WILD ANIMALS OF AFRICA

GREEN MOUNTAIN was an interesting place. It rose high on one side of Broad
Plain, and it was there that Chui the Leopard often went in search of monkeys. He spent most of his time in Lower Forest, where there were strange trees of many kinds laced together with creeping vines and with a space between their mossy trunks crowded with thick brush which hid the leafy mold beneath. Here and there colorful parrots chattered, tree frogs piped and croaked during the night, and crested ibis flew about their business noisily. You could hear monkeys shouting through the depth of the forest, and tree hyraxes added their weird cries to the night sounds of Lower Forest.

Above Lower Forest was Bamboo Belt, and above Bamboo Belt was Cool Forest, where on the high sides of Green Mountain the nights were often bitter cold. Now if you had been looking on a certain day, and at a particular trail that led from a secluded nook in Bamboo Belt, you would have seen a mother elephant leading her pink little calf toward Cool Forest. And the pink little calf's name was Toto.

Toto had been born in the secluded nook in Bamboo Forest only a few days before, and his mother was returning to the family of elephants to which she belonged.

Toto was only about two feet high. He had a short nose in proportion to his size, when compared with what it would be when he was grown. And it was not very flexible. But Toto really did not need a long nose until he was old enough to eat leaves and grass and fruit.

You see, Toto would not be fully grown until he was about twenty-five years old. As he grew his trunk would gradually become longer and more useful. Some day it would be one of the most remarkable and interesting things found in nature. For the elephant's trunk is not only a nose, with nostrils at the end, but it is also used to do the work of hands. It is long and very flexible, and with it an elephant can pull down large branches from a tree or pick a single leaf. When an elephant drinks, it sucks water into its trunk a foot or two then curls the end into its mouth and empties the water down its throat. Or if its legs and back are hot, it squirts water on them. Sometimes it uses dust instead of water.

Yes, the elephant's trunk is a useful object. On its tip and sides are tufts of stubby hair, and if an elephant is curious about something, or if the ground seems to be unsafe, the elephant uses its sensitive trunk for testing. Whether a herd of elephants are feeding or resting, there will often be a trunk held overhead with its tip moving this way and that, testing the Playful Air Whiffs to see if they bring warning of a Lurking Enemy. The elephant has the keenest nose of all the Wild Animals, and that is what one would expect if size counts for anything. But here we are, talking about the wonders of an elephant's nose, instead of the adventures of Toto and his mother.

The first one they met when they arrived at the herd was Grandma Elephant, who was very old, and who had not lain down to rest for many, many years. For although in some places elephants sometimes lie down to rest, in other places they never do. When they are very old, they know they do not have strength to get up again if they were to lie down.

Then there were some quite old aunt elephants, and some not so old. And there were cousins of different sizes, both boys and girls, for some of the aunts had pink little calves and other babies that were half grown. And there was Father Elephant, who was the head of the family, but who really was not the leader of the herd. Aunt Keen Nose was the leader. She had no pink little calf of her own, and so she had taken upon herself the responsibility of being leader. She it was who kept special watch while the others rested or ate, and who led the herd to new feeding grounds and to water. Like all elephants, her sight was poor, but her keen nose could be depended upon to detect the faintest odor of a Lurking Enemy. But all of the mother elephants were watchful.

Toto also had a Big Brother, who was more than half grown, and a Little Sister, who still followed Mother Elephant even after Toto arrived.

Grandpa Elephant lived alone most of the time, or in company with one or two friends who, like himself, had grown rather irritable with old age and did not like to be disturbed by the noisy youngsters. Then, too, Grandpa Elephant had a beautiful pair of tusks, and Black Hunter wanted them badly. He could barter them to passing traders for gaudy cloth and copper wire and knives and other things he liked. So Grandpa Elephant lived alone most of the time, for the young elephants were sometimes rather careless about making a noise, and Grandpa Elephant knew that would reveal their location to Black Hunter.

Sometimes Father Elephant also went off by himself, but he was seldom more than a mile or two from his family. He always knew where to find them. Usually the Playful Air Whiffs brought their scent to his keen nose. Or he could hear the squeals of the young ones at play, or the shrieks of the mothers when they thought a Lurking Enemy was near. Then, again, he would hear the cracking of branches that were being broken from trees, or the thud of a tree that had been pushed over by a mother elephant so that she and her half-grown baby could reach the leaves.

