The Beginning Of The Armadillos

: Just So Stories

THIS, O Best Beloved, is another story of the High and Far-Off Times. In

the very middle of those times was a Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog, and he

lived on the banks of the turbid Amazon, eating shelly snails and

things. And he had a friend, a Slow-Solid Tortoise, who lived on the

banks of the turbid Amazon, eating green lettuces and things. And so

that was all right, Best Beloved. Do you see?



But also, and a
the same time, in those High and Far-Off Times, there

was a Painted Jaguar, and he lived on the banks of the turbid Amazon

too; and he ate everything that he could catch. When he could not catch

deer or monkeys he would eat frogs and beetles; and when he could not

catch frogs and beetles he went to his Mother Jaguar, and she told him

how to eat hedgehogs and tortoises.



She said to him ever so many times, graciously waving her tail, 'My son,

when you find a Hedgehog you must drop him into the water and then he

will uncoil, and when you catch a Tortoise you must scoop him out of his

shell with your paw.' And so that was all right, Best Beloved.



One beautiful night on the banks of the turbid Amazon, Painted Jaguar

found Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog and Slow-Solid Tortoise sitting under the

trunk of a fallen tree. They could not run away, and so Stickly-Prickly

curled himself up into a ball, because he was a Hedgehog, and Slow-Solid

Tortoise drew in his head and feet into his shell as far as they would

go, because he was a Tortoise; and so that was all right, Best

Beloved. Do you see?



'Now attend to me,' said Painted Jaguar, 'because this is very

important. My mother said that when I meet a Hedgehog I am to drop him

into the water and then he will uncoil, and when I meet a Tortoise I am

to scoop him out of his shell with my paw. Now which of you is Hedgehog

and which is Tortoise? because to save my spots, I can't tell.'



'Are you sure of what your Mummy told you?' said Stickly-Prickly

Hedgehog. 'Are you quite sure? Perhaps she said that when you uncoil a

Tortoise you must shell him out of the water with a scoop, and when you

paw a Hedgehog you must drop him on the shell.'



'Are you sure of what your Mummy told you?' said Slow-and-Solid

Tortoise. 'Are you quite sure? Perhaps she said that when you water a

Hedgehog you must drop him into your paw, and when you meet a Tortoise

you must shell him till he uncoils.'



'I don't think it was at all like that,' said Painted Jaguar, but he

felt a little puzzled; 'but, please, say it again more distinctly.'



'When you scoop water with your paw you uncoil it with a Hedgehog,' said

Stickly-Prickly. 'Remember that, because it's important.'



'But,' said the Tortoise, 'when you paw your meat you drop it into a

Tortoise with a scoop. Why can't you understand?'




Red and Black. It hasn't anything to do with the story except that there

are two Armadillos in it--up by the top. The inciting part are the

adventures that happened to the men who went along the road marked in

red. I meant to draw Armadillos when I began the map, and I meant to

draw manatees and spider-tailed monkeys and big snakes and lots of

Jaguars, but it was more inciting to do the map and the venturesome

adventures in red. You begin at the bottom left-hand corner and follow

the little arrows all about, and then you come quite round again to

where the adventuresome people went home in a ship called the Royal

Tiger. This is a most adventuresome picture, and all the adventures are

told about in writing, so you can be quite sure which is an adventure

and which is a tree or a boat.]



'You are making my spots ache,' said Painted Jaguar; 'and besides, I

didn't want your advice at all. I only wanted to know which of you is

Hedgehog and which is Tortoise.'



'I shan't tell you,' said Stickly-Prickly, 'but you can scoop me out of

my shell if you like.'



