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THE ALLIGATOR AND THE JACKAL
ADAPTED BY M. FRERE
A hungry Jackal once went down to the riverside in search of little
crabs, bits of fish, and whatever else he could find for his dinner.
Now it chanced that in this river there lived a great big Alligator,
who, being also very hungry, would have been extremely glad to eat the
Jackal.
The Jackal ran up and down, here and there, but for a long time could
find nothing to eat. At last, close to where the Alligator was lying
among some tall bulrushes under the clear, shallow water, he saw a
little crab sidling along as fast as his legs could carry him. The
Jackal was so hungry that when he saw this he poked his paw into the
water to try to catch the crab, when snap! the old Alligator caught
hold of him. "Oh, dear!" thought the Jackal to himself, "what can I
do? This great, big Alligator has caught my paw in his mouth, and in
another minute he will drag me down by it under the water and kill
me. My only chance is to make him think he has made a mistake." So he
called out in a cheerful voice: "Clever Alligator, clever Alligator,
to catch hold of a bulrush root instead of my paw! I hope you find
it very tender.
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