WILD ANIMALS OF AFRICA

NOW, it did not take long for the news to spread on Broad Plain that Leo the Lion had returned. You see, Spindleshanks the Giraffe told the wildebeests and the hartebeests that he had seen Leo prowling near his family. Fleetfoot the Ostrich happened to hear Spindleshanks, and he ran right over to the gazelles.

"Have you heard the news?" asked Fleetfoot.

"What news?" asked Tommy the Gazelle.

"Why, I heard Spindleshanks the Giraffe telling the wildebeests and the hartebeests that Leo the Lion has returned to Broad Plain. So beware! " And away went Fleetfoot to warn the zebras.

You see, many of the Wild Animals lived peaceably together on Broad Plain, as good neighbors should. Of course, the wildebeests and the hartebeests and the gazelles and the ostriches were not always together, but they often met each other for a visit.

So it was that after Spindleshanks the Giraffe saw Leo the Lion it did not take long for the friendly neighbors to tell each other. And the Playful Air Whiffs carried his Revealing Scent across Broad Plain, warning all the Wild Animals to be on the alert.

Now Stripe the Zebra and his large family were about the noisiest neighbors on Broad Plain. All the other Wild Creatures knew when the zebras returned to their Favorite Feeding Ground after the refreshing rain had come to Broad Plain.

You see, when the dry season had come to Broad Plain and the water holes had dried up, the zebras had gone where they could find a drink. So did many others of the Wild Animals. First the zebras had gone to Dry River. Of course there was no water to be seen. But Stripe remembered going there with his loving parents when he was only a little colt, so he knew what to do.

First he went cautiously down into Dry River, followed by some of the older zebras in single file. They wanted to make sure there were no Lurking Enemies waiting for them. For Stripe knew that was one of Leo the Lion's tricks.

While some of them stood guard, the other zebras pawed out the sand until they had dug a hole as deep as a man is tall, and there they found water. That is how the zebras made for themselves a drinking pool.

Although the zebras liked a refreshing drink every day, they sometimes waited two or three days before going to their drinking pool when their Favorite Feeding Ground was far from it. When they were ready for a drink, Stripe would start toward the drinking pool in Dry River, and the other zebras followed along behind in a long line, Indian style.

That is also the way they went to their stamping ground. You see, the zebras were covered with plump ticks, and they were likewise bothered by the biting flies. So they liked to take a dust bath to drive off these pests. While some of the zebras rolled back and forth, kicking up a great cloud of dust, others stood close by ready to enjoy it.

I am sorry to say that Stripe the Zebra and the other stallions were not kind to each other. They were very selfish. At the drinking pool each would claim the best place to drink. Then there was always a disgraceful fight to see who would get it.

You see, the stallions always went down to drink first, and there was one quarrelsome old fellow who would go from place to place kicking others away until a bold young fellow smacked him in the ribs and put an end to his misbehavior. Then the mother zebras would take their turn, and after them came the youngsters. If a greedy youngster tried to drink ahead of its turn, its mother would give it a nip with her strong jaws and make it wait until she had finished.

When the drinking pool in Dry River dried up, the zebras left their Favorite Feeding Ground on Broad Plain and moved closer to Lazy River. Sometimes they traveled as much as ten miles each day for a drink. At night their keen noses would sometimes warn them that Leo the Lion was crouching near by. Then in terror they would race away, sometimes tearing down the settlers' fences and destroying their crops.

But at last refreshing rain had come to Broad Plain, and the zebras had returned to their Favorite Feeding Ground. Day and night you could hear their queer, dog-like, whining bark. Yes, the zebras were very noisy neighbors. It was no trouble at all for Leo the Lion to tell where they were, because wherever they went they kept up their whining call. One would almost have thought they were a pack of dogs.

At noon the zebras usually rested in the shade of the acacia trees that grew thinly on their Favorite Feeding Grounds. But always Stripe kept a sharp watch for Lurking Enemies, and warned the others with a shrill neigh if danger approached.

Now zebra meat was just about Leo the Lion's Favorite Food, and the time he liked best to hunt for zebras was on a very dark night. So one evening when the Laughing Yellow Sun was bowing good night in the flaming west, and the long shadows were racing each other across Broad Plain, Leo left his secluded resting place in Little Thorn Thicket and started for the Favorite Feeding Ground of the zebras.

LEO the Lion sneaked quietly in the direction where he had last heard the zebras. Some times he would lie in wait for them at their drinking pool, but after the water holes were full he never knew which one they would drink from.

So he decided to stalk them and pounce upon one unawares, as the zebras never tried to defend themselves against Leo once they were caught; but they would fight off the cowardly hyena and the wild dog. A lion petrified them with fear.