'Aha!' said Painted Jaguar. 'Now I know you're Tortoise. You thought I

wouldn't! Now I will.' Painted Jaguar darted out his paddy-paw just as

Stickly-Prickly curled himself up, and of course Jaguar's paddy-paw was

just filled with prickles. Worse than that, he knocked Stickly-Prickly

away and away into the woods and the bushes, where it was too dark to

find him. Then he put his paddy-paw into his mouth, and of course the

prickles hurt him worse than ever. As soon as he could speak he said,

'Now I know he isn't Tortoise at all. But'--and then he scratched his

head with his un-prickly paw--'how do I know that this other is

Tortoise?'



'But I am Tortoise,' said Slow-and-Solid. 'Your mother was quite

right. She said that you were to scoop me out of my shell with your paw.

Begin.'



'You didn't say she said that a minute ago,' said Painted Jaguar,

sucking the prickles out of his paddy-paw. 'You said she said something

quite different.'



'Well, suppose you say that I said that she said something quite

different, I don't see that it makes any difference; because if she said

what you said I said she said, it's just the same as if I said what she

said she said. On the other hand, if you think she said that you were to

uncoil me with a scoop, instead of pawing me into drops with a shell, I

can't help that, can I?'



'But you said you wanted to be scooped out of your shell with my paw,'

said Painted Jaguar.



'If you'll think again you'll find that I didn't say anything of the

kind. I said that your mother said that you were to scoop me out of my

shell,' said Slow-and-Solid.



'What will happen if I do?' said the Jaguar most sniffily and most

cautious.



'I don't know, because I've never been scooped out of my shell before;

but I tell you truly, if you want to see me swim away you've only got to

drop me into the water.'



'I don't believe it,' said Painted Jaguar. 'You've mixed up all the

things my mother told me to do with the things that you asked me whether

I was sure that she didn't say, till I don't know whether I'm on my head

or my painted tail; and now you come and tell me something I can

understand, and it makes me more mixy than before. My mother told me

that I was to drop one of you two into the water, and as you seem so

anxious to be dropped I think you don't want to be dropped. So jump into

the turbid Amazon and be quick about it.'



'I warn you that your Mummy won't be pleased. Don't tell her I didn't

tell you,' said Slow-Solid.



'If you say another word about what my mother said--' the Jaguar

answered, but he had not finished the sentence before Slow-and-Solid

quietly dived into the turbid Amazon, swam under water for a long way,

and came out on the bank where Stickly-Prickly was waiting for him.



'That was a very narrow escape,' said Stickly-Prickly. 'I don't like

Painted Jaguar. What did you tell him that you were?'



'I told him truthfully that I was a truthful Tortoise, but he wouldn't

believe it, and he made me jump into the river to see if I was, and I

was, and he is surprised. Now he's gone to tell his Mummy. Listen to

him!'



They could hear Painted Jaguar roaring up and down among the trees and

the bushes by the side of the turbid Amazon, till his Mummy came.



'Son, son!' said his mother ever so many times, graciously waving her

tail, 'what have you been doing that you shouldn't have done?'



'I tried to scoop something that said it wanted to be scooped out of its

shell with my paw, and my paw is full of per-ickles,' said Painted

Jaguar.



'Son, son!' said his mother ever so many times, graciously waving her

tail, 'by the prickles in your paddy-paw I see that that must have been

a Hedgehog. You should have dropped him into the water.'



'I did that to the other thing; and he said he was a Tortoise, and I

didn't believe him, and it was quite true, and he has dived under the

turbid Amazon, and he won't come up again, and I haven't anything at all

to eat, and I think we had better find lodgings somewhere else. They are

too clever on the turbid Amazon for poor me!'



'Son, son!' said his mother ever so many times, graciously waving her

tail, 'now attend to me and remember what I say. A Hedgehog curls

himself up into a ball and his prickles stick out every which way at

once. By this you may know the Hedgehog.'



'I don't like this old lady one little bit,' said Stickly-Prickly, under

the shadow of a large leaf. 'I wonder what else she knows?'



'A Tortoise can't curl himself up,' Mother Jaguar went on, ever so many

times, graciously waving her tail. 'He only draws his head and legs into

his shell. By this you may know the Tortoise.'