It was no trick at all for them to push over a tree that was almost a foot thick. They merely pressed against it with their forehead or pried out the roots with their strong tusks. Of course the mother elephants did not have large tusks, but most of them were long enough to be useful.

Now it happened that, soon after Toto was born, one of the mother elephants who had a pink little calf about Toto's age, fell into a native trap and was killed. You see, Black Hunter and his friends had dug a deep pit in one of the elephants' paths and had covered it lightly with wood, branches, reeds, and grass so that it was cunningly hidden. They had hoped that Grandpa Elephant or Father Elephant or one of the others having big tusks would fall into it.

Of course the pink little calf was lonely and hungry without its mother, and it cried sorrowfully. So it came about that Toto's mother felt sorry for it and adopted it. If you had seen Toto and Tembo nursing together, you might have thought that they were twins. But mother elephants never have twins.

When Tembo's mother was killed, the elephants fled many miles to another part of Cool Forest. With Aunt Keen Nose leading, they tramped silently in single file through the dense jungle. At last they came to a quiet place that seemed to be safe from Lurking Enemies, and where Favorite Food was plentiful. What appetites elephants have! A large one can eat four hundred pounds of Favorite Food every day. You can hear them trumpet with joy when the feeding is good, or give satisfied rumbles way down in their throats.

You may wonder how such large beasts can travel through the dense jungle without making the least noise. The secret is in their feet. The huge feet have a thickly padded bottom which acts as a cushion when it is stepped on. It also spreads out when there is weight on it and shrinks when the weight is lifted. In that way the elephant can pull its foot out of mud even though it may have sunk three feet deep under the tremendous weight.

Toto and Tembo soon became the best of friends. They spent long hours following Mother Elephant over the many, many trails that the elephants had made through the dense jungle. They made new trails frequently in search of Favorite Food, for they soon ate or destroyed the best along a trail. They also changed trails often, fearing that Black Hunter might set traps in the old ones.

While they were very small, Mother Elephant guided Toto and Tembo along the winding trails with her trunk. If they were too slow, she gave them a boost. Sometimes when Aunt Keen Nose caught the scent of Fearful the Man, and the elephants were fleeing swiftly and silently along a winding trail through the dense jungle, Toto and Tembo would put their little trunks over Mother Elephant's trunk as you would take your mother's hand in time of danger. And although the elephants were in a great hurry, Aunt Keen Nose always set a pace that was not too fast for the smallest among them.

It was surprising how well such large beasts could travel on the steep mountainside. Sometimes when they were coming down in a great hurry and the winding trail was steep and slick with mud, they sat down and slid.

Each year there came to Green Mountain a rainy season. Then the Weather Man poured down rain until everything was dripping and cold, and the sides of Green Mountain were slippery. One wet, cold, slippery day Aunt Keen Nose decided she had had enough of it.

"I am tired of this," she said to Mother Elephant. "It is so hard to get around without sliding down the mountain."

Mother Elephant pulled off the branch of a tree, tucked it into her large mouth, and closed her lips. Then she slowly pulled out the branch, stripping off the leaves as she did so. She had often done the same thing with the prickly branches of the mimosa trees, though it was a wonder how she could do it.

"Yes, the weather is disagreeable," replied Mother Elephant. "It is too cold for my babies."

"I believe it is time for us to move to Lower Forest," said Aunt Keen Nose, and the other elephants agreed.

You see, each year when the heavy rains came to Cool Forest, the elephants left. So it was that after the word had been passed around, Aunt Keen Nose started slowly down the mountainside along a winding trail that led into Bamboo Belt. Father Elephant had been browsing around by himself in Cool Forest; but, as usual, he joined the family for the trip to Lower Forest. He always seemed to know where the others were and what they were doing.

Now Grandma Elephant was very old. She had made the journey down the side of Green Mountain and back many, many times. But this year she did not feel well. She became very tired as she slipped along the winding trail, and the miles seemed long to her. By the time the family had reached the middle of Bamboo Belt, Grandma Elephant was back at the end of the line.

At last, when none of the others noticed, she turned off the winding trail and searched out a secluded nook among the tall bamboo where she could lie down. But Fearful the Man would never see the place, because he could only pass through the tangled bamboo by following the winding trails that the elephants had broken through. So he wondered what became of very old elephants.

Part way down Green Mountain the winding trail reached Elephant Ford, where the elephants crossed Tumbling River. There were other winding trails that also met here, which other elephant families had used on their way down. On the opposite bank the winding trails separated and continued on in different directions.

