WILD ANIMALS OF AFRICA 2

IF you could have seen the lions some weeks later, you would have found a happy family indeed. In the shade of a scrawny tree lay Mrs. Lion, nursing a sore paw into which a mimosa thorn had run. Near by was Mr. Lion and the three Spotted Little Cubs. Mr. Lion and Leo were getting ready for a game of Frolic.

First, Mr. Lion licked Leo all over as tenderly as a mother cat washes her furry kittens. Then taking him in his huge paws he rolled over on his back, holding the little fellow on his chest. But the Spotted Little Cub did not stay there long. Off he tumbled and then raced around and around, while Mr. Lion rolled from side to side on his back pretending to defend himself. And he did, too, for the game of Frolic soon got out of bounds. Leo became careless and put out his claws, whereupon Mr. Lion gave him a sound smack. That ended the game of Frolic.

Mrs. Lion's foot was quite sore. She limped painfully as she and Mr. Lion left for the night's hunt. She limped back to the Sheltering Cave in the morning carrying a chunk of meat to her hungry babies. It really would have been difficult for her to catch anything if Mr. Lion had not helped. But Mr. and Mrs. Lion hunted together. While Mrs. Lion stalked along with loud grunts to frighten the prey, Mr. Lion lay hidden, ready to pounce upon any Wild Animal that tried to run past him.

So they managed to find something for their Spotted Little Cubs to eat each night until Mrs. Lion's sore foot was healed.

"Would you like to go hunting?" Mrs. Lion asked the three Spotted Little Cubs one evening, when she was ready to go out and look for something to eat.

"Oh, may we go with you, Mother?" asked Leo.

"This very night?" chimed in his sisters.

"Yes, you may go tonight," replied Mrs. Lion. And then, when the three Spotted Little Cubs began to race and tumble around her, she quickly added, "But you must be very quiet."

Leo and his sisters were more than three months old, and Mrs. Lion thought it was time for her to teach them how to hunt. They would soon be large enough to get their own food. It really was quite a task for her to carry something home to the Sheltering Cave every night so that the three Spotted Little Cubs could feast.

So they all stole forth in the bright moonlight. First there was Mrs. Lion. Then came Leo, and trailing along behind were the two sisters. Mr. Lion had become very hungry and had gone away alone earlier than usual.

First Mrs. Lion led them along a rocky trail that entered a little winding ravine, and at last they reached Grassy Valley. It seemed a long way to the Spotted Little Cubs, but it really was not far. They thought more about chasing each other in the bright moonlight than they did about looking for something to eat.

At last Mrs. Lion lost patience, and she gave Leo a smart cuff as he raced past her.

"You must be more quiet," she said in her gruff voice; "you will frighten everything away."

Then she showed them how to creep silently through the tall grass, sniffing the night air as they went along.

Suddenly Mrs. Lion stopped. "I hear zebras," she said, "and the noisy things are not far off."

She led the Spotted Little Cubs a little farther, until the Playful Air Whiffs brought the Revealing Scent of the zebras. The Spotted Little Cubs were very much excited. They wanted to race straight toward the zebras. They did not know that the zebras could easily outrun them.

"Now you must stay right here in the shadow of this crooked thorn tree," said Mrs. Lion. "Do not go out in the bright moonlight, and do not make a sound." And then she slunk silently away through the tall grass.

Of course, the three Spotted Little Cubs were greatly disappointed, but they curled up in the shadow of the crooked thorn tree and waited. They could hear the zebras barking and stamping around and arguing among themselves. Once the zebras became still, as if they had sensed a Lurking Enemy near; but soon they were as noisy as ever.

Suddenly there was a great commotion among the zebras, and their hoofs went thumping away across Grassy Valley. Then all was silence for a short while. The three Spotted Little Cubs sat in the shadow of the crooked thorn tree wondering what had happened. They pricked up their little ears and listened.

"I hear Mother calling us to supper," said Leo, and away they raced as fast as their short legs would go.

And this was how Mrs. Lion gave her three Spotted Little Cubs their first lesson in hunting. But Leo did not really begin his career as a mighty hunter until he was about six months old.

