, and what an extremely important family
+they belonged to.
+
+But, as the months went on, Brunie began to get very thin and very
+touchy and irritable, and by the time June came she was so cross and
+savage that even her little ones were sometimes afraid of her.
+Curiously enough, all the other bears were just as cross and savage as
+Brunie; perhaps it was that they were all so dreadfully thin. But,
+whatever the reason, they snarled and growled, quarreled and fought
+until sometimes the little bears wondered what on earth was the
+matter.
+
+The male bears seemed to be particularly savage, and even the hunters
+--those men who never seemed to be afraid of anything: not even a bear
+--were very careful to keep at a safe distance, and never attempted to
+molest them in any way.
+
+All through that month of June the amiable affectionate nature of the
+bears seemed to have departed, and left in its place a vindictive,
+irritable and savage one--savage to their companions and to everything
+but the little cubs, and these the mother-bears never forsook. They
+took the same care of them as formerly, and fed and cared for them in
+spite of their irritable, bad-tempered mood. And woe betide anything,
+whether man or beast, who attempted to touch their little ones.
+
+Brunie herself had a terrible time one day, when a band of hunters,
+seeing a mother-bear and her cubs alone, tried to capture them.
+
+Furious with rage, Brunie rose up, and in her stiff, ungainly way went
+to meet them. Each of the hunters held a hatchet in his hands ready to
+strike at her, but Brunie cared not for hatchets, or anything else,
+where her little ones were concerned, and, going straight up to one of
+the hunters, she reared up on her hind feet, and with a terrific blow
+with one of her fore paws, which she aimed direct at the hunter's
+head, she killed him on the spot.
+
+Not hesitating a moment, she did the same with two other hunters,
+always aiming her blows at the head. And here she proved the truth of
+an old Scandinavian proverb, which says that, "a bear has the strength
+of ten men and the sense of twelve." Brunie knew perfectly well that
+the quickest way to kill a man was to aim all the blows at his head,
+and this she did with fearful effect.
+
+But when she was finishing the fourth, another hunter ran up and
+struck her a fearful blow with his hatchet, which cut deeply into her
+hind leg, severing some of the tendons, and causing the blood to gush
+forth and dye the spot a deep, dark red.
+
+At the same moment that he dealt Brunie the blow, the hunter, with a
+deft movement, captured one of her cubs, and while Brunie's attention
+was taken up with the two remaining hunters her little one was carried
+off.
+
+[Illustration: "FURIOUS WITH RAGE, BRUNIE ROSE UP AND WENT TO MEET
+THEM"]
+
+But the pain of her wound and the loss of her cub made Brunie so
+wildly fierce and savage that the two hunters, remembering the fate of
+their comrades, came to the conclusion that "discretion was the better
+part of valor," and with much difficulty managed to get away.
+
+Poor Brunie was, by this time, weak from loss of blood, and sat down,
+doing her best to lick her wound and comfort her remaining cubs. The
+little ones in their turn did their best for her, helping her to lick
+the sore place, and every now and then sucking it with their little
+lips.
+
+This adventure upset poor Brunie for several days, and the loss of
+blood made her more weak, irritable and savage than ever.
+
+But she had not forgotten the hunter that struck her with his hatchet,
+or the loss of her little one, and so, one warm moonlight night, when
+she was feeling better, and her three remaining cubs were in a sound
+sleep, she betook herself quietly through the forest, and at last came
+near the very place where that particular hunter lived.
+
+There was but one field that separated her from the hunter's house,
+and that was occupied by big, horned cattle, and these cattle, not
+liking the look of Brunie in the moonlight, and not having sense
+enough to keep quiet and not molest her, commenced at once to bellow
+and charge at her as soon as she entered the field.
+
+Brunie had never, like some bears, gone in for cattle killing, but had
+always kept to a vegetable diet; and she was not at all anxious--
+particularly at this moment--to have anything to do with cattle. So,
+with a few growls and a hoarse kind of a grumbling sound, she took no
+notice of them, but swung herself heavily along towards the farmyard.
+
+The cattle, unfortunately, had not sense enough to let well enough
+alone and allow her to go quietly on her way, but kept on bellowing,
+prancing about and charging until Brunie lost her temper.
+
+What! She could not even cross a field without these stupid cattle
+bothering and worrying her to death, when her little one was a few
+yards off, and already calling for her! It was too much. So, with a
+growl of rage, which was more like a hoarse bellow, Brunie made for
+them, and very soon killed two or three. So excited did she become at
+last, that for the moment she even forgot her beloved little one, and
+set herself to work all the destruction she possibly could, out of
+pure revenge.