Leo had grown to be an experienced hunter. He knew how to go about it to sneak up on his prey. Soon he drew near to the unsuspecting zebras. He was almost ready to pounce upon a young one, when he suddenly heard a hoarse cough in a mimosa tree near by.

Now it happened that Chui the Leopard had also decided he would catch a nice young zebra. So he was lying in wait on a high limb from which he could pounce down upon one when it came near. Of course the zebras were alarmed and ran wildly away when they heard Chui cough. It would be hard to say which of the big cats was the angrier. For although Chui and Leo were near relatives, each hated the other fiercely. Leo would have liked nothing better than to have killed Chui, and Chui knew it quite well. So he lay on the high limb safe from Leo's sharp claws and strong teeth. For, you see, although leopards can climb trees, lions cannot.

After a while Leo became tired waiting for Chui to come down, so he slunk away, growling angrily as he went. Soon Chui heard him munching wild watermelons, which were plentiful after the refreshing rains came. And when Chui thought he could safely do so, he dropped from the high limb to the ground and bounded swiftly away.

Now Chui was more like a gangster than his big cousin Leo, except that almost always he lived alone. Sometimes he made his home in a cave or hole among rocks. Sometimes on hot days he hid in shady treetops, for he could run straight up a smooth-barked tree as nimbly as a monkey could. Sometimes he would lie basking in the sun on a rocky ledge, or would hide in a deep ravine. But always he was thinking about something which he could kill.

Chui liked to make raids against man, He would kill a flock of sheep or goats without eating one, merely to satisfy his bloodthirsty desires. He would murder calves, pigs, and chickens if he had a chance, but he especially liked dogs and baboons. Sometimes he would go right into a camp and steal a dog. After he was old and his teeth were too worn to catch other prey, he would sometimes kill women and children in broad daylight.

Usually when Chui killed an antelope or small zebra or other Wild Animal, he would first eat the heart and the liver. Then he would carry what was left and hang it in the fork of a tree where the cowardly hyenas could not reach it. When he was hungry, he would return for another feast, unless another leopard had found it. It made no difference to Chui the Leopard whether the meat was fresh or spoiled. But his Favorite Food was baboon.

Now Dog-Face the Baboon and his large tribe were near neighbors of the zebras. They lived on Rocky Slope, which was between Broad Plain and Grassy Valley, and in the bottom of Grassy Valley was Lazy River.

Sometimes the baboons went on long walks in search of Favorite Food where Broad Plain met Rocky Slope. There they often met the wart hogs and the yapping jackals and the vultures and other Wild Animals at the water holes. Sometimes they marched along with the oryxes or the zebras when they happened to be over near Rocky Slope.

One chilly morning the baboons sat on rocks on their Rocky Slope shivering until the Laughing Yellow Sun came up and warmed them. Then they started out in search of Favorite Food. First there was Dog-Face himself, who always acted as leader, for he was chief of the band. Then there followed the other fathers and mothers and boy baboons and girl baboons, for there were several large families. There were baby baboons riding on their mothers' backs like little jockeys, or stretched out flat and clinging to their hair. At the rear followed a powerful father baboon to guard them from the back, for the baboons lived in continual fear of Chui the Leopard.

Always, whether the baboons were resting or whether they were looking for Favorite Food, you could see watchful sentries sitting on rocks or bushes or other high objects and keeping a sharp lookout for Lurking Enemies. No matter how tempting the food or how interesting the games that were played beneath them, they never dared to desert their post.

So the baboons walked slowly along, searching for almost anything that could be eaten. They would dig for roots, or gather seeds, or catch locusts and other creepy insects. Sometimes one would sit munching a lizard or a centipede or the young shoots or tender buds of trees, or chewing the gum that it found on the stems of the acacias. Another would pop a scorpion into his mouth after first pulling out its stinger. Always they were turning over rocks in search of worms and beetles; and if one found a rock too heavy for him, he called for his friends to help.

There was in the troop a sharp-eyed little fellow who had a crippled foot, and his mother called him something that sounded like Wahah. Because of his crippled foot, Wahah could not play King on His Throne with the other boy baboons when the troop stopped to rest.

It really was an exciting game. First one of them would sit on a large rock as if he were king. Then someone would push him over the side and sit there himself; and while the first one was trying to scramble back, over would go the second one and another would take his place. Thus the excitement grew more and more, while the gossiping mothers sat together on a rock watching the fun. Now and then, as the game grew rough, a little fellow would run whimpering to his mother to be picked up and cuddled.