One evening Leo rushed in and clumsily helped his mother kill a young gazelle that she had knocked down. After that for a while he hunted by his mother's side, always eager to pounce on the fallen prey. He would claw and bite most awkwardly until the prey was overcome with fear and pain. But he soon learned to hunt by watching his mother. Then one night he succeeded in bringing down a young hartebeest alone. This is how it happened

One evening when it was almost time for the Wild Animals to leave the shade of the bush and go to Grassy Valley for feed and water, the lion family decided it was time to start their night's hunt. They had been resting all day in a little jungle thicket, for they no longer bothered to return to the Sheltering Cave.

"Now, I'll tell you what we will do," said Mr. Lion, when they reached their hunting ground. "Each one of us will hide in a secluded spot along this edge of the Brushy Belt. The Wild Animals must pass by here on their way to Grassy Valley, and we will be waiting to pounce on any that come near. You see, tonight the Playful Air Whiffs are coming toward us from Brushy Belt, and the Wild Animals cannot smell us. But their Revealing Scent will come to us and tell us to be ready."

Leo found a clump of tall grass and stretched out on the warm earth. But he hadn't long to wait, for soon his keen nose caught the Revealing Scent of a family of hartebeests coming toward him. He crouched low in the tall grass, with his strong, young legs set for a mighty spring. And then, when a young hartebeest chanced to pass near him, with a few swift bounds he pounced upon its back and bore it to the ground. After that, Leo was well able to do his own hunting.

ONE day, while the lion family were lying on the side of a large anthill, a man sneaked up with a powerful rifle and fired at Mr. Lion. Mr. Lion roared with pain and anger as a bullet passed through the flesh of one of his legs. Mrs. Lion was furious, and, like most lionesses ever ready to defend their lords, she charged the man fearlessly, coughing and grunting angrily as she went. In a flash she was upon him.

That was how Mrs. Lion became a man-eater. Nothing tasted so good to her as human flesh. So it was that she began to visit native villages; and whenever there was an opportunity, she would steal one of the tribe.

Mr. Lion himself became a pest. He would steal the cattle, donkeys, and goats of the natives and settlers, for he found it much easier than to hunt Wild Animals. He especially liked tame ostriches.

At last, when the natives would stand it no longer, they decided to put an end to it. So the warriors came together with their tough leather shields and long, heavy spears and set out in search of the man-eater.

Now it happened that on this day Mrs. Lion lay resting in the open under a low bush in Grassy Valley. Mr. Lion was asleep on the side of a mound some distance away. Near by lay the cubs, now almost grown. As Mr. Lion roused from a nap and looked out across Grassy Valley, his keen eyes caught sight of many black dots. But the bright sunlight hurt his eyes, for he could see much better at night. He always hunted at night, except sometimes on a cool day. The darker and stormier the night the bolder he was.

Mr. Lion watched the black dots as they came nearer. Then with much grunting he and the cubs left the mound where they had been resting, and disappeared in the tawny grass.

Mrs. Lion did not seem to be much alarmed. She lay stretched out flat in the grass that matched the color of her coat so well. As she watched, she slowly waved her tail with its black tip back and forth, and the sharp eyes of one of the black men saw it. Before she noticed it, she was surrounded by a large ring of Black Warriors with sharp spears. Turn whichever way she might, she faced savage spearmen, who were slowly creeping nearer.

Mrs. Lion lashed her tail furiously and uttered terrible grunting roars. The hair on her back bristled, and her sharp teeth gleamed as she faced first one way and then another. With sharp spears poised and shields held ready, the Black Warriors rose and closed in the circle. At topmost speed Mrs. Lion charged, but from each side the Black Warriors rushed in.

That night Mr. Lion roamed Grassy Valley, sending forth one thunderous roar after another. But there was no answering call from Mrs. Lion. A week later Terror the Hunter, with his powerful rifle, put an end to Mr. Lion. Then Leo and his sisters were left to hunt alone.

Now it happened one night while Leo was feeding on a zebra which he had brought down that a sleek Young Lioness came uninvited to his feast.

"I hope you won't mind if I eat dinner with you," she said.

"Oh, I'll be very glad to share my banquet with you," replied Leo, "for I am lonely. My father and mother have been killed, and my sisters have gone away. The cowardly hyenas and the yapping jackals are waiting impatiently for me to finish so that they can rush in and help themselves. So you may as well enjoy my feast. Sometimes they are so rude that they try to grab a piece while I am still eating."