+
+But the bellowing and lowing of the cattle, and the growling and
+grumbling of the bear, had awakened the hunter, and, while Brunie was
+killing off his cattle, he called up his farm hands, and was already
+on the spot with guns, and quite close to her before she had any idea
+of it.
+
+Hiding themselves under the shade of some bushes, the hunter and his
+men waited until a fine young heifer galloped madly by them followed
+by Brunie, and then fired. No less than five of the shots took effect,
+and poor Brunie's life-blood began to gush out.
+
+But, recalled to herself and her mission by her danger, she bethought
+herself of her little one, and, never stopping to even look at her
+enemies, made straight for the farmyard, where her beloved one was
+calling her, leaving a trail of blood as she went.
+
+Had her cub not been there, she would have faced the hunter and his
+men, and probably have dispatched them in a few minutes; as it was,
+having forgotten the cattle, her mother-love returned, and she
+determined to get her cub if she died for it.
+
+But, curiously enough, the little bear seemed to be fully aware of his
+mother's presence, and, as she came closer, his excitement grew
+intense, and, calling forth all his strength, by one desperate push he
+broke open the door of his shed and trotted forth to meet his dying
+mother.
+
+Poor Brunie sank down just as he came up to her, and licked and
+caressed him in a most touching fashion, while the little cub,
+overwhelmed with joy--and yet uneasy and worried at his mother's
+condition--gave alternate little sounds of pleasure and fright and
+distress.
+
+Brunie's joy was complete at having her cub restored to her, but her
+head was swimming and her eyes growing dim, and she groped in vain
+through the gathering darkness to catch a glimpse of her little one.
+She was lying at full length, with one huge paw stretched out towards
+the cub in a peculiarly pathetic manner, and panting her life out when
+the hunter and his men came up.
+
+A few more pants, a struggle, and, with a deep gasp, Brunie lay quite,
+quite still, while the little cub jumped about, restless and ill at
+ease, and giving little, beseeching cries of distress.
+
+First making sure, as he thought, that the bear was dead, the hunter
+attempted, with the help of his men, to once more capture the cub. But
+Brunie had--as all bears have--extreme tenacity of life, and she
+seemed to have compressed all her energy into her last moment of
+existence; for she was not yet dead, as the hunter supposed, and, just
+as he laid hands on the cub, with a great effort she raised herself
+up, struck him a terrible blow on his head, which killed him
+instantly, and then sank back and died.
+
+And this was the end of Brunie. Had she lived she would probably, as
+all mother-bears do, have taken great care of her children all the
+summer, but in the winter she would have left them, for she would
+probably have had another family, which would have taken up all her
+time and attention.
+
+As it was, the little cubs had to do the best they could, and soon
+learned to shift for themselves.
+
+The little captured one--after he had got over the death of his
+mother--grew quite tame, and was taught many tricks. He was always
+well treated and well fed, and he grew extremely fond of his master;
+and there he may be seen to this day, walking and running about that
+Scandinavian farm, scaring the other animals, thinking a great deal of
+himself, but always looking just what he is--a brown bear.
+
+
+
+
+MONA, THE MONKEY
+
+
+A Senegal forest in Western Africa is an ideal home for a monkey--a
+perfect paradise, in fact.
+
+The trees, with their delightful branches, which seem to be just made
+for monkeys to sit on; the nice, bushy leaves, which form such cosy
+hiding-places, and the delicious nuts, berries and various kinds of
+fruit, all combine to make monkey life extremely happy.
+
+In this delightful place, one fine, warm evening, Mona was born.
+
+His mother had prepared her nursery some time before; she had built a
+nice little hut, where it was warm and dry, under the outgrowing
+boughs of a tree; had carpeted it with thick, dry leaves and grass,
+twined and interlaced twigs and branches overhead to keep out the
+fierce rays of the midday sun and the occasional heavy showers, and
+had, in fact, made it just as cosy as it was possible for a monkey
+nursery to be.
+
+So, in one way, Mona's birth took place under good auspices, and he,
+being her first-born, more than came up to his mother's expectations.
+In her eyes he was the finest, the strongest and the most beautiful
+monkey that had ever existed, and although he whimpered all through
+that night, and squirmed and wrinkled up his already wrinkled little
+face into the most hideous contortions and grimaces, he was,
+notwithstanding, an ideal and lovely baby.
+
+His mother forgot all her anxieties and troubles respecting him, and
+gathered him to her motherly breast with a little guttural cry of joy.