Now Tumbling River at Elephant Ford was very broad from the heavy rain, and Toto and Tembo had never before seen so much water. While Mother Elephant was assuring them that everything would be all right, who should come down a winding trail but Grandpa Elephant and his old friends. They had crossed Elephant Ford many times. Toto and Tembo watched them wade into the murky water and cross to the other side. But Toto and Tembo were still much afraid.

"Will you please help me get my babies across?" asked Mother Elephant of Aunt Keen Nose, who was standing near by.

"Gladly," replied Aunt Keen Nose, and she held out her trunk to Tembo. Tembo placed his stubby little trunk over Aunt Keen Nose's trunk and permitted her to lead him into the edge of the water. They waited until Mother Elephant had brought Toto beside Tembo. Then over they went, with Toto and Tembo swimming along in the quiet water between Aunt Keen Nose and Mother Elephant, while each held to a strong trunk. On the other side the elephants started down one of the winding trails that took them deep into Lower Forest.

AS I have said before, Lower Forest contained many, many strange trees. There were also many different kinds of Wild Creatures. It was one of Chui the Leopard's favorite hunting grounds. Below Lower Forest were Rolling Foothills that lay at the base of Green Mountain, and which came to an end at Broad Plain.

Here and there on Broad Plain near Rolling Foothills were Native Villages. And outside the Native Villages were their cultivated fields, called "shambas." The natives lived in villages so that they would be better protected from Leo the Lion and Chui the Leopard and other Wild Beasts. In their shambas they raised beans and corn and melons and many other good things.

Now the elephants were a peaceable family. They never quarreled among themselves or tried to boss each other. In fact, they showed great love for one another. Often while they were resting, Aunt Keen Nose and Mother Elephant would stand close together with their trunks entwined affectionately. Yes, the elephants were kind and considerate toward each other, as you will see.

Although the elephants were the largest of all land mammals, and could easily have bullied the other Wild Animals if they had chosen to do so, they lived at peace with all their neighbors. The elephants feared no one after they were grown, except Fearful the Man. But Leo the Lion and Chui the Leopard and even Stripe the Hyena would pounce on baby elephants if they had a chance.

Usually the elephants stayed in Lower Forest during the day. Sometimes at night they visited the natives' shambas. There they ate large amounts of beans and corn and other things, and they spoiled more than they ate, for their large, heavy feet trampled the crops into the soft ground.

One night the elephants wandered down into Rolling Foothills. They were enjoying the leaves of the thorny acacia trees along the way. Sometimes one of them would squeal with anger when the sharp thorns stuck its mouth. But the elephant would pull off another branch, tuck it inside its mouth, and slowly pull it out again while stripping off the leaves.

Suddenly Aunt Keen Nose stopped. Up went her long trunk. She turned it this way and that while she tested the Playful Air Whiffs. Soon all of the elephants were doing the same thing. Then Mother Elephant shrieked. Her sensitive nose had caught the scent of Leo the Lion. It was coming from a jungle thicket near by. Leo was waiting to pounce on a baby elephant if one happened to wander away from its watchful mother.

Mother Elephant was furious, and so was Aunt Keen Nose. They charged toward the jungle thicket, trumpeting angrily.

When Leo the Lion saw that he had been discovered, he lost no time bounding away through the jungle thicket. So furious were Mother Elephant and Aunt Keen Nose, they stamped about tearing down trees even when they knew that Leo had escaped. You may be sure that Toto and Tembo stayed close to Mother Elephant on the way back to Lower Forest.

Now there was in a far-away land a certain man who decided he would like to kill an elephant that had very large tusks. So he came to one of the Native Villages with his large rifle and some tents and a great amount of supplies. He wanted to be ready when the wet season drove the elephants down from Cool Forest to Lower Forest. For it would have been a very tiring climb through Rolling Foothills and Lower Forest and Bamboo Belt to reach Cool Forest.

He hired some of the Black Hunters at the Native Village to help him, and he set up his camp in Rolling Foothills near Lower Forest. The Black Hunters were experienced Trackers, and they were familiar with all the ways of the jungle.

Early one gray morning Terror the Hunter left his camp and started for Lower Forest. First were the Trackers, who went ahead to lead Terror through the Dense Jungle and to keep a sharp watch for signs of elephant. Next came Terror the Hunter, and close behind him was a native carrying the heavy rifle. Following along behind were other natives carrying food and blankets and other things that might be needed; also, they were to carry back the large tusks which Terror the Hunter expected to get.