"What bad manners," said the sleek Young Lioness; "they need to be taught a lesson."

Suddenly there appeared near by a bold Young Lion. It was plain that he intended to drive Leo away from the sleek Young Lioness and the feast. Leo was very angry. The two lions glared at each other with eyes green with hatred. Their tails lashed furiously. They grunted and growled and roared.

Leo sank slowly to the ground. The muscles on his legs became taut and ready to spring. With a sudden bound, he threw himself at his foe. The two met in mid-air with bared teeth and claws. They tore and slashed and bit each other savagely. At last the Young Lion was glad to leave. Then Leo roared in triumph to announce to the jungle Folk that he was king of the realm.

By the time Leo and the sleek Young Lioness had satisfied their hunger, they had become good friends. When the Burning Sun peeped over the eastern hills telling them it was time to find a hideout for the day, Leo followed her to the depths of a jungle thicket.

But Leo could not forget that Terror the Hunter was abroad in the land. Leo also remembered his old home on Broad Plain, where Terror the Hunter seldom came. So one night he and the sleek Young Lioness left Grassy Valley and set out for Broad Plain, where there were many zebras and hartebeests and other prey.

OUT on Broad Plain all the Wild Animals were happy. Refreshing rain had come. Already the tender grass shoots and smiling wild flowers were springing up. Every day more and more of the Wild Animals were returning to Broad Plain, now that the water holes were brimming full.

Of course, there were some Wild Animals that had not left Broad Plain when the water holes had dried. For, strange as it may seem, some of them do not drink water for months at a time. It is a mystery how they can live on sun-baked Broad Plain without drinking, but they can.

There is old Spindleshanks the Giraffe. He is glad to drink whenever there is water; but when there is none, he doesn't mind waiting six months for a drink. Like many of the other Wild Animals, Spindleshanks has changed some of his habits. The change was brought about by Terror the Hunter. You see, Spindleshanks used to go down to Lazy River for a drink sometimes after the water holes dried. But when Terror the Hunter began to lie in wait for him, Spindleshanks and many of his friends moved farther out on Broad Plain, where there is no water at all during much of the year; and some of the Wild Animals who used to prefer living on Broad Plain moved into Big Jungle or Black Forest.

It is too bad that the Wild Creatures and Civilized Man cannot get along peaceably together, but that seems impossible. Civilized Man cannot even get along peaceably with his human neighbors; and when a great war comes along, even the Wild Creatures must suffer. At least Spindleshanks found it so.

You see, when World War I reached Africa from far-off Europe, Spindleshanks was living peaceably with the other Wild Creatures on Broad Plain and in Grassy Valley along Lazy River, for Spindleshanks was a friendly wild animal. He never tried to harm any of his neighbors, but he did have to fight the Lions sometimes when they tried to steal his baby.

Now, when World War I came to Africa, it wasn't long until Civilized Man began stringing telephone lines across Broad Plain and many other places where they had not been before, and that was when Spindleshanks got into trouble. You see, Spindleshanks is the tallest of all fourfooted beasts. Some of the giraffes are more than eighteen feet tall. Spindleshanks knew nothing about telephone lines, and he would run through them and tear them down with his long neck. That was annoying to Civilized Man, for the lines seemed very important to him.

Then Terror the Hunter came to drive Spindleshanks and his friends away from the telephone lines and shoot them if they did not stay away. Many, many of the giraffes were killed. That was why Spindleshanks moved far, far out on Broad Plain, where for month after month during the dry season he had no water to drink.

Spindleshanks must have been happy to see the refreshing rain, don't you think? For then the dancing leaflets and tender tips, which were his favorite food, began to grow on the acacia and thorn trees. And then many of the other Wild Animals returned. In the evening they would gather at the water holes and enjoy a long drink and a visit.

Of course, Spindleshanks did not always go to the water hole for a drink. He liked to eat his breakfast early while the dancing leaflets were wet with dew, and then he did not need a drink. But when he did drink, it was an amusing sight. His legs were so long that the only way he could reach the water with his mouth was to spread his front legs wide apart, or step far forward with one and backward with the other. Even so, he must sometimes bend his knees.

