1
it was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
the lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes. his spouse was sleeping or pretending to sleep. at every moment she heaved a deep sigh. all was still in the forest.
the lion well knew what his consort’s sighing meant. he knew what the animals had talked of that day and all the other days in the forest. not one of their complaints was unfamiliar to him; not one of the taunts uttered against him had escaped his ears. not for a moment had he doubted the feeling in the forest towards the king of beasts.
nor had he forgotten which of the animals had spoken of him most slightingly. he had imprinted the names of more than one in his memory and he would know how to be even with them when the time came and order was restored in the forest. every day he had to bear his consort’s gibes, but he no longer heeded them. she would have to beg his pardon and yield him her love and admiration once again. his children would honour him as they had honoured him of old and even more. he would be remembered in the history of the forest as the monarch in whose reign the kingdom had incurred a great danger and misfortune, which he had finally overcome.
2
the lion rose and went slowly through the forest.
“the king of beasts is out hunting,” said the hedgehog, creeping under the bushes.
“see how thin he is,” said the bat. “his skin is hanging loose on his bones.”
“it is many nights since he went hunting,” said the owl. “his eyes are glaring with hunger.”
but the king of the forest was not thinking of hunting. he went, as though in a dream, in the direction of two-legs’ house. a deer darted across his path and he did not see her. slowly he went until he came to the open space on the hill where two-legs’ house stood.
he went straight up to it, leapt nimbly over the hedge and crouched in some bushes that grew at the door. he there lay concealed. no one could see him, only his yellow eyes gleamed through the leaves. and one bound would bring him to the door.
3
two-legs slept restlessly that night.
he tossed about on his bed of skins and, when at last he fell asleep, trust began to bark so loudly that two-legs had to get up and see what was happening. he had closed up the hole through which trust used to get out, because the goose had lately escaped that way and fallen a prey to the fox.
“what is it, trust?” he asked.
the dog kept on barking and leaping up against him. two-legs opened a little shutter and looked out and listened. but there was nothing to see. then he told the dog to lie down and went back to bed. but now he heard the horse kicking in the stable and the ox began to low and the poultry to cackle. there was no hearing a word for the noise. he had to go out again and found all the animals shaking, as though greatly frightened. the horse stood in a violent sweat and the hens and the ducks and geese fluttered anxiously round and round their roost.
“what can it be?” he said.
he opened the door and stepped out into the night, unarmed and naked, as he had risen from his bed. at that moment, there was a rustling in the bushes. the lion leapt forward, but two-legs just had time to spring back into the house and bolt the door behind him.
he stood for a moment in great alarm and did not know what to do.
through a little hole in the door, he saw the lion lying outside in the bushes, with his eyes fixed on the door, ready to leap again. the yellow eyes glittered with rage. two-legs understood that the fight was now to come that had been so long delayed.
he thought first of waking his sons, slipping out through the other door and attacking the lion in the rear. but they slept in different parts of the house; and the day was already breaking in the east; and, while he was gone to fetch them, one of the family might easily go out and fall a prey to the king of the forest.
while he stood and reflected, his fear left him.
he considered he was man enough to kill his foe unaided. he silently took the best two of his spears, carefully felt the edges, drew a deep breath and then opened the door.
the lion was not there.
two-legs looked from one side to the other and could not discover him. but he was an old, experienced hunter and did not doubt but that the lion was lurking in ambush. so he stood quietly in the doorway, with every muscle taut, ready for the fight that must come.
then he heard a soft rustling in the bushes and, at that moment, he saw the animal’s eyes there among the leaves. he knew there was no time to lose: if the lion sprang first, it was too late.
he flung one of his spears and struck the lion in the eye. the lion uttered a roar of rage; and then the other spear pierced his heart.
all the inmates of the house were now out of bed and came running up.
there lay the dead lion, a great and splendid sight. trust barked at him and wanted to bite him, but two-legs drove him away:
“after all,” he said, “he was king of the forest. but now let it be declared all over the earth that the lion is dead and that the realm is mine.”
then they stripped the lion’s hide and hung it on a tall pole, which they set up in the middle of the field, so that it could be seen from far and wide.
“the lion is slain!” cried the sparrow, from door to door. “two-legs has murdered the king of the forest. his skin is hanging on a pole outside the house: i saw it myself.”
then all crowded up and saw it. from the edge of the forest, full of fear they peeped at two-legs’ house and the birds stared down from the sky.
“and now all is over,” said the stag.
and so it was.
4
but, in the course of that day, the orang-outang came to two-legs, who was sitting outside the house:
“good-day, cousin,” said the orang-outang.
two-legs looked at him without answering.
“ah, you may have heard,” said the orang-outang, “that i have spoken ill of you. i will not deny that i have been a little[97] careless in my talk. but you yourself know, when one meets with poor relations, one is afraid of hangers-on. one has children of one’s own and it is not easy to make both ends meet in these hard times. besides, you once caught me a blow with your stick; so we can cry quits.”
“what do you want?” asked two-legs. “i have neither time nor inclination to listen to your drivel.”
“now don’t be hasty, cousin,” said the orang-outang and sat down beside him. “i acknowledge your success. you have been lucky. it does not enter my head to deny your ability. you have managed things splendidly. that little business with the horse was really smartly done. and, now that you have outwitted the lion....”
“what do you want, you bothersome brute?” said two-legs.
“i want to join forces with you, cousin,” said the orang-outang. “we two as partners ought to conquer the world.”
“are you mad?” said two-legs. “what should i do with such a ridiculous, stupid beast as you? you’re no more use to me than a pigeon. away with you! look sharp or i’ll give you a thrashing which you won’t forget in a hurry.”
the orang-outang retreated a few paces, but did not give up the game:
“you should think it over all the same, cousin,” he said. “however clever you may be, i can be of use to you still. i should be a good intermediary between you and the animals. i can do things you can’t; and what i can’t do i can easily learn. up in the apple-tree where i sat, i have watched you and studied the way you went about your field; and i have already picked up many of your tricks. you must know that....”
two-legs stood up and caught the orang-outang by the arm:
“come outside!” he shouted into the house. “i want to show you something!”
they all came and stared at the ape.
“this fellow wants to go into partnership with me,” said two-legs. “he’s not fair. he says he has already learnt my tricks. let’s put him in a cage; then we can amuse ourselves with his tricks when it’s raining.”
the orang-outang protested, but to no purpose. two-legs held him tight and soon they had built a cage and put him into it.
“there’s none like one’s own people for meanness!” said the orang-outang, as he sat on the floor of his cage, catching his fleas.
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