+
+Unlike most of her tribe, Monica, Mona's mother, was somewhat
+reserved, and had not, as is usually the case with matronly monkeys,
+chattered and gossiped about her private affairs. And, as she clasped
+her little son to her, with her mother's heart swelling with love and
+pride, she thought, with pleasurable anticipation, of the surprise and
+gossip there would be in the morning when the wonderful event became
+known.
+
+But Monica understood little of her own species if she thought this
+great secret was to be kept until the morning; for several neighbors
+heard that little whimpering cry, and pricked up their sharp little
+ears, while their little eyes glinted about, and in a very short time
+their active bodies scrambled down from their various night abodes,
+and peeped, with true monkey curiosity, into Monica's hut.
+
+Instantly there was the very greatest excitement. Most of the
+newcomers were mothers themselves, and therefore understood all about
+it, and the way in which a baby monkey should be treated from the very
+first. One and all began telling Monica what to do, giving her good
+advice, and many scoldings for not letting them into the secret.
+
+But Monica took very little notice; she hugged her baby all the
+closer, and her bright little eyes glanced quickly and furtively round
+at the newcomers, only she felt prouder than ever.
+
+She was induced, after much persuasion, to allow the baby to be
+inspected, which the newcomers did thoroughly. Not an eye, a limb, a
+finger-nail, or even a hair, escaped their attention, but were
+examined and criticized with the utmost gravity.
+
+One old mother monkey, who had a large family herself, regarded the
+baby gravely, and her worried, careworn old face looked a little more
+worried and a little more careworn, if possible, while criticizing
+him.
+
+"Isn't he lovely?" Monica whispered proudly.
+
+"Not a bad baby," the old mother monkey said, gravely, "but delicate,
+Monica, delicate--and born under an unlucky star."
+
+The young mother started, and grasped her baby as though it were going
+to be torn from her.
+
+"He will never have any luck," the mother monkey went on, gravely;
+"but he will never come to very much harm.
+
+"He will never have any luck, but he will never come to very much
+harm." This significant sentence Monica repeated to herself, over and
+over again, all through that night, never losing the dread which this
+ominous saying had implanted in her heart. The dreadful words seemed
+to be ringing in her ears all the time the chattering of the neighbors
+was going on, and when they had left her, and had gone back to their
+respective homes, full of the new event, she listened to their
+chattering dying away in the distance, and then suddenly a few hot
+tears fell on the baby's head. And these few tears were Mona's
+christening.
+
+The next day, however, Monica began to think she had been very foolish
+in paying any attention to what the old mother monkey had said. The
+joy of motherhood, and the proud possession of a baby monkey of her
+own, eclipsed everything else, even the ominous warning. She was so
+busy, too, with the cares and duties of motherhood; there was so much
+to be seen and attended to, and the new baby required so much
+attention.
+
+Monica was very, very proud of him, but as the days grew into weeks
+she began to wish that Mona, as she had called him, and which was a
+family name, would not whimper quite so much; it made her nervous
+sometimes, and irritated her, and once she had even gone so far as to
+give him a smart slap in reprimand. She began to realize, too, as time
+went on, that there was something in what the mother monkey had said:
+Mona was decidedly delicate and undoubtedly unlucky.
+
+When he was about a week old, his mother left him for a somewhat
+longer time than usual to get a little fresh fruit for herself. Before
+leaving Mona, however, she had given him his breakfast of nice, warm
+milk, and covered him over with dry leaves and grass. Not that it was
+cold, but by covering him up she guarded against danger. His funny
+little, brown head and face were so much the color and so like the dry
+leaves and grass he was lying in that it would have been very
+difficult for anyone but a mother monkey to know that there was
+anything there at all.
+
+Monica waited until she was quite sure that he was asleep, and then
+stole away.
+
+But, for some reason or other, Mona was not particularly sleepy that
+morning, and after a short nap opened his bright little eyes and
+glanced quickly round. His mother was not to be seen, but he did not
+mind that very much; he was not hungry and he was very comfortable; so
+he just lay where he was, and amused himself by picking to pieces some
+of the long grass and ferns which formed his bed with his nimble
+little fingers. At the same time he pricked up his sharp little ears
+so he would be able to hear his mother a long way off.
+
+There was a little rustle, presently, and for a moment Mona thought
+his mother was returning, but yet it did not sound quite like her. It
+was a peculiar rustling of leaves and grass, which kept on softly and
+continuously. His mother rustled the grass and leaves, it is true, but
+she always made sharp little pats and thumps as she came along. There
+were no pats and thumps now, only one long, soft, continued rustle.
+
+Mona had no fear, simply from the fact that as yet he knew nothing to
+be afraid of. And so, as the rustling went on, he poked up his small
+head sharply, and peered curiously around. There was nothing to be
+seen, however, and from the moment he made the movement the rustling
+had ceased.
