TWO IN A ZOO
[Illustration: He saw the Princess coming, dragging after her a large
man.]
TWO IN A ZOO
_By_
CURTIS DUNHAM
_and_
OLIVER HERFORD
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
OLIVER HERFORD
INDIANAPOLIS
THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
COPYRIGHT 1904
THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY
SEPTEMBER
PRESS OF
BRAUNWORTH & CO.
BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS
BROOKLYN, N. Y.
TWO IN A ZOO
FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
He saw the Princess coming, dragging after her
a large man--_Frontispiece_
"Toots, tell me as you did yesterday, what the
elephants are saying" 7
The soft brown eyes of Dozel were fixed on the
face of the little Limping Boy 29
The coffee-colored little image of its mother lay
sprawling across her broad nose 63
Suddenly the Princess exclaimed: "Oh, here
comes Reginald!" 95
The rabbit stuck one of its ears straight up 139
TWO IN A ZOO
I
_The Roar of the Jungle_
Oh, the sweet, fresh breath of the morning breeze,
And the trumpet call of my mate!
Oh, the fierce, wild wind that bends the trees
Where the great hills sit in state!
Oh, the tender twigs in the Jungle deeps!
Oh, the soft, moist earth where the long grass sweeps!
_Song of the Captive Elephant._
Mahmoud, swinging his wrinkled old trunk to and fro dejectedly,
ignored the stack of fresh timothy which the Keeper had dumped on the
floor of the Elephant House. There was a band of iron clasped tightly
just above one of his great forefeet. Mahmoud had surged back in his
discontent till the chain, attached to the iron and to a ring in the
floor, creaked with the strain upon it. His broad ears flapped forward
listlessly, but not far enough to conceal the moisture in his dim old
eyes which gathered now and then into glistening drops that rolled down
his cheeks and were lost in the huge wrinkles at the corners of his
mouth. Duchess, his faithful mate, who stood at his side twisting up
bunches of hay and tucking them into her mouth, understood and was sad.
At intervals in her repast she would pause to stroke Mahmoud's furrowed
cheek with the tip of her trunk. But her sorrowful mate was not to be
wooed from his melancholy.
Presently, from a little distance up the Park walk leading to the door
of the Elephant House, came a familiar tinkling sound that caused
Mahmoud to turn his head in that direction with a show of interest.
A boy was approaching, and at every step some straps of iron on his
little crooked leg clanked together. The sound was not unlike that made
by the iron on Mahmoud's leg. The boy's face was pale, but his eyes
were blue and very bright. A little girl skipped along at his side. The
boy's clothes were shabby, but the little girl's plumage was rich and
as gay as that of some tropical bird. Perhaps it was this that caused
the boy to call her "Princess," when he made slow and deferential
response to her eager chatter. It was plain that she was accustomed
to rule, for whenever she was admonished by the young woman in dark
clothes who followed a few steps behind with a book under her arm, she
would merely shrug her pretty shoulders. Her manner toward the boy was
a trifle condescending, but it was also affectionate, for she called
him "Toots."
The entire front of the Elephant House was open, for it was summer.
When Toots and the Princess had reached the iron railing within a yard
of Mahmoud's swaying trunk, they stopped. The young woman in dark
clothes seemed to understand that this was their destination, for she
seated herself on a bench at the side of the walk, and was soon deep in
the pages of her book.
Mahmoud shuffled forward as far as the chain on his leg would let him,
thrust forth his trunk and felt gently the iron on the boy's crippled
leg.
"Oh, Toots, he knows you!" exclaimed the Princess. "That is what he did
yesterday."
Though the Princess shrank back, Toots showed no fear. Appearing
satisfied as to the boy's identity, Mahmoud turned to his mate, and
they stood cheek by cheek, swaying their trunks in unison.
"They are talking again," said the Princess, with a little shriek of
delight. "Toots, you must tell me what they are saying to each other."
Toots did not stir. A flush of pink had stolen into his pale cheeks.
There was a far-away look in his eyes, yet they were sparkling. His
lips were moving, but no sound came from them at first. Strange
mumblings were coming from the cavernous mouths of the elephants. The
Princess stamped her foot with authority and commanded:
"Toots, tell me, as you did yesterday, what the elephants are saying."