After a few hours' march the Trackers found the winding trail which the elephants had made that very morning when they returned from Rolling Foothills to Lower Forest. There were freshly broken branches from which the leaves had been stripped, and there were deep tracks in the soft earth.

Two of the Trackers who were most cunning now went ahead to find where the elephants were resting, while everyone else waited. Terror the Hunter feared that if all went they would be sure to alarm the elephants. So the two Trackers slipped silently along the winding trail alone.

Deep in Lower Forest the two Trackers suddenly stopped. From the dense jungle ahead there came to their sensitive ears familiar noises. They could hear the snapping of branches as they were broken from trees. There was an occasional low trumpeting or deep rumble from an elephant that was made happy when it found an especially delicious bite of Favorite Food. There were squeaky noises when the elephants chewed. And there were squeals of delight as Big Brother and one of his friends pretended they were fighting. Their short tusks were locked and their trunks were twisted together as they wrestled back and forth through the dense jungle, knocking over small trees as they went.

The Trackers hurried back to tell Terror the Hunter and lead him to the elephants. When he returned with them with his heavy rifle, he found that the elephants were in very dense jungle. He could see only a few feet ahead, and then only where the elephants had broken down the vegetation. He stopped to listen while one of the Trackers climbed a tall tree to see if he could see Father Elephant. For Terror the Hunter wanted an elephant with very large tusks.

At last the Tracker came down the tree. He had seen Father Elephant for a moment as he walked across an open space in the winding trail ahead. Terror the Hunter struck a match and watched to see which way the tiny spiral of smoke drifted. He wanted to be sure that the Playful Air Whiffs would not carry his Revealing Scent to the elephants.

Carefully he tried to pick his way through the dense jungle with his heavy rifle. He would have to approach very close to the elephants before he could see them. The venture was filled with great danger.

At last he thought he saw Father Elephant through the thick leaves. The light was not bright, for the dense jungle shut out the Smiling Yellow Sun even on bright days. Terror the Hunter moved stealthily ahead so that he would have a better view. He saw two huge tusks sticking out into the winding trail ahead. There could be no doubt about it, they belonged to Father Elephant.

Terror the Hunter raised his heavy rifle and braced himself, lest the recoil knock him over. Then he waited for Father Elephant to step out into the winding trail in full sight.

Suddenly there was a loud shriek of alarm, and Aunt Keen Nose ran and stood beside Father Elephant. She held her trunk high in the air, turning its tip this way and that as she tested the Playful Air Whiffs for Revealing Scent. All of the mother elephants rushed to Father Elephant and surrounded him. The baby elephants hid beneath the bodies of their mothers. You would not have known there was a baby elephant among them.

Now the mother elephants loved their babies dearly, and took very good care of them. They often caressed them with their trunks and were always on the alert for Lurking Enemies. The mother elephants also loved Father Elephant. They were proud of him and watched over him continually. Whenever danger threatened, which of course could only be Terror the Hunter, they surrounded him with their bodies, or charged fiercely if they could locate the Lurking Enemy.

So they stood with their trunks held high while they turned the tip about, or curled and uncurled their trunk and listened with their enormous ears standing up. All the while they were trumpeting and shrieking loudly.

Terror the Hunter did not want to kill a mother elephant. He knew there would be no chance to shoot Father Elephant now that the elephants had discovered him. When he saw Aunt Keen Nose standing out in front, swinging one front foot in indecision while she made up her mind which way to charge, Terror was glad to sneak silently down the winding trail to camp and wait for another opportunity.

One day the Trackers hurried into camp with the news that they had found fresh signs of three or four large elephants not a great way off. Terror the Hunter decided he would go right away and see if they might be found. While one of the Trackers led Terror to the place where the signs had been seen, another hurried on, hoping that he might discover the elephants by the time Terror arrived.

Sure enough, as Terror plodded along behind the guide, they suddenly came into view of the Tracker standing in the winding trail with uplifted hand, and Terror knew that the elephants were not far off. The Tracker made signs that the elephants were feeding up the winding trail only three bends ahead.

Carefully Terror the Hunter inspected his heavy rifle, and then he followed the Tracker. They stopped often to listen along the winding trail. At last they heard the crackle of a limb ahead. They looked cautiously around the turn in the winding trail in time to see Grandpa Elephant wave a branch leisurely in the air and then tuck it into his mouth. Terror the Hunter grew eager and excited when he saw how large were the tusks that Grandpa Elephant carried.