+
+What could it be? he wondered. He was a born monkey, and he had as
+much curiosity as any other member of his tribe, and, baby as he was,
+he determined to find out; so, keeping perfectly still, he waited
+until the rustling began again.
+
+This time it was much nearer, and in some vague, incomprehensible way
+Mona felt horribly frightened, at what he could not think or imagine;
+but he had a curious, uncanny feeling, and he shivered all over, while
+from some reason or other he was unable to move anything but his quick
+little eyes, which darted hither and thither, up and down, although
+his small head was as motionless as a statue.
+
+Suddenly, however, his quick little eyes stopped darting hither and
+thither, for in one corner of the hut a something, which was lying
+coiled up there, drew his eyes in spite of himself, and, do what he
+would, he could not turn them back again.
+
+The Something was a long, long, thick coil, with a curious flat head,
+horrible eyes, and a frightful thing, in the shape of a two-pronged
+fork, which darted in and out of his wide mouth so quickly that it was
+difficult to tell when it was in and when it was out.
+
+The horrible thing began to wave its head to and fro with a weird,
+graceful movement, and, as it waved, so Mona's eyes followed it--to
+and fro, to and fro--followed it because he could not help himself.
+
+He was so young that as yet he could only crawl feebly round the hut,
+but at this moment he felt bound to go towards this horrible thing,
+although he was frightened, and although he did his very best to keep
+back.
+
+Trembling all over, and too terrified to utter one little cry for his
+mother, Mona found himself at last outside his bed, getting nearer and
+nearer to that horrible thing in the corner. His poor, little head
+began to feel sick and dizzy; his poor little limbs were shaking so
+that he could scarcely move, and yet he was going on and on, closer
+and closer, and not once since he encountered the gaze of those
+terrible eyes had he been able to move his own.
+
+At this moment he became so frightfully sick and giddy, while his eyes
+were getting so strained that they ached painfully, that he began to
+forget where he was. He seemed to be going off in some dreadful dream
+from which he had no power to rouse himself; and there was a curious
+hissing going on, which seemed to have a dreadful menace in it.
+
+Just as he was going off in this dream, however, he heard faintly in
+the distance his mother's voice. He did his best to call to her, to
+cry out, but he was going deeper and deeper into the dream, and in a
+very few seconds knew nothing more.
+
+When Mona woke up it was to find his little mother's arms round him;
+his little mother raining tears of joy and thankfulness upon his face,
+and a number of sympathizing neighbors chattering at the very top of
+their voices.
+
+Mona, it seemed, had had a terrible adventure. Such a narrow escape,
+in fact, that it was a great wonder he was still alive. For the
+horrible thing in the corner turned out to be a dreadful snake.
+
+"One of our greatest enemies," his mother told him, her motherly eyes
+still full of tears. "Monkeys have such a lot of enemies, Mona," she
+said, gently. "There are snakes, and leopards, and parrots and--"
+
+"Tut, tut!" the old mother-monkey interrupted, sharply. "What is the
+good of telling the child all that? He will get to know fast enough."
+
+"But if he had known," Monica said, gently, caressing her little one
+with a tender air, and feeling thankful--oh, so thankful!--that she
+had arrived just in time to call off the snake's attention. "If he had
+known, he might have--"
+
+"Well, what could he have done?" the old mother monkey said, sharply.
+"You know what snakes are."
+
+All the monkeys gathered together, shivered, and glanced round
+uneasily.
+
+"You know what snakes are; what can you do when you are brought face
+to face with them like that, and both in a hut?"
+
+Monica nodded gravely, and felt more thankful than ever that her baby
+had been spared to her.
+
+"I told you he was unlucky," the old mother monkey said, gravely, "but
+I also told you that he would never come to much harm."
+
+And so it proved. For Mona, as life went on, was always unlucky, but
+he never came to much harm, although he had some exciting adventures.
+
+As he grew up he became stronger, but always remained a quiet monkey,
+inclined to whimper.
+
+Quiet monkeys, when inclined to whimper, always have a bad time. Their
+fellow-monkeys have no patience with their delicacy or whimpering, and
+do their very best to impress this upon their fellow-creatures as much
+as possible, in a practical manner. Slaps, sharp tweaks of the tail,
+and continual teazing, are considered good for both these complaints,
+and of these little Mona got the full benefit. Altogether, he had an
+extremely hard time of it.
+
+To begin with, none of the other monkeys seemed to care to associate
+with him. They never gambolled about and let him join; never asked or
+even attempted to attend to his toilet for him; and the only part of
+his person which appeared to form any attraction was his tail, which,
+he being a Mona monkey, was an extremely long one.