But already, in a low, monotonous voice, as though in a dream, the boy
was interpreting the talk of Mahmoud and his mate.
"Behold, it is the little Limping Boy," said Mahmoud, with his lips
close to the ear of Duchess. "My old eyes are dim, but with my two
fingers have I felt the iron on his leg, and I know it is he."
"Verily, it is he, my Lord," answered Duchess, caressingly. "And with
him again is the strange little bird without wings--or, mayhap the
gaudy creature is of his own people."
"It is well. Do you recall, O Light of my Life, how the little Limping
Boy stood at our door and talked softly to himself? I remember such a
boy long, long ago in the Jungle, before the days of my captivity, only
he was naked and had brown skin--as brown as that of my baby sister."
"I, too, saw and heard him, my Lord. I thought he talked of us and
pitied us in our captivity."
[Illustration: "Toots, tell me as you did yesterday, what the elephants
are saying."]
Now Mahmoud ceased his talk and for a moment reflected deeply. At
length he said:
"Lo, there are two worlds, O Light of my Life, the Master World and the
Menial World; and few there be that stand between. I know not how it
happens that we, thou and I, my beloved, are of the Menial World, but
it is so. We be Menial People, and the little Limping Boy is of the
Master People; yet it clings in my mind that he is nearer."
Again Mahmoud paused to reflect; but Duchess broke in with conviction,
saying:
"My Lord, may it not be that the little Limping Boy is one that stands
between?"
"That is a matter upon which I have pondered deeply," sighed Mahmoud.
"It is evident that he understands our talk. He has the iron upon his
leg, yet his talk is not the talk of the Menial People. Alas, I can
not be sure on this point. These Master People have strange ways and a
strange tongue. When their skins are dark, as they are in the jungle,
their talk is not so difficult; but when their skins are white and
covered with strange raiment, their words convey no meaning to my ears."
Mahmoud's head drooped again. He was very old, and, like all those who
are burdened with years, he was wont to ponder sadly on the joys of his
past. But presently he raised his head and seemed to be listening.
"Look, Friend of my Youth," he said, after a moment, "is it the chirp
of our merry little gossip, the sparrow, that I hear?"
"No, my Lord," answered Duchess, soothingly, "Pwit-Pwit is late this
morning. I tremble when I recall his boastful tale of yesterday; how he
entered the cage of the lioness' treacherous young cubs."
"Be calm, beloved," said Mahmoud, "the cubs are not too young to know
the Law of the Menial People."
It appeared that Duchess, being of the weaker sex, and devoted to her
domestic duties, had but a vague notion of the Law. So Mahmoud, with
much dignity, enlightened her in these words:
"It is the Law of the Menial People, O Joy of my Heart, that Pwit-Pwit,
the sparrow, shall go and come at his pleasure throughout the Menial
World, enjoying the hospitality and protection of all. And of a truth
this is meet, for is not the sparrow official news-gatherer and gossip
for all the Menial People? Verily, is not he the only one of our world
that is not locked fast in a yard or in an iron cage by the Master
People? Lo, when we of the Menial World were brought by our masters
from the forests and plains and jungles to the place of our captivity,
Pwit-Pwit was already here to give us welcome. Therefore, it is the Law
of the Menial World that no claw nor tooth shall be raised against him."
When Mahmoud had finished his discourse the sparrow suddenly dropped
out of the sky at his feet with a chirp and a cheerful toss of his head.
"You are late to breakfast this morning, little one," said Mahmoud;
"but I waited for you, O Messenger of Cheer, though my beloved mate has
eaten a few mouthfuls, being hungrier than I."
"I would have been here sooner," answered the sparrow, "but I found it
necessary to give one of those young lions a lesson. He forgot about
the Law, and tried to catch me in his mouth. But I was too quick for
him. You should have seen me then. I flew at his eyes and gave them a
good pecking. Then I had to go and tell his mother. Didn't you hear
her roaring at the little upstart to behave himself? Oh, you can trust
me to educate those young lions in the Law."