Wahah sat watching the game for a while, and then his sharp little eyes saw something that the others had missed. It was a bush covered with juicy berries, which was peeping out from between two large rocks not far away. Soon Wahah was munching the juicy berries greedily, his hands and face stained until his own mother would scarcely know him.

Wahah should have been more careful with his eating, but the juicy berries tasted so good that he sat there smacking his lips and making quite a noise. It wasn't long until one of the boy baboons heard him and joined in the feast. Then came another and another and soon there was a wild scramble, which ended in an uproar.

Now, Dog-Face was not only the leader of the troop but also judge. When the boy baboons or the girl baboons, or both together, began squabbling and fighting among themselves, as they often did, Dog-Face would have to settle the argument.

Dog-Face was sitting on a rock with his elbows on his knees, as if he were in deep meditation, when the fight for the juicy berries started. But it didn't take long for him to restore peace among the youngsters. He yanked one youngster out of the pile by its tail and shook him thoroughly; he nipped another on its exposed rear, and gave another a cuff that sent it rolling down the Rocky Slope. He pulled another's hair and sent the rest scurrying away to safety. Then he sat down by the bush and enjoyed the juicy berries himself.

Chui the Leopard was sneaking along among the rocks and the bushes when he heard the angry cries of the boy baboons as they fought for the juicy berries.

But soon there were piercing screams and barks from one of the watchful sentries. His sharp eyes had seen Chui the Leopard hurrying toward them among the rocks.

Chui knew very well that he was no match for Dog-Face's powerful jaws and great tusks, not to mention his strong arms, even if he were alone. When the other father baboons rushed at him, throwing sticks and stones, he was glad to leave, for, you see, the baboons understand well how to unite for defense and attack. So Chui the Leopard disappeared among the rocks, grumbling his disappointment as he went. Over in Lower Forest on Green Mountain, which rose on one side of Broad Plain, were many, many monkeys, and Chui told himself he would have better success hunting them.

NOW, along Lazy River in Grassy Valley were native settlements, and the inhabitants had planted the fertile fields with many kinds of seeds. Dog-Face the Baboon dearly loved to lead his troop from their Rocky Slope at night to plunder the gardens that grew along Lazy River.

There were fields of sugary sorghum, patches of sweet potatoes, delicious corn, luscious red tomatoes, golden yellow pumpkins, and many kinds of juicy fruit. It was all tempting indeed for Dog-Face and his troop.

So one evening about the time that Jura the Dove and his many friends were leaving the fields of sugar sorghum to find a roosting place for the night, Dog-Face the Baboon and his troop left their Rocky Slope and went garden raiding. For a while they walked slowly along Rocky Ravine, looking here and there for Favorite Food.

Because of his crippled foot, Wahah could not climb trees very well in search of round little eggs, of which the baboons were extremely fond. But then, at best, baboons were not expert climbers like their cousins the monkeys, and preferred to live on the ground. It was funny to see a mother baboon standing under a tree with outstretched arms, waiting for her baby to fall into them.

Soon the night became dark, for the Silvery Moon had not yet peeked over Green Mountain. The baboons marched along quietly. Sometimes a noisy youngster would be reminded to be silent by a sharp rap of its mother's fist. Near the gardens the troop waited while spies went in to see if they could discover any cunning traps or lurking danger. Then what a merry noise they all made when they heard that everything was safe for them to enter.

My, how hard it must have been for the watchful sentries to remain on guard while the other baboons stuffed their hungry stomachs with such tempting food! After their stomachs were filled they stuffed their large cheek pouches with the tempting food to carry home with them. They really were piggish. If they had not been frightened away, they would have filled their hands and arms to overflowing.

Suddenly one of the watchful sentries heard a soft noise over in the sweet potato patch. It sounded as if stealthy feet were approaching on the soft earth. The watchful sentry screamed a warning.

"Danger! Run! Hurry!" he shouted. "I hear a Lurking Enemy coming."

Away fled the noisy Baboons, dropping their booty as they went.

Now Rooter the Bush Pig had been sleeping during the day with her Striped Little Piglets in a hidden lair in a jungle thicket not far away. When the darkness of night came to Grassy Valley, Rooter crept out with her Striped Little Piglets in search of Favorite Food.

There was nothing she liked better than sweet potatoes. Rooter loved to poke her strong snout into the fertile soil and turn it upside down while she watched for crunchy sweet potatoes to roll out. That is what she was doing when the watchful sentry heard her and thought a Lurking Enemy was coming.

