. The world of the great forest : how animals, birds, reptiles, insects talk, think, work and live . u. Neither will I trample upon you, and try tocrush your body under my feet. I do not fancy thesesharp-pointed quills. They would hurt my trunk ifI got hold of you, and lame me for life and perhapscause my death if I trampled upon you. So do notbe afraid. I will not try to hurt you. After this the njokoo left, and for a while the porcu-pine could hear his heavy footsteps or the cracking ofsaplings which he broke as he walked through them. 92 THE NGOMBAS, OR PORCUPINES The porcupine did not know
. The world of the great forest : how animals, birds, reptiles, insects talk, think, work and live . u. Neither will I trample upon you, and try tocrush your body under my feet. I do not fancy thesesharp-pointed quills. They would hurt my trunk ifI got hold of you, and lame me for life and perhapscause my death if I trampled upon you. So do notbe afraid. I will not try to hurt you. After this the njokoo left, and for a while the porcu-pine could hear his heavy footsteps or the cracking ofsaplings which he broke as he walked through them. 92 THE NGOMBAS, OR PORCUPINES The porcupine did not know what the trumpetingof the njokoo meant, and did not know what the bigand powerful njokoo said to him. But he had beenso scared by the elephant that he did not dare for along while to unroll himself and go about. At last,when he was sure that he was safe, he continued hisrambling in search of food. He soon came to the den of two leopards who wereout in search of prey for their three baby leopards,who were walking round outside. As soon as thesesaw the poor porcupine, they started for him, and he. had just time to roll himself up, for their steps were solight that he had not heard them. The little leopards were so young that they had noexperience, and thought they would play with the much-frightened porcupine with their paws, just as a cat doeswith a mouse. But they did not try it twice, whenthey felt the pricking of the porcupines quills. 93 THE WORLD OF THE GREAT FOREST As soon as the tiny little leopards went back totheir den, the porcupine unrolled himself and ranaway as fast as his short legs would let him. After hehad settled down into a walk, he passed a big snake ofthe color of the dead leaves, hiding among them andwaiting for prey. When he heard the noise the por-cupine was making, he was delighted, for he said,Surely I am going to have something to eat; butthe porcupine had not yet wholly got over his fright,and was walking with his quills standing up. Thesnake, with h
Size: 2176px × 1148px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectanimals, bookyear1901