Now Grandpa Elephant, like all elephants, had never had good eyes, and they had grown even more dim with age. His once-keen nose was not so good as it had been, and his ears often deceived him. As he had left the elephant herd, there was no mother elephant to guard him. He stood there eating peacefully, while Terror the Hunter took careful aim.

There was a terrific explosion, and Grandpa Elephant was almost knocked off his feet. He tried to run away, but his legs were weak. He could scarcely walk through the dense jungle.

Suddenly there appeared two of Grandpa Elephant's old friends who had been quietly feeding near by.

"Are you badly hurt?" one of them asked.

"Yes, very badly," replied Grandpa Elephant.

Then his old friends did a very brave and kindly deed. They could have run away in safety if they had chosen to do so. Instead, they hurried to Grandpa Elephant and, with one pressing tightly against him on each side they almost carried him out of sight into the dense jungle before Terror the Hunter could get another shot.

IN one way the elephants were quite unlike all their friendly neighbors. They were likely to be found living almost anywhere. There were those who lived in the Cool Forest on Green Mountain, and others who lived in dense, swampy, lowland forests. Some lived in the hot, dry country along a stretch of Lazy River, and others in desert like country where they saw no rain sometimes for two or three years, and where they had to travel for many miles to get a drink of even bitter water.

Although some of the elephant herds lived in the same neighborhood all through the year if they were not disturbed, others traveled long distances from one place to another. Sometimes the herds met and traveled along together. Then when they arrived at their new location they would separate again into families as before. After a while they would all leave, and not an elephant could be found within many, many miles of the place.

So it was not strange that when Terror the Hunter came to Lower Forest, Aunt Keen Nose and the other elephants decided to leave Green Mountain for a while. When the evening shadows stole through Rolling Foothills, the elephants hurried from their hiding place and started out across Broad Plain in search of a new home.

It was a tiresome journey for Toto and Tembo and the other baby elephants. For although the elephants traveled slowly after they were well away from Terror the Hunter, and sometimes stopped to pick Favorite Food, still the journey was long. They did not stop until they had reached Thorny Woods, and that was more than a hundred miles from Green Mountain.

Thorny Woods was quite different from Lower Forest. It lay along the edge of Broad Plain where Little Lazy River met Lazy River. It was not a beautiful place; but it seemed quiet and safe, and there was much Favorite Food. In Thorny Woods were many acacia trees, of which the elephants were fond; and there were trees and bushes with juicy little fruits on them that required much patience of the elephants to pick them one by one. There were tall palmyra trees with delicious seeds, which the elephants shook down by butting their huge heads against the trees. On Broad Plain, where the elephants often went, there was, in some places, elephant grass almost as tall as their backs.

There lived here the white herons, who were good friends of the elephants, as they were also of Blackie the Buffalo and other of the Wild Animals. It did not take them long to discover the elephants after they arrived at Thorny Woods. Every place the elephants went the white herons went also. If the elephants were in Thorny Woods, you could see the white herons circling overhead or perched in the trees under which the elephants were feeding or resting, for the elephants always rested in midday. If the elephants were walking through the tall grass of Broad Plain, the white herons were sure to be flying around or riding along on the heads and backs of their big friends. They even rode on the pink little calves.

When the elephants came to a patch of ground with short grass, or where the grass had been burned off, down would fly the white herons and march along beside their big friends, catching the grasshoppers that the large feet disturbed. Then when they came to tall grass, back they would fly again to their perches on the broad backs and big heads. If anyone wanted to find the elephants from afar, he needed only to look for the white herons flying about or sitting in the trees, and he could be sure that the elephants would be near by.

Toto and Tembo were no longer pink little calves, for they were almost a year old. Their skin had become grayish, but sometimes after a mud bath they looked like anthills that had suddenly come to life and were scampering about. Although Mother Elephant would continue to nurse them until they were two years old, they really were large babies.

Toto and Tembo had great fun in their new home. One of their favorite games was Roll the Ball. First they would find a large piece of hard clay which some Wild Animal had broken from an anthill. Then away they would go, rolling it across Broad Plain as happy as boys with a football.

But sometimes, like boys who have nothing to do except play, Toto and Tembo got into mischief. One day the elephants were resting near a herd of buffaloes. There were baby buffaloes playing a game of Chase around their mothers. Toto and Tembo watched them for a while. The baby buffaloes seemed to be having great fun.