+
+There were times when Mona wished he had no tail; it was impossible to
+keep it still; he was busy all day long whisking it about out of the
+way of mischievous fingers.
+
+Unlike all the other monkeys, who sat about in groups, chattering,
+screaming, laughing and scolding, as they felt inclined, Mona
+generally sat quite alone, with his pathetic little face looking very
+miserable, and his sad eyes following the many groups of monkeys from
+place to place.
+
+Mona was a great admirer of the beautiful, and the Vervet monkeys were
+his chief admiration. Now, these little Vervet monkeys think a great
+deal of themselves, and consider, in their own way, that they are the
+masters of the Senegal woods; they are deeply insulted and fiercely
+angry should a stranger intrude into their domain, and make no
+scruples about showing what they feel.
+
+They sit about on the branches in immense troops, and are so
+wonderfully quick and active that at times it is almost impossible to
+follow their movements.
+
+Very knowing, and cautious, too, are the little Vervets; a stranger
+may be sitting underneath the very tree on which they are crowding,
+and not have the faintest idea that there is a monkey near him; should
+he suddenly look up, however, he would see some hundreds of little
+heads peeping through the branches, and hundreds of sharp little eyes
+watching his every movement. Should they wish to attract the
+stranger's attention, they will drop a stick so cleverly, and with
+such precision, that it often hits his nose.
+
+Many a morning Mona passed watching the gambols and the amusing tricks
+of the little Vervets; but they never invited him to come and play
+with them or to take any part in their games. For one thing, he was a
+Mona monkey, and the families or tribes in the Senegal forest are very
+particular about keeping together.
+
+There was one monkey, of another family, that Mona took great interest
+in, and this was a little white-nosed lady-monkey.
+
+This white-nosed monkey was a curious little creature; she had a big,
+white spot on her nose, like all her family, and a little fringe of
+white hair all around her face, which looked as though she had put her
+collar round her face instead of her neck, and gave her a somewhat
+ludicrous air.
+
+But not in Mona's eyes. In Mona's eyes she was absolutely beautiful,
+and her long tail--nearly black at the top and dwindling to a peculiar
+greyish hue at the bottom--was another source of admiration to him.
+
+The little white-nosed monkey was a born flirt; graceful, petulant and
+coquettish to a degree, and she knew perfectly well from the very
+first that Mona admired her. She was quite content to be admired, and
+was, in fact--like all white-nosed monkeys--particularly fond of
+notice and admiration, not to speak of nuts.
+
+She took care to come, day after day, to some conspicuous place where
+Mona could have a good view of her. But this was not all for Mona's
+edification; she had another admirer, and this was a Patas, or red
+monkey.
+
+This red monkey was a big fellow, three feet in length, who, with his
+bright, chestnut fur, with its deep shade of red, and his darkish,
+cream-colored legs, thought a good deal of himself.
+
+He detested Mona monkeys, and waged war on them continually; but it
+was not until the fourth day that he discovered the presence of Mona,
+and found, to his very great disgust, that he was admiring the little
+white-nosed monkey, too.
+
+This was quite enough. Down came the red monkey so quickly, so softly
+and swiftly, that he was on Mona before he realized his presence.
+
+The wicked little white-nosed monkey knew perfectly well what was
+going to happen, and sat up on her branch, put on her most coquettish
+air, and prepared to thoroughly enjoy herself.
+
+As a rule, Mona had not much spirit, but he realized that his beloved
+one was looking on, and he made a brave fight. But the red monkey of
+Senegal is a very powerful animal when provoked, and he was not going
+to stand any nonsense from a Mona monkey, and so it came to pass that,
+after a few minutes' sharp fight, poor little Mona was only too
+thankful to creep painfully away and hide himself under some bushes,
+where he cried bitterly.
+
+Sad to relate, the little white-nosed monkey, after this, took no
+further notice of Mona, but sneered and jeered at him whenever an
+opportunity offered. She did her best to show him that she despised
+him, and wished to have nothing more to do with him. And Mona took it
+meekly, as he took most things.
+
+There was one tribe of monkeys, however, that even Mona would have
+nothing to do with, and these were the "Knuckle-Walkers." These
+Knuckle-Walkers had not yet become civilized enough to learn how to
+walk on the palms of their hands, and no monkey tribe, who thinks
+anything of itself, ever associated with the Knuckle-Walkers. They
+were a distinct race of monkeys, and this fact was impressed on them
+rather forcibly occasionally.
