THE LITTLE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR


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,--