"Let's go over and play Tease," said Toto to Tembo.

"Yes, let's," replied Tembo.

Away they went, leaving Mother Elephant sleeping under an acacia tree, lazily flapping her big ears now and then to drive away the troublesome insects. Sometimes she would shift her tremendous weight from one side to the other so as to rest her legs. Her short tusks were resting across a strong limb so as to help to hold up her heavy head. Aunt Keen Nose was also asleep. That is, she was sleeping as much as she ever did. Quite often her long trunk would curl and uncurl, or twist this way and that overhead as she tested the Playful Air Whiffs for Lurking Enemies. For there was no telling when Fearful the Man or Black Hunter might pass that way. It really was a good time for Toto and Tembo to run away, while Mother Elephant and Aunt Keen Nose were drowsing.

Soon they were right in the midst of the game of Chase. But the baby buffaloes thought that chasing each other and being chased by Toto and Tembo were two quite different games. Of course, it may have been that the baby buffaloes were a little timid, and then again perhaps Toto and Tembo were too rough. For they were much larger than the baby buffaloes.

So it turned out that Toto and Tembo did all of the chasing; and when the baby buffaloes would no longer play, it became a game of Tease. First Toto would rush at a baby buffalo as if he intended to bowl it over. No doubt he would have if it had not run. Then Tembo would charge at the baby buffaloes, scattering them right and left.

At last the mother buffaloes lost their patience. They decided they would change it into a game of Chase again, and they would do the chasing. Toto and Tembo were glad when they reached Mother Elephant after escaping the sharp horns of the mother buffaloes.

Now came the time of year when there had been no rain on Broad Plain for many months, and the tall elephant grass was yellow and dry. There were few leaves left on the acacias in Thorny Woods. Although the elephants did not mind the hot, dry weather, there came a grave danger that caused them to leave. It happened this way

One night as the elephants were crossing from Thorny Wood to that part of Broad Plain where the elephant grass grew tallest, Aunt Keen Nose noticed that a path had been cut through the tall dry grass. She stopped and sniffed. She caught the Revealing Scent of Black Hunter, and she thought that he was up to no good trick.

You see, Black Hunter had discovered that the elephants had been feeding on Broad Plain. While the elephants were away, he and his friends had cut a wide path around the place where they expected the elephants to return. They planned that after the elephants were inside the large circle, they would steal out with torches and surround the elephants. Then at a signal all would set fire to the tall grass, and the elephants would perish within the fiery circle.

But Aunt Keen nose was not so easily caught. She remembered that Black Hunter had tried that trick when she was small, and her Loving Mother had managed to lead her through a spot where Black Hunter had not yet started a fire. Then they had fled to Green Mountain.

So when Aunt Keen Nose caught the Revealing Scent of Black Hunter, she lost no time leading the elephant herd away from that dreaded place.

CHAPTER 20 - Some Tricksters Are Tricked

BAM the Chimpanzee looked old, but he really was not. Perhaps it was because he had so many worries that his forehead and face were wrinkled. The hair grew around his face almost like a beard, and he wore his hair parted on his forehead, which seemed to be the style among the chimpanzees. His ears were large and round, and, like his cousins the gorillas, he had no tail.

Bam lived in Lower Forest on Green Mountain. He liked to live there because it was cool. He simply could not stand the heat from the Burning Sun. He felt quite safe in the dense forest as he wandered about during the day in search of Favorite Food, uttering loud cries. He certainly was a noisy fellow, he and his family and the other families of chimpanzees that lived in Lower Forest. Often the night rang with their terrific screams for hours when they were supposed to be asleep.

The chimpanzees were a motley crowd. Some of them wore brown coats, and some of their coats were black or gray. Their complexion might be anything from white to black, but they didn't seem to worry about their appearance. And they didn't worry about a home, for they never stayed long in the same part of the forest. They went from place to place looking for juicy berries and ripe bananas and other Favorite Food.

When the chimpanzees wanted to sleep, Bam would build a nest in a dense tree for Mrs. Chimp and her tiny baby, if she had one. Then he would sit on the ground with his back against the tree's trunk so that it would shelter him some from the falling rain. There Bam would sleep.

But Bam had many worries. They were enough to make him look old and have a wrinkled face. For one thing, he always had to watch out for Chui the Leopard. Chui often came into Lower Forest looking for monkeys, which he liked to eat. Young chimpanzees suited him fully as well.