THERE lived in Lazy River a Lurking Enemy whom the baboons and all of the other Wild Animals greatly feared. He was Snapper the Crocodile. Snapper would lie hidden under the water near the bank, with only his eyes and nose showing, and when the baboons or some other Wild Animal came to Lazy River for a drink, snap! would go his powerful jaws like a huge trap. Yes, sir; almost everyone was afraid of Snapper the Crocodile. And, of course, Mrs. Crocodile was fully as bad.

In fact, the crocodiles were so bad that they would as soon eat each other if one of them were sick or crippled. They would fight each other fiercely.

If the natives came to Lazy River to bathe, or dip water, they had to keep a sharp lookout for crocodiles.

One day Snapper lay basking in the warm sunshine on Little Sandy Bank near the water's edge, for Snapper was lazy. He really was hoping that some luckless creature would walk past thinking that he was asleep or that he was a log. Then Snapper could knock the animal into the water with a quick sweep of his powerful horny tail. But soon the Cheerful Little Sunbeams had warmed Snapper's back and he was sound aleep.

Now, Snapper liked very much to sleep with his mouth open. And what a terrible looking mouth it was! His teeth were long and sharp and not at all suitable for chewing. His throat was so small that he could swallow only tiny pieces of food. When he caught a large animal, he would bury it under water and leave it until it spoiled, so that he could tear off chunks small enough to swallow. And, strange to say, Snapper had no tongue, but only a valvelike arrangement that slid back into his throat when his mouth was open.

One would think that such a horrible-appearing mouth would frighten everything away, but not so Zic-Zac. Zic-Zac is sometimes called the crocodile bird. No sooner had Snapper's mouth opened than in he flew and went to work. I suppose you might call him the crocodile's friend. If he was, he was the only one Snapper had. While he was hopping in and out and apparently cleaning Snapper's teeth, doubtless he was mostly looking for Favorite Food with which to fill his own stomach. And if Snapper closed his mouth while Zic-Zac was inside, Zic-Zac waited a minute or two until Snapper opened his huge jaws again, when out he hopped as unconcerned as you please and went on with his business.

While Snapper dozed, Mrs. Crocodile was attending to family duties on Big Sandy Bank farther up stream. You see, sometime back Mrs. Crocodile had crawled out on the warm sand near a spot where Tiny Brook joined Lazy River. There she had wallowed in the sand until she had made a hole about two feet deep, and along the edges of it she had laid three or four dozen white hard-shelled eggs, which she kept covered with sand on which she slept.

The warm sand helped them to hatch, and it also hid them from Lurking Enemies. Monitor the Lizard, who is about six feet long, liked nothing better than to dig them out, if he could find them, and carry them off for a banquet while Mrs. Crocodile was away. Yet, strange to say, Mrs. Lizard had laid her own eggs in the sand where they could be stolen. One would think that Monitor would have told her not to do that.

One day while Snapper was taking life easy on Little Sandy Bank, Mrs. Crocodile was busy digging out her eggs. You see, when the baby crocodiles were ready to leave the eggs, they began to cry, and although they were two feet under the sand, Mrs. Crocodile heard them. She could also notice vibrations long distances when she was under water, for her ears had movable covers that protected the inside by holding the water out.

When the eggs had been exposed to air, the baby crocodiles set to work to free themselves. The Creator had given them a tool for doing this. It was a special tooth with which they could break the hard shell.

When all of them were ready, Mrs. Crocodile led them to Tiny Brook, where they could hide. For in Lazy River were many Lurking Enemies of baby crocodiles.

Now, the crocodiles had a near neighbor named Fatty the Hippopotamus, with whom they seemed to get along fairly well. Perhaps it was because the crocodiles had been taught a lesson and had learned to respect him. Then again, it may have been because the neighbor was so good-natured. He was well able to take care of himself, for among all the four-footed beasts only Longnose the Elephant is larger.

Fatty the Hippo and his friends lived in Quiet Pool that Lazy River made where it spread out in a certain place on low ground. Quiet Pool looked almost like a little lake growing on the side of Lazy River. On one side of it was Shady Bank, where many vine-covered trees grew, where Darter the Snake Bird built her nest, and where she could be seen sitting in the trees when she was not fishing.

On the other side of Quiet Pool was Papyrus Swamp, where the graceful papyrus grew thick and tall, and where Fatty the Hippo and his friends had made shady tunnels through the dense growth in which they could hide and rest when Terror the Hunter sought them.

Fatty spent most of his time in the water. Sometimes he would lie long hours beneath the water with only his eyes and nostrils above, and even they were hidden beneath sheltering water plants. You could have passed close by without seeing him. If there were no Lurking Enemies to bother him, Fatty would sometimes bask in the warm sunshine on Sandy Bar that had formed in the middle of Lazy River. In winter, when the water was cold, he might rest on Shady Bank, but he always lay facing Lazy River so that he could quickly plump in if Terror the Hunter came by.