+
+Mona had lost his mother by this time. Loving and gentle as she had
+been when Mona was a baby, as he grew up she grew tired of him, and,
+as she had other children since his birth, she had moved off with them
+to another part of the forest.
+
+Mona had learned by this time that if ever the other monkeys were
+friendly towards him, it was simply that they wanted to make use of
+him in some way or other.
+
+One eventful day they had invited him to a feast of parrots' feathers.
+The young tail feathers of these birds, if plucked out properly,
+contain some delicious juicy stuff in the quill parts which all
+monkeys love. Perhaps, it is the difficulty of obtaining this
+delicious stuff which makes it seem doubly delightful; but, whatever
+it is, all monkeys will go through a great deal to obtain it.
+
+Mona was deputed to stand in front of the parrots to take off their
+attention. He was told that this was not nearly so dangerous as
+pulling the feathers out, and so he believed what was told him, and
+did his best to attract the parrot's attention, while his fellow-
+monkeys got behind and pulled out its feathers.
+
+In doing this, careful as he was, poor Mona got some terrific pecks,
+one of which nearly blinded him; for a parrot's beak can inflict a bad
+wound, especially if he is really angry.
+
+As Mona did not get a single feather as a reward, he never again
+consented to attract a parrot's attention while the others obtained
+their feast.
+
+It was always the same; Mona never came to much harm, yet he was
+always unlucky.
+
+Once he had really been very much in love with a little lady monkey of
+his own tribe, and for a time she had seemed very fond of him. But,
+alas, just as they were getting on so beautifully, the little lady
+monkey was killed in a quarrel, and poor Mona was left lonely once
+more.
+
+Another time Mona was sitting on a branch of a tree, thinking about
+many sad things, when a little movement in front attracted his
+attention. In an instant his bright little eyes glanced down, and
+there, creeping slowly up the thick trunk of the tree, was a jaguar.
+
+All the other monkeys were away; they had seen him long ago, but Mona
+had been dreaming.
+
+With a shrill shriek of terror, Mona looked round for some way of
+escape, but there was none. To jump would be fatal; to stay where he
+was would be also fatal. And so Mona crouched down, crying so
+bitterly, and making such pathetic, little gestures of appeal that
+even the heart of a jaguar ought to have been touched.
+
+But jaguars have very little heart, and they are extremely fond of
+monkeys; so, notwithstanding Mona's little beseeching prayers, with
+one soft spring the jaguar leaped, and in a few moments Mona was no
+more.
+
+His sad little life, with all its troubles and loneliness, was at an
+end, and there was not even one monkey to mourn for him.
+
+"A very good thing," the red monkey said, disdainfully. "I hated that
+Mona monkey. If it hadn't been for him, I should have married the
+little white-nosed monkey; as it was, she ran away, and married one of
+her own tribe."
+
+[Illustration: MONA DID HIS BEST TO ATTRACT THE PARROT'S ATTENTION"]
+
+"I always said," the old mother monkey remarked, who had looked on at
+the death from a safe corner. "I always said that Mona was unlucky."
+
+"Yes," jeered the red monkey, "but you also said that he would never
+come to much harm. And he was killed by a jaguar."
+
+"He never came to much harm in life," the old mother monkey said,
+impressively; "but he died as a great many other monkeys do, a quick
+death. Far better that"--with a sad and somewhat grave shake of the
+head--" far better--far more happy--than to grow old and stiff and
+feeble. But I always liked Mona, and I am sorry that he is dead."
+
+And so it came to pass that the only one who felt the least sorrow or
+faintest regret was the old mother monkey, who had been one of the
+first to see Mona after he was born.
+
+
+
+
+BULON, THE BUFFALO
+
+
+In the thick mud of one of the marshy swamps of South Africa a herd of
+buffaloes, some sixteen in number, stood almost knee-deep. The thick
+fog which arose from the swamp hung round and about like a huge,
+vapory cloud, making the hot air moist and stifling.
+
+But the buffaloes cared not; to them it was pleasant and enjoyable,
+and they, one and all, stood placidly chewing their cuds and gazing
+calmly at nothing in particular.
+
+The leader of the herd, a sturdy, shaggy animal of exceptional size,
+stood a little apart from the others, on guard and on the lookout for
+danger. The birds of the herd fluttered and hopped around and appeared
+to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.[Footnote: A herd of buffaloes is
+generally accompanied by one or more red-beaked rhinoceros birds.
+These birds feed on the ticks or insects which infest the animals'
+skin, and also give warning of danger.--_Author._]
+
+It was such fun to fly from one animal to another, perching lightly on
+the mass of woolly hair, and then to peep and hunt, first with one
+bright little eye and then with the other, until some unwary insect
+came in sight. These little insects--the ticks--were quick and moved
+with lightning-like rapidity, but they were not so quick as the birds,
+for, almost before they realized their danger, the sharp red beaks
+opened simultaneously with a quick dart forward of their heads, and
+the next instant the insects were out of sight.
