eating them. But he was careless, and he left one eggshell
on the edge, and he was hungry and he ate so many that the
pile got much smaller, and when the old Mugger came back he
saw at once that some one had been meddling with them.

So he ran to Little Black Mingo, and said, "How dare you eat
my eggs?"

"Indeed, indeed I didn't," said Little Black Mingo.

"Then who could it have been?" said the Mugger, and he ran
back to the eggs as fast as he could, and sure enough when
he got back he found the Mongoose had eaten a whole lot
more!!

Then he said to himself, "I must stay beside my eggs till
they are hatched into little muggers, or the Mongoose will
eat them all." So he curled himself into a ring round the
eggs and went to sleep.

But while he was asleep the Mongoose came to eat some more
of the eggs, and ate as many as he wanted, and when the
Mugger woke this time, oh! WHAT a rage he was in, for there
were only six eggs left! He roared so loud that all the
little muggers inside the shells gnashed their teeth, and
tried to roar too.

Then he said, "I know what I'll do, I'll fetch Little Black
Mingo's big chatty and cover my eggs with that, then the
Mongoose won't be able to get at them." So he swam across