"Verily, I heard the mother lion roar, and feared for you," said
Mahmoud. "But come, there are some choice grass seeds in the deep
wrinkles of my neck, and I will scatter more there for you. If you are
tired, you can step on the end of my trunk and I will lift you up to
your breakfast."
But Pwit-Pwit said that he was not at all tired. He flew up to
Mahmoud's shoulders and was soon pecking greedily at the seeds which
he found in the wrinkles between the great flapping ears. Duchess had
resumed her repast, and Mahmoud began attacking the stack of timothy
with manifest appetite. As the two friends, one so huge and the other
so tiny, took their breakfast together, the sparrow chirped a constant
torrent of gossip, which Toots, never hesitating, interpreted for the
Princess. At length only some scattering wisps were left of the stack
that the Keeper had brought for the old elephant. Mahmoud gathered them
up, sweeping his trunk over the floor daintily, then rolled them into
a little bundle, which he thrust half-way into the side of his mouth.
Then, rolling his trunk about the ends of the wisps containing the
dried grass seeds, he tore them off, and holding them back over his
head, said to Pwit-Pwit:
"Are you there, little one?"
[Illustration]
"Here I am, right between your ears," chirped the sparrow.
"Look then for the large round seeds," said Mahmoud. "But first brace
yourself well behind my ear, little one, for I am going to blow the
dust out of your breakfast. Dust is not good for the stomach."
With these words Mahmoud blew a little puff of wind through his trunk
into the handful of grass seed about which it was curled, and then
dropped the seeds in a little shower right at Pwit-Pwit's feet.
"Thank you," said the sparrow. "You have found me a delicious
breakfast." And he pecked away at the seeds until he could hold no more.
Then Pwit-Pwit noticed that Mahmoud had stopped eating and was swinging
his trunk about in a mournful manner.
"What's the matter, old chap?" chirped the sparrow. "Have you lost
your appetite?"
"Alas!" sighed the old elephant, "I pine for the roar of my native
Jungle, little one. I long to plunge through the great, wild forest and
feel the swish of the branches at my sides. Even the chatter of idle
and foolish monkeys would be music in my ears."
The sparrow hopped up on the rim of Mahmoud's ear, and said cheerily:
"Why don't you go home for a visit?"
"Alas, little one, I am too old, even if the Master People would
release me. Never again shall I breathe the fresh breath of the hills;
never again hear the roar of the Jungle."
Mahmoud's head drooped lower than before. Pwit-Pwit pecked at his ear
to get his attention, and chirped:
"Cheer up, old chap, I can't bring the Jungle to you, 'tis true; but I
think I can manage the roar all right."
"Pride of my Heart," said Mahmoud, turning eagerly to his faithful mate
and stroking her cheek, "do you hear? Pwit-Pwit, the all-wise, says he
can gladden our ears once more with the roar of the Jungle."
"Pwit-Pwit, if you can do that," said Duchess, trembling with joy, "we
will be your slaves."
"Oh, it is nothing, nothing at all," chirped the sparrow with affected
modesty. "I will go and prepare all the Menial People for the signal,
and when I return I will tell you what to do."
Having chirped this promise into Mahmoud's grateful ear, the sparrow
flew down from the old elephant's back, and hopped past the little
Limping Boy and entered the adjoining house of the two-horned
rhinoceros. Toots and the Princess could see all that occurred from
where they stood. The great beast was lazily sharpening his horns on
the hardwood planks of his house. Pwit-Pwit flew at his eyes, at which
he pecked saucily, saying:
"Attention, pig! Be ready for the signal. When you hear it, if you have
any voice left in your fat old carcass, use it, or never hope to hear
the roar of the Jungle again."
Hearing these words, the dull-witted beast began lifting up first
one foot and then another, in a sort of clumsy dance. The sparrow,
perceiving that he was eager for the roar of the Jungle, wasted no
more words on him, but flew straight up in the air and then darted
off toward the house of the lions, tigers and leopards. Toots and the
Princess saw him fly in through the open door, then, after a moment of
silence, heard muffled roars from the lions, followed by the excited
chatter of monkeys in the adjoining house, and soon beheld him emerge
and dart toward the dens of the bears.