+
+Bulon, the leader of the herd, glanced from under his shaggy brows,
+first at the birds and then at the buffaloes; his wild fiery eyes were
+blood-red, and his shaggy mane and almost hairless shanks--for he was
+getting old--showed unmistakable signs of a recent fight.
+
+And a terrible fight it had been, too, for one of the younger males
+had dared to show a little attention to one of Bulon's wives, and this
+in buffalo land is a great insult and not to be overlooked.
+
+So Bulon had promptly challenged the offender; his rival had just as
+promptly responded to the challenge, and a great fight they had. In
+times gone by no one would have dared to interfere with Bulon, unless,
+perhaps, the leader of some other herd, for in those days his strength
+had been magnificent, and even lions and tigers quailed before him.
+But old age was creeping on, which the other buffaloes realized only
+too quickly. His massive shoulders and sturdy limbs were shrinking a
+little, while his tough, thick skin was now almost hairless, except
+for his mane and a thin fringe on his back and withers.
+
+But, in spite of his age and diminished strength, Bulon had won the
+day. It had seemed doubtful at first, very doubtful, and some of the
+herd had looked on with interest, but with grave doubts as to the
+result.
+
+A male buffalo is one of the most jealous things on the face of the
+earth, and his jealousy makes him quite mad for the time being. In a
+fight neither will give in until one kills the other, and so it was in
+Bulon's case. He was determined to get the best of it, for he knew
+that, should the other buffalo kill him, the herd would probably
+select the conqueror as its leader in his place.
+
+But, after a great clashing of horns, stamping of hoofs, and sharp
+snorts and grunts, Bulon's opponent began to breathe heavily and show
+signs of distress, and when this took place the fight soon came to an
+end.
+
+Bulon followed up his advantage with true buffalo skill, and in a very
+short time his enemy was in the dust and panting out his life. The
+fight once over, the herd moved on, leaving the dying buffalo by
+himself, for, in animal life, the old, sick or decrepit, are always
+treated with contempt.
+
+Bulon led the way until they reached a nice, muddy swamp. The birds,
+however, having given warning of approaching danger, the males
+stationed themselves in an irregular circle in all the most dangerous
+positions--having first put the mothers and calves in the middle--
+while Bulon stood a little apart and kept his wicked little eyes first
+on the herd and then on the birds. He knew as well as the birds that
+an enemy was near, and but for this would have given the signal to
+feed. But the buffaloes were quite content; they were knee-deep in
+mud, surrounded by a thick, damp, hot mist, and as they were not
+particularly hungry, stood still and ruminated--that is to say, chewed
+their cuds and enjoyed themselves.
+
+Having four stomachs, buffaloes' food has the same process to go
+through as the food of all ruminants; that is to say, when vegetable
+matter is first eaten, it passes into the first stomach, where it
+stays until it is ready for the next one. The second stomach is much
+smaller, and covered with a number of curious little cells. After it
+has been in the second stomach for some time, and whenever the buffalo
+feels ready for it, the food comes back into the mouth, and he then
+bites or masticates it just as long as he likes. This is "chewing the
+cud." When he has finished chewing the cud, the food goes into the
+third stomach, and after it has been there some time, it passes into
+the fourth one, where it is at last digested. So, although Bulon would
+not give the signal to feed, the buffaloes were quite happy, as they
+had plenty of food with which to chew the cud--an action which is
+invariably a sign of placid content among ruminants.
+
+Bulon was the only one who was not ruminating. But then he was on the
+lookout for enemies, and, moreover, his temper was still exceedingly
+ruffled.
+
+There were signs of a storm coming up; the air was quiet and still,
+and it was in this peculiar stillness that Bulon thought he heard an
+unusual sound in the bushes. He turned his huge head and sharp eyes in
+that direction, but in the next instant there was a short, sharp
+sound--a stinging, burning, pain in his shoulder and the old buffalo
+knew that he had been wounded.
+
+Just as he realized this a small, upright form came forward from the
+left side and stood in front of him. Had the form, which was a man,
+only been in front at first, Bulon would have seen it; but he could
+not--like all buffaloes--see very well unless things were in a
+straight line before him.