Fatty the Hippo had a tremendous appetite, and he had great fun splashing and wading among the colorful water lilies. He especially liked lotus and papyrus and other water plants. He could explore along on the bottom of Quiet Pool or Lazy River for five minutes at a stretch; and if he was escaping from Lurking Enemies, he could run swiftly along out of sight beneath the water for twice that time. He could close his ears and nostrils to keep out the water whenever he chose to do so.

Sometimes when the settlers did not build a fence to keep him out, Fatty would leave Quiet Pool at night and go exploring in the fertile fields. There he would eat huge amounts of sugar cane and millet and corn, and he tramped down and destroyed much more besides. Of course some of the other hippos that lived in Quiet Pool went along, and there they would sometimes meet their cousins the bush pigs.

"I believe that I'll go out on Grassy Valley," said Fatty the Hippo to his friends one cloudy night.

So about an hour after the Laughing Yellow Sun had set, he climbed the bank that led up from Quiet Pool and started for Grassy Valley.

Fatty walked along in one of his old trails, and an unusual trail it was indeed. It really looked like two paths with a grassy ridge between, somewhat like the ones wagons make when they are hauled across a prairie. You see, Fatty was so broad and his legs were so far apart that the two legs on one side made a separate path from the one made by the two legs on the other side. So wherever he left Lazy River or Quiet Pool he made a double trail as he went along.

Of course, Fatty had no trouble following his old trail as far as it went. When he was in Quiet Pool or Lazy River he often spent the night bellowing and roaring and fighting with the other hippopotamuses, but when he went to Grassy Valley he was always quiet.

There was one thing that often showed where Fatty had spent the night. You see, when Fatty left Quiet Pool or Lazy River there would often be water plants clinging to his broad back, and these would drop off along the way. So if you were to see these water plants withering in the hot sun far from Lazy River some morning, you would know that Fatty had been there during the night.

Fatty followed the old trail as far as it went, but at last it came to an end. Then he grazed around wherever he could find his Favorite Food. He had often done that before. He expected that his keen nose would guide him back over his tracks to the old trail when he was ready to go home, so that he could easily follow the trail back to Quiet Pool.

Suddenly there was a blinding flash of lightning, and the ground trembled with the crash and the rumble of thunder. The rain poured down on Fatty's broad back, and the leeches that were clinging to his more tender parts and sucking blood wriggled joyfully, for leeches cannot live long out of water, but die when their skin becomes dry.

When the fierce storm had passed, all of the Revealing Scent had been washed away, and there was Fatty not knowing which way to go to find his old trail.

"Now what shall I do?" said Fatty to himself, as he sniffed here and there.

Fatty feared that he might be seen by Terror the Hunter when daylight came if he had to stay in Grassy Valley; and once he had seen Leo the Lion pounce upon one of his friends. But search as best he could, somehow Fatty could not find his old trail.

At last he discovered a muddy pool large enough for him to hide in. He found it none too soon, for already the eastern sky was glowing red, announcing a new day.

Fatty was glad when some of the other hippopotamuses came out to Grassy Valley the next night, for then he could follow their Revealing

Scent back to the old trail that led to Lazy River and Quiet Pool.

Now Mrs. Hippo had lived pretty much alone for a while in Little Lagoon, that lay hidden from Quiet Pool by a dense growth of graceful papyrus. That is, she was alone except for her Baby Pudge and the herons and cormorants and kingfishers and water turtles and other Wild Creatures.

You see, Mrs. Hippo was afraid that Fatty might fly into a rage and kill Baby Pudge, for Fatty and the other bull hippos often showed a mean temper, fighting and roaring at night. Then there was Snapper the Crocodile, who never could be trusted.

So Mrs. Hippo had put Baby Pudge in Little Lagoon, where he would be safe until he could grow awhile. She lay in the narrow waterway that led from Quiet Pool to Little Lagoon, so that Snapper the Crocodile or the boat of Fearful the Man could not enter.

Then one day, when Baby Pudge was large enough, he crawled up on his mother's neck, and she carried him out to Quiet Pool. And wherever Mrs. Hippo went, Baby Pudge rode on her neck until he was large enough to take care of himself.

Of course Mrs. Hippo could not stay underwater so long when he was riding, for Baby Pudge had to breathe more often than she did. And the first thing you would have seen, if you had been watching when they came up, would have been Baby Pudge's little head. If you could have seen him when he was a little larger, doubtless he would have been enjoying a game of Snort and Blow with other baby hippos as they spouted little streams of water from their noses.