THE LITTLE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR

: Stories To Tell Children

The little Jackal was very fond of shell-fish. He used to go down by the

river and hunt along the edges for crabs and such things. And once, when

he was hunting for crabs, he was so hungry that he put his paw into the

water after a crab without looking first,--which you never should do!

The minute he put in his paw, _snap_!--the big Alligator who lives in

the mud down there had it in his jaws.



"Oh, dear!"
thought the little Jackal; "the big Alligator has my paw in

his mouth! In another minute he will pull me down and gobble me up! What

shall I do? what shall I do?" Then he thought, suddenly, "I'll deceive

him!"



So he put on a very cheerful voice, as if nothing at all were the

matter, and he said,--



"Ho! ho! Clever Mr Alligator! Smart Mr Alligator, to take that old

bulrush root for my paw! I hope you'll find it very tender!"



The old Alligator was hidden away beneath the mud and bulrush leaves,

and he couldn't see anything. He thought, "Pshaw! I've made a mistake."

So he opened his mouth and let the little Jackal go.



The little Jackal ran away as fast as he could, and as he ran he called

out,--



"Thank you, Mr Alligator! Kind Mr Alligator! _So_ kind of you to let me

go!"



The old Alligator lashed with his tail and snapped with his jaws, but it

was too late; the little Jackal was out of reach.



After this the little Jackal kept away from the river, out of danger.

But after about a week he got such an appetite for crabs that nothing

else would do at all; he felt that he must have a crab. So he went down

by the river and looked all around, very carefully. He didn't see the

old Alligator, but he thought to himself, "I think I'll not take any

chances." So he stood still and began to talk out loud to himself. He

said,--



"When I don't see any little crabs on the land I generally see them

sticking out of the water, and then I put my paw in and catch them. I

wonder if there are any fat little crabs in the water to-day?"



The old Alligator was hidden down in the mud at the bottom of the river,

and when he heard what the little Jackal said, he thought, "Aha! I'll

pretend to be a little crab, and when he puts his paw in, I'll make my

dinner of him." So he stuck the black end of his snout above the water

and waited.



The little Jackal took one look, and then he said,--



"Thank you, Mr Alligator! Kind Mr Alligator! You are _exceedingly_ kind

to show me where you are! I will have dinner elsewhere." And he ran away

like the wind.



The old Alligator foamed at the mouth, he was so angry, but the little

Jackal was gone.



For two whole weeks the little Jackal kept away from the river. Then,

one day he got a feeling inside him that nothing but crabs could

satisfy: he felt that he must have at least one crab. Very cautiously,

he went down to the river and looked all around. He saw no sign of the

old Alligator. Still, he did not mean to take any chances. So he stood

quite still and began to talk to himself,--it was a little way he had.

He said,--



"When I don't see any little crabs on the shore, or sticking up out of

the water, I usually see them blowing bubbles from under the water; the

little bubbles go _puff, puff, puff_, and then they go _pop, pop, pop_,

and they show me where the little juicy crabs are, so I can put my paw

in and catch them. I wonder if I shall see any little bubbles to-day?"



The old Alligator, lying low in the mud and weeds, heard this, and he

thought, "Pooh! _That's_ easy enough; I'll just blow some little

crab-bubbles, and then he will put his paw in where I can get it."



So he blew, and he blew, a mighty blast, and the bubbles rose in a

perfect whirlpool, fizzing and swirling.



The little Jackal didn't have to be told who was underneath those

bubbles: he took one quick look, and off he ran. But as he went, he

sang,--



"Thank you, Mr Alligator! Kind Mr Alligator! You are the kindest

Alligator in the world, to show me where you are, so nicely! I'll

breakfast at another part of the river."



The old Alligator was so furious that he crawled up on the bank and went

after the little Jackal; but, dear, dear, he couldn't catch the little

Jackal; he ran far too fast.



After this, the little Jackal did not like to risk going near the water,

so he ate no more crabs. But he found a garden of wild figs, which were

so good that he went there every day, and ate them instead of

shell-fish.



Now the old Alligator found this out, and he made up his mind to have

the little Jackal for supper, or to die trying. So he crept, and

crawled, and dragged himself over the ground to the garden of wild figs.

There he made a huge pile of figs under the biggest of the wild fig

trees, and hid himself in the pile.



After a while the little Jackal came dancing into the garden, very happy

and free from care,--_but_ looking all around. He saw the huge pile of

figs under the big fig tree.



"H-m," he thought, "that looks singularly like my friend, the Alligator.

I'll investigate a bit."



He stood quite still and began to talk to himself,--it was a little way

he had. He said,--



"The little figs I like best are the fat, ripe, juicy ones that drop off

when the breeze blows; and then the wind blows them about on the ground,

this way and that; the great heap of figs over there is so still that I

think they must be all bad figs."



The old Alligator, underneath his fig pile, thought,--



"Bother the suspicious little Jackal! I shall have to make these figs

roll about, so that he will think the wind moves them." And straight-way

he humped himself up and moved, and sent the little figs flying,--and

his back showed through.



The little Jackal did not wait for a second look. He ran out of the

garden like the wind. But as he ran he called back,--



"Thank you, again, Mr Alligator; very sweet of you to show me where you

are; I can't stay to thank you as I should like: good-bye!"



At this the old Alligator was beside himself with rage. He vowed that he

would have the little Jackal for supper this time, come what might. So

he crept and crawled over the ground till he came to the little Jackal's

house. Then he crept and crawled inside, and hid himself there in the

house, to wait till the little Jackal should come home.



By and by the little Jackal came dancing home, happy and free from

care,--_but_ looking all around. Presently, as he came along, he saw

that the ground was all raked up as if something very heavy had been

dragged over it. The little Jackal stopped and looked.



"What's this? what's this?" he said.



Then he saw that the door of his house was crushed at the sides and

broken, as if something very big had gone through it.



"What's this? What's this?" the little Jackal said. "I think I'll

investigate a little!"



So he stood quite still and began to talk to himself (you remember, it

was a little way he had), but loudly. He said,--



"How strange that my little House doesn't speak to me! Why don't you

speak to me, little House? You always speak to me, if everything is all

right, when I come home. I wonder if anything is wrong with my little

House?"



The old Alligator thought to himself that he must certainly pretend to

be the little House, or the little Jackal would never come in. So he put

on as pleasant a voice as he could (which is not saying much) and

said,--



"Hullo, little Jackal!"



Oh! When the little Jackal heard that, he was frightened enough, for

once.



"It's the old Alligator," he said, "and if I don't make an end of him

this time he will certainly make an end of me. What shall I do?"



He thought very fast. Then he spoke out pleasantly.



"Thank you, little House," he said, "it's good to hear your pretty

voice, dear little House, and I will be in with you in a minute; only

first I must gather some firewood for dinner."



Then he went and gathered firewood, and more firewood, and more

firewood; and he piled it all up solid against the door and round the

house; and then he set fire to it!



And it smoked and burned till it smoked that old Alligator to smoked

herring!



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