Outa Karel's Stories Part 3

"'Oh no!' said Volstruis, 'you have cubs to share the food with, so you rip open and eat. I shall only drink the blood.'

"This put Leeuw in a good humour; he thought Volstruis a n.o.ble, unselfish creature. But truly, as I said before, Volstruis was clever. Baasjes see, he couldn't eat meat; he had no teeth. But he didn't want Leeuw to know. Therefore he said, 'You eat; I will only drink the blood.'

"So Leeuw ripped open--sk-r-r-r-r, sk-r-r-r-r--and called the cubs, and they all ate till they were satisfied. Then Volstruis came along in a careless fas.h.i.+on, pecking, pecking as he walked, and drank the blood. Then he and Leeuw lay down in the shade of some trees and went to sleep.

"The cubs played about, rolling and tumbling over each other. As they played they came to the place where Volstruis lay.

"'Aha!' said one, 'he sleeps with his mouth open.'

"He peeped into Volstruis's mouth. 'Aha!' he said again, 'I see something.'

"Another cub came and peeped.

"'Alle kracht!' he said, 'I see something too. Let us go and tell our father.'

"So they ran off in great excitement and woke Leeuw. 'Come, come quickly,' they said. 'Volstruis insults you by saying he is your equal. He lies sleeping under the trees with his mouth wide open, and we have peeped into it, and behold, he has no teeth! Come and see for yourself.'

"Leeuw bounded off quick-quick with the cubs at his tail.

"'Nier-r-r-r,' he growled, waking Volstruis, 'nier-r-r-r. What is the meaning of this? You pretend you are my equal, and you haven't even got teeth.'

"'Teeth or no teeth,' said Volstruis, standing up wide awake, 'I killed more bucks than you did to-day. Teeth or no teeth, I'll fight you to show who's baas.'

"'Come on,' said Leeuw. 'Who's afraid? I'm just ready for you. Come on!'

"'No, wait a little,' said Volstruis. 'I've got a plan. You see that ant-heap over there? Well, you stand on one side of it, and I'll stand on the other side, and we'll see who can push it over first. After that we'll come out into the open and fight.'

"'That seems an all-right plan,' said Leeuw; and he thought to himself, 'I'm heavier and stronger; I can easily send the ant-heap flying on to old Three Sticks, and then spring over and kill him.'

"But wait a bit! It was not as easy as he thought. Every time he sprang at the ant-heap he clung to it as he was accustomed to cling to his prey. He had no other way of doing things. And then Volstruis would take the opportunity of kicking high into the air, sending the sand and stones into Leeuw's face, and making him howl and splutter with rage.

"Sometimes he would stand still and roar, and Volstruis would send a roar back from the other side.

"So they went on till the top of the ant-heap was quite loosened by the kicks and blows. Leeuw was getting angrier and angrier, and he could hardly see--his eyes were so full of dust. He gathered himself together for a tremendous spring, but, before he could make it, Volstruis bounded into the air and kicked the whole top off the ant-heap. Arre, but the dust was thick!

"When it cleared away, there lay Leeuw, groaning and coughing, with the great heap of earth and stones on top of him.

"'Ohe! ohe!' wailed the cubs, 'get up, my father. Here he comes, the Toothless One! He who has teeth only on his feet! Get up and slay him.'

"Leeuw shook himself free of the earth and sprang at Volstruis, but his eyes were full of sand; he could not see properly, so he missed. As he came down heavily, Volstruis shot out his strong right leg and caught Leeuw in the side. Sk-r-r-r-r! went the skin, and goops! goops! over fell poor Oom Leeuw, with Volstruis's terrible claws--the teeth of old Two Toes--fastened into him.

"Volstruis danced on him, flapping and waving his beautiful black and white wings, and tearing the life out of Oom Leeuw.

"When it was all over, he cleaned his claws in the sand and waltzed away slowly over the veld to where his mate sat on the nest.

"Only the cubs were left wailing over the dead King of the Forest."

The usual babel of question and comment broke out at the close of the story, till at last Pietie's decided young voice detached itself from the general chatter.

"Outa, what made you say that about pulling the blankets over one's head and running to get near Mammie if one heard Volstruis bellowing at night? You know quite well that none of us would ever do it."

"Yes, yes, my baasje, I know," said Outa, soothingly. "I never meant anyone who belongs to the land of Volstruise. But other little masters, who did not know the voice of old Three Sticks--they would run to their mam-mas if they heard him."

"Oh, I see," said Pietie, accepting the apology graciously. "I was sure you could not mean a karroo farm boy."

"Is your story a parable, Outa?" asked little Jan, who had been doing some hard thinking for the last minute.

"Ach! and what is that, my little master?"

"A kind of fable, Outa."

"Yes, that's what it is, baasje," said Outa, gladly seizing on the word he understood, "a fable, a sort of nice little fable."

"But a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, and when Cousin Minnie tells us parables she always finds the meaning for us. What is the heavenly meaning of this, Outa?"

Little Jan's innocent grey eyes were earnestly fixed on Outa's face, as though to read from it the explanation he sought. For once the old native was nonplussed. He rubbed his red kopdoek, laid a crooked finger thoughtfully against his flat nose, scratched his sides, monkey-fas.h.i.+on, and finally had recourse once more to the kopdoek. But all these expedients failed to inspire him with the heavenly meaning of the story he had just told. Ach! these dear little ones, to think of such strange things! There they all were, waiting for his next words. He must get out of it somehow.

"Baasjes," he began, smoothly, "there is a beautiful meaning to the story, but Outa hasn't got time to tell it now. Another time----"

"Outa," broke in Willem, reprovingly, "you know you only want to get away so that you can go to the old tramp-floor, where the volk are dancing to-night."

"No, my baasje, truly no!"

"And I wouldn't be surprised to hear that you had danced, too, after the way you have been jumping about here."

"Yes, that was fine," said Pietie, with relish. "'Voerts! there is one dead! Voerts! there is another!' Outa, you always say you are so stiff, but you can still kick well."

"Aja, baasje," returned Outa, modestly; "in my day I was a great dancer. No one could do the Vastrap better--and the Hondekrap--and the Valsrivier. Arre, those were the times!"

He gave a little hop at the remembrance of those mad and merry days, and yet another and another, always towards the pa.s.sage leading to the kitchen.

"But the meaning, Outa, the heavenly meaning!" cried little Jan. "You haven't told us."

"No, my little baas, not to-night. Ask the Nonnie; she will tell you. Here she comes."

And as Cousin Minnie entered the room, the wily old native, with an agility not to be expected from his cramped and crooked limbs, skipped away, leaving her to bear the brunt of his inability to explain his own story.

IV.

WHY THE HYENA IS LAME.