That was why Spindleshanks liked to eat dancing leaflets from the top of trees. He had about the longest tongue imaginable, almost a foot and a half long. With its help he daintily picked off a leaf at a time.

Now, Spindleshanks was the leader of a herd. There were Mrs. Spindleshanks and their baby, Dotty Spindleshanks, and other families of giraffes who lived together on Broad Plain. Altogether, there were as many giraffes in Spindleshanks' herd as you have fingers and toes.

Although Dotty Spindleshanks was very, very young, she was almost ten feet tall; and although her legs were very, very slender, still she could run across Broad Plain beside her mother very fast when she was only a few days old.

Now it happened one quiet day after the giraffes had finished an early breakfast that they stopped as usual to rest in the shade of the scattered thorn trees which dotted Broad Plain. For a while Dotty and her little friends played the game Frisk and jump, stopping now and then to nibble a leaf. But their favorite game was Hide and-Seek among their mothers' legs.

Soon most of the grownups were asleep, standing with their heads sticking up through the thorn trees or with their legs spread out and necks drooping. Two of them crossed their necks and gently nipped each other affectionately on the shoulder, as horses sometimes do.

You might think that the giraffes drowsed with their heads sticking up through the thorn trees so as to be hidden from Lurking Enemies, and that is why they did. But they were not the Lurking Enemies you might think. You see, about the only dangerous enemies the giraffes had were Terror the Hunter and Leo the Lion. But the giraffes did not try to hide from these enemies. Instead, they trusted to their keen noses and quick ears and sharp eyes to warn them of danger, and to their long legs to carry them swiftly away. You may be sure that they could see long distances with their eyes searching Broad Plain from such a high position as their long legs and necks made possible.

But the Lurking Enemy which makes the giraffes sometimes seek the shelter of slightly wooded places for protection is Tabanus the Horsefly. For although the giraffe's hide is so thick that he can race through the thorn trees without injury, still it is no protection against the long, sharp beak of Tabanus the Horsefly and his host of bloodsucking friends.

Spindleshanks had one important duty to do. While the others rested, he would stand guard. Usually he would mount a small hillock or an anthill from which he could see farther; for, as you probably know, some of the anthills in Africa are large mounds ten or twelve feet high.

So while the other giraffes rested, Spindleshanks stood on his small hillock looking far off across Broad Plain. Redbill the Tick Bird was running up and down the side of his face, searching around his ears and peeking under his lips and hoping that he would find a plump tick to eat. One would think that such antics would tickle Spindleshanks beyond endurance, but he did not seem to mind. He often let the friendly little bird ride on his head or neck.

Suddenly Spindleshanks thought he saw a tawny form sneaking along a tiny ravine a long way off. At first it looked as if it were grass moving slowly in the breeze. Spindleshanks waited to see whether is was friend or enemy. The tawny form came nearer. It passed behind a small knoll and disappeared. Spindleshanks stretched his long neck and watched. Slowly the tawny form appeared on the opposite side of the knoll. For a while it lay still. Then it moved over behind a clump of thorny bushes, and from there to some tall grass.

Spindleshanks was suspicious. He could see the tall grass moving as the hidden form came nearer and nearer. And there were Dotty Spindleshanks and her friends frolicking in and out among the drowsing herd.

Now you might think that Spindleshanks would make a loud noise when he warned the herd, but he didn't. Although many people believe that giraffes have no voice, they can and sometimes do make a noise.

But Spindleshanks had his own way of giving an alarm. He gave a certain switch with his long tail, and almost instantly everyone was alert. Some of the mother giraffes had to drive their long-legged babies back into the herd, but Dotty ran and stood under her mother, looking out from between her forelegs, where she felt quite safe indeed. Thus they were standing when Leo the Lion suddenly peeked out of the tall grass not far away.

Now Leo the Lion would have liked very much to pounce upon a baby giraffe if he could have found one away from its mother. But he knew that he was no match for a full-grown giraffe when he was alone. For although the giraffes never use their queer, skin-covered knobs on their heads for defense, they can kick viciously with their long front legs. And they can also strike a powerful blow with their head, using their front teeth as a weapon.

So Leo the Lion slunk away again in the tall grass, hoping that he would find a juicy zebra to pounce upon.