'I don't like this old lady at all--at all,' said Slow-and-Solid

Tortoise. 'Even Painted Jaguar can't forget those directions. It's a

great pity that you can't swim, Stickly-Prickly.'



'Don't talk to me,' said Stickly-Prickly. 'Just think how much better it

would be if you could curl up. This is a mess! Listen to Painted

Jaguar.'



Painted Jaguar was sitting on the banks of the turbid Amazon sucking

prickles out of his paws and saying to himself--



'Can't curl, but can swim--

Slow-Solid, that's him!

Curls up, but can't swim--

Stickly-Prickly, that's him!'



'He'll never forget that this month of Sundays,' said Stickly-Prickly.

'Hold up my chin, Slow-and-Solid. I'm going to try to learn to swim. It

may be useful.'



'Excellent!' said Slow-and-Solid; and he held up Stickly-Prickly's chin,

while Stickly-Prickly kicked in the waters of the turbid Amazon.



'You'll make a fine swimmer yet,' said Slow-and-Solid. 'Now, if you can

unlace my back-plates a little, I'll see what I can do towards curling

up. It may be useful.'



Stickly-Prickly helped to unlace Tortoise's back-plates, so that by

twisting and straining Slow-and-Solid actually managed to curl up a

tiddy wee bit.



'Excellent!' said Stickly-Prickly; 'but I shouldn't do any more just

now. It's making you black in the face. Kindly lead me into the water

once again and I'll practise that side-stroke which you say is so easy.'

And so Stickly-Prickly practised, and Slow-Solid swam alongside.



'Excellent!' said Slow-and-Solid. 'A little more practice will make you

a regular whale. Now, if I may trouble you to unlace my back and front

plates two holes more, I'll try that fascinating bend that you say is so

easy. Won't Painted Jaguar be surprised!'



'Excellent!' said Stickly-Prickly, all wet from the turbid Amazon. 'I

declare, I shouldn't know you from one of my own family. Two holes, I

think, you said? A little more expression, please, and don't grunt quite

so much, or Painted Jaguar may hear us. When you've finished, I want to

try that long dive which you say is so easy. Won't Painted Jaguar be

surprised!'



And so Stickly-Prickly dived, and Slow-and-Solid dived alongside.



'Excellent!' said Slow-and-Solid. 'A leetle more attention to holding

your breath and you will be able to keep house at the bottom of the

turbid Amazon. Now I'll try that exercise of wrapping my hind legs round

my ears which you say is so peculiarly comfortable. Won't Painted Jaguar

be surprised!'



'Excellent!' said Stickly-Prickly. 'But it's straining your back-plates

a little. They are all overlapping now, instead of lying side by side.'



'Oh, that's the result of exercise,' said Slow-and-Solid. 'I've noticed

that your prickles seem to be melting into one another, and that you're

growing to look rather more like a pine-cone, and less like a

chestnut-burr, than you used to.'



'Am I?' said Stickly-Prickly. 'That comes from my soaking in the water.

Oh, won't Painted Jaguar be surprised!'



They went on with their exercises, each helping the other, till morning

came; and when the sun was high they rested and dried themselves. Then

they saw that they were both of them quite different from what they had

been.



'Stickly-Prickly,' said Tortoise after breakfast, 'I am not what I was

yesterday; but I think that I may yet amuse Painted Jaguar.'



'That was the very thing I was thinking just now,' said Stickly-Prickly.

'I think scales are a tremendous improvement on prickles--to say nothing

of being able to swim. Oh, won't Painted Jaguar be surprised! Let's go

and find him.'



By and by they found Painted Jaguar, still nursing his paddy-paw that

had been hurt the night before. He was so astonished that he fell three

times backward over his own painted tail without stopping.



'Good morning!' said Stickly-Prickly. 'And how is your dear gracious

Mummy this morning?'



'She is quite well, thank you,' said Painted Jaguar; 'but you must

forgive me if I do not at this precise moment recall your name.'