Then there were the Black Hunters who went stalking through Lower Forest with their poisoned arrows. Sometimes they set cunning traps baited with tempting food or hidden in the Winding Trails for any woods folk who might chance to be passing that way. There was Terror the Hunter with his many guns. Sometimes Bam and his family went out to rob plantations. Then Fearful the Man would chase them with his dogs and gun. That was one worry which Bam brought on himself. But if Bam found a deserted plantation, then he could feast in peace.

Early one evening, when the day began to cool, Bam started out with his family in search of a supper. Bam had a curious way of walking. He placed the backs of his fingers on the ground, then swung his legs forward between his arms as if he were walking on crutches. Bam's fingers were partly webbed, and the skin on their backs was thick and tough where he pressed them on the ground. He even bent his toes under and walked on the back of them sometimes. Bam could walk erect, but he was not steady on his feet. He clasped his hands behind his head to help him to steady himself.

After a while Bam came to a hollow log. He jumped up on it to look around. It made a peculiar noise under his feet He struck it with his hand. It made a loud booming sound. Then he went at it with both hands, beating out an accompaniment to his loud shouts. Soon his entire family came over and thumped and hooted until they were tired. It was disturbing to the other Wild Creatures.

"Caw, caw, caw! " complained White-Neck the Raven from his perch in a tall tree.

"Caw, caw, caw!" echoed Bam, for he liked to mimic the other Wild Creatures. He mimicked the parrots and the hyraxes who were annoyed by his loud noise. And he hooted back at the elephants when he heard them trumpet from afar. If there was no one to mimic, he often broke the stillness of Lower Forest with his loud yells when all other voices were silent. In fact, he was quite a rowdy.

Now there lived in Lower Forest an old fellow called Grivet the Monkey, who was the leader of a large troop. There must have been nearly thirty of them in his band, but they sounded as if there were fifty, as they went chattering loudly through the treetops. They were a noisy and mischievous lot. They delighted in playing tricks on the chimpanzees.

Grivet the Monkey belonged to a group known as the guenon monkeys, but Bam the Chimpanzee was an ape. While Bam had no tail and lived mostly on the ground, Grivet the Monkey had a long tail and stayed in the high treetops most of the time. Grivet the Monkey had pouches in his cheeks into which he could stuff dainties and carry them off to some secluded place where he could eat them.

One day as Grivet the Monkey and his followers were jumping along through the high treetops, springing nimbly from limb to limb, he spied the chimpanzees far below enjoying a quiet rest.

"Shush ! " said Grivet, "I see the chimpanzees down there resting. Let's go down and have some fun."

So the monkeys dropped quietly down from branch to springy branch until they were quite near, keeping their bodies hidden among the dense leaves. Grivet the Monkey silently dropped to the ground near Bam the Chimpanzee and quickly gave him a jab in the back with a sharp stick. Then he sprang nimbly up a tree.

"Wah, wah, wah! " yelled Bam, as he awoke from his daydreaming. "Who jabbed me in the back?" He thought it might have been one of his own playful little fellows, for they were always trying new games.

"Ho, ho, ho," laughed Grivet the Monkey. And the rest of the monkeys joined in with their loud chatter.

"Wah hoo, wah hoo!" shrieked Bam, and he stamped his feet angrily. Which probably meant "Come down and fight."

The monkeys came down as far as they dared and dropped sticks and large chunks of moss on the chimpanzees.

"E-eee-e ! " shieked Bam again, and pounded the ground with his hands. Then he started up a tree after Grivet the Monkey.

But Grivet was not to be caught. He ran far out on a springy limb, sprang nimbly across to another tree, and ran up to the very top of it. The other monkeys scooted for safe places on swaying boughs where Bam could not follow, or hid behind large pieces of moss that hung from the trees.

Now it is hard to say how long this would have continued if Battler the Eagle had not put a quick end to it. You see, Battler the Eagle was out looking for his dinner, and as he sailed high overhead he spied Grivet the Monkey in the top of a high tree where he had run to escape Bam.

Down swooped Battler in a flash, and he most surely would have caught Grivet the Monkey if one of the other monkeys had not spied Battler and shrieked a warning.

You may be sure that the monkeys were glad to vanish among the sheltering trees and mind their own business for a while. And Bam went back down to earth, muttering threats at his tormentors.