+
+The moment Bulon caught sight of his enemy he made a mad rush, and as
+he plunged violently he splashed and covered the traveler with thick
+mud, which nearly blinded him. Unfortunately, Bulon was in a soft
+spot, and the more he wallowed the deeper he sank in the mud. But he
+made one grand struggle, and, getting a slight grasp, he floundered up
+and made another wild dash at his enemy. It would, indeed, have gone
+hard with the enemy if just behind him there had not grown one of
+those peculiarly thick thorn bushes which grow so plentifully in South
+Africa--a bush which has long, thick thorns like big needles.
+
+As Bulon plunged madly at his enemy, the man darted to one side, and
+Bulon crashed into the bush, running the cruel thorns into his nose
+and eyes, and tumbling head over heels with the impetus. He gathered
+himself up, nearly mad with pain--for the cruel thorns had completely
+blinded him--and in his agony tore round and round--forgetting his
+enemy--forgetting the soft, boggy spot--forgetting the herd--
+forgetting everything except the awful anguish and bewildering
+darkness.
+
+It went hard with Bulon after this, for he was in a sad plight. He had
+spent the greater part of his strength in the fight; the wallowing in
+the soft mire had exhausted him; he had a burning, raging pain in his
+shoulder caused by the bullet fired by his human enemy, while the pain
+in his poor, blinded eyes and his sensitive nose took nearly all his
+remaining strength. He felt he could not keep up his wild career much
+longer, but he kept on for a time, only stopping occasionally to rub
+his poor nose and eyes in the soft, wet ground--an action which only
+added to his misery, for the harder he rubbed the deeper he drove in
+the thorns which pierced and lacerated him, poisoning his blood and
+sowing the seeds of death.
+
+Meanwhile, the buffaloes at the sound of that peculiar "bang" stopped
+chewing their cuds instantly, and in one of their wild, excitable fits
+started off in a mad rush, males, mothers and calves all huddled
+together. In an almost incredible time the buffaloes were out of
+sight, except a few unfortunate mothers and little ones who, having
+once stumbled, lost their lives by being trampled to death by the
+others. This was the reason that Bulon, with all his bellowings of
+rage, pain and distress, received no answer to his cries, and could
+find no one of his fellow-creatures to give him comfort.
+
+The hunter had such a narrow escape from the sudden onrush of the
+buffalo that he deemed it wise--not realizing that the animal had been
+blinded--to retreat. Had he only known the piteous plight in which
+poor Bulon was, it would have been an easy matter to have put another
+bullet into him, and so ended his life and sufferings.
+
+As it was, Bulon wandered about for days in a pitiable plight. The
+wound in his shoulder, although it still contained the bullet, was not
+enough to kill him, and, although his blinded eyes and swollen nose
+caused him intense suffering, there was no likelihood of his dying for
+some days. So it was that he wandered on seeking food, and, when it
+was found, having the greatest difficulty in eating it, owing to his
+swollen nose and mouth. He did his best to follow the herd, but, as
+the days went on, he grew weaker and weaker. The thorns had caused
+inflammation now, and the only thing he could do was to sway his huge
+head from side to side, and totter with short, uneven steps over the
+heavy, marshy ground.
+
+Then came a day when he struck another treacherous, soft spot, and
+this time he had neither strength nor will to save himself. He sank
+softly and slowly into the liquid mud, which covered him as with a
+mantle, and soothed him in spite of himself, for, in any case, it
+saved him from the sharp, stinging bites of the great gadflies, which
+are able to pierce even the thick skin of the buffalo.
+
+By the time night swept over the land the only thing to be seen of
+Bulon was his grand, huge head and big horns standing out in a bold
+curve; his shaggy, woolly masses of hair, and his nose and mouth
+swollen now into an almost shapeless mass. As the night wore on,
+Bulon's sufferings increased, and his groans were unearthly sounds,
+echoing and re-echoing through the darkness.
+
+But he grew quieter at last, and towards morning, just as the sun was
+tinting the sky with glorious colors, Bulon sank a little further into
+the soft mud he had always loved so well and died.
+
+His own particular herd had forgotten all about him long before this,
+and had chosen a new leader--a young, strong, vigorous male, who was
+looked up to and respected far more than Bulon had been during the
+last few months of his life, for the buffaloes had already begun to
+realize that Bulon was getting old, and had been losing their respect
+for him accordingly.
+
+His day had passed. He had guarded his herd carefully and well; led
+them to the best swamps and pastures, and on hot days picked out the
+softest and coolest mud for his wives to wallow in, while he had
+always left the youngest and freshest food for the calves.
+
+So he had fulfilled his duties, and his many children grew up strong
+and healthy, became fathers and mothers themselves, and did very much
+the same sort of things that Bulon, the noted leader of buffaloes, had
+himself done.
+
+
+
+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #5867 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5867)