'That's unkind of you,' said Stickly-Prickly, 'seeing that this time

yesterday you tried to scoop me out of my shell with your paw.'



'But you hadn't any shell. It was all prickles,' said Painted Jaguar. 'I

know it was. Just look at my paw!'



'You told me to drop into the turbid Amazon and be drowned,' said

Slow-Solid. 'Why are you so rude and forgetful to-day?'



'Don't you remember what your mother told you?' said Stickly-Prickly,--



'Can't curl, but can swim--

Stickly-Prickly, that's him!

Curls up, but can't swim--

Slow-Solid, that's him!'



Then they both curled themselves up and rolled round and round Painted

Jaguar till his eyes turned truly cart-wheels in his head.



Then he went to fetch his mother.




the Hedgehog and the Tortoise and the Armadillo all in a heap. It

looks rather the same any way you turn it. The Tortoise is in the

middle, learning how to bend, and that is why the shelly plates on his

back are so spread apart. He is standing on the Hedgehog, who is waiting

to learn how to swim. The Hedgehog is a Japanesy Hedgehog, because I

couldn't find our own Hedgehogs in the garden when I wanted to draw

them. (It was daytime, and they had gone to bed under the dahlias.)

Speckly Jaguar is looking over the edge, with his paddy-paw carefully

tied up by his mother, because he pricked himself scooping the Hedgehog.

He is much surprised to see what the Tortoise is doing, and his paw is

hurting him. The snouty thing with the little eye that Speckly Jaguar is

trying to climb over is the Armadillo that the Tortoise and the Hedgehog

are going to turn into when they have finished bending and swimming. It

is all a magic picture, and that is one of the reasons why I haven't

drawn the Jaguar's whiskers. The other reason was that he was so young

that his whiskers had not grown. The Jaguar's pet name with his Mummy

was Doffles.]



'Mother,' he said, 'there are two new animals in the woods to-day,

and the one that you said couldn't swim, swims, and the one that you

said couldn't curl up, curls; and they've gone shares in their prickles,

I think, because both of them are scaly all over, instead of one being

smooth and the other very prickly; and, besides that, they are rolling

round and round in circles, and I don't feel comfy.'



'Son, son!' said Mother Jaguar ever so many times, graciously waving her

tail, 'a Hedgehog is a Hedgehog, and can't be anything but a Hedgehog;

and a Tortoise is a Tortoise, and can never be anything else.'



'But it isn't a Hedgehog, and it isn't a Tortoise. It's a little bit of

both, and I don't know its proper name.'



'Nonsense!' said Mother Jaguar. 'Everything has its proper name. I

should call it "Armadillo" till I found out the real one. And I should

leave it alone.'



So Painted Jaguar did as he was told, especially about leaving them

alone; but the curious thing is that from that day to this, O Best

Beloved, no one on the banks of the turbid Amazon has ever called

Stickly-Prickly and Slow-Solid anything except Armadillo. There are

Hedgehogs and Tortoises in other places, of course (there are some in my

garden); but the real old and clever kind, with their scales lying

lippety-lappety one over the other, like pine-cone scales, that lived on

the banks of the turbid Amazon in the High and Far-Off Days, are always

called Armadillos, because they were so clever.



So that's all right, Best Beloved. Do you see?








I'VE never sailed the Amazon,

I've never reached Brazil;

But the Don and Magdalena,

They can go there when they will!



Yes, weekly from Southampton,

Great steamers, white and gold,

Go rolling down to Rio

(Roll down--roll down to Rio!)

And I'd like to roll to Rio

Some day before I'm old!



I've never seen a Jaguar,

Nor yet an Armadill--

O dilloing in his armour,

And I s'pose I never will,



Unless I go to Rio

These wonders to behold--

Roll down--roll down to Rio--

Roll really down to Rio!

Oh, I'd love to roll to Rio

Some day before I'm old!



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