"The sparrow is keeping his word," said the Princess, clapping her
hands. "He is warning all the Menial People to be ready for the signal."
"Hush," said the little Limping Boy, in a low voice. "Look at Mahmoud
and the Duchess."
The Princess looked, and beheld a most astonishing sight. The old
elephants had twined their trunks together above their heads and were
waving them as though in time to music.
"They are singing," said Toots. "They are singing about the happy times
they had long, long ago in the great forest where they were born."
The Princess could not hear the song, but she beheld the waving trunks
and felt certain that Toots could hear it. As they sang, the old
elephants grew each moment more excited. So engrossed were they with
the memories that inspired them that they forgot the sparrow utterly.
When Pwit-Pwit returned, he had to fly up and peck at their eyes to get
their attention.
"Do stop your singing and pay attention," chirped the sparrow,
petulantly. "You can sing at any time. Listen. I have prepared all
the Menial People for the signal. They are waiting. You can hear the
chatter of those idiotic monkeys at this moment. A monkey can never
keep a secret."
"The lions," said Mahmoud, eagerly, "are the lions ready?"
"The lions were delighted," answered Pwit-Pwit; "they can hardly wait
for the signal."
"And Caliph and Fatimah, the old hippopotami--"
"They, too, are ready," interrupted the sparrow, impatiently. "I told
you I could manage it, and I have. The signal! The signal!"
As he gave this order, Pwit-Pwit flew up to his favorite perch on
Mahmoud's ear. The elephants, trembling with excitement, turned their
faces toward the Lion House and wagged their trunks aloft. Mahmoud's
eyes opened to twice their usual size, and the little Limping Boy
thought that they shone red, as though from anger. He was half afraid,
and wondered what was going to happen. The Princess clasped his hand
tightly in one of hers, and he could feel that she was trembling.
"It must be all right," said Toots, "or the sparrow would fly away.
See, he still sits on the rim of the old elephant's ear, as calm as
you please."
Suddenly Mahmoud straightened out his trunk to its full length toward
the Lion House, and blew through it a blast that rang in the ears of
the two children for many a day after. Duchess followed with another,
shriller and more ear-splitting. Then the two elephants paused to
listen. Almost immediately they were answered from the Lion House.
First, Sultan replied with a deep, terrible roar that caused Mahmoud's
eyes to sparkle with delight. Then Caliph, the patriarch of all the
hippopotami, joined his voice to that of the old lion. It was a voice
like the sound of a mighty waterfall. Between the roars of Sultan
and Caliph could be heard those of Fatimah and Cyrus, the younger
hippopotami, whose voices were less deep and steady, because not so
well trained.
From all directions came answers to Mahmoud's signal. There was the
snarling scream of the tigers, leopards and pumas; the wolves and
hyenas barked in their wild and dreadful way; the bears growled; eagles
screamed; the shrieking chatter of the monkeys was ear-splitting. The
two-horned rhinoceros grunted terribly. The solitary elephant next
door, who was in disgrace for attacking the Keeper, put his four feet
close together, humped up his back and trumpeted so loudly that Mahmoud
and Duchess held their breath and listened, overcome with joy.
At length, having recognized the voices of all the Menial People,
Mahmoud and Duchess again stretched forth their trunks and trumpeted
with all their might. At this the efforts of all the animals were
redoubled. This was indeed the roar of the Jungle. The ground seemed
to tremble, so terrible was the din. The Keeper, who often went
fearlessly into the cage of Sultan, even putting his hand in the great
brute's mouth, could be seen running from the Lion House, pale, and
with his hair on end. And through it all the sparrow never moved from
his perch on the rim of Mahmoud's ear.
But after a while the roar gradually died out, leaving all the Menial
People breathless and covered with perspiration.
"Aha," said Pwit-Pwit, into the ear of old Mahmoud, "didn't I tell you
I could manage the roar of the Jungle?"
"Little one," answered the grateful beast, gasping for breath, "we are
your slaves from this day on."
"Nonsense," chirped back the sparrow; "it was fun for me, too. Never
before was heard such a roar. The Master People were terrified. Did
you not observe them flying in all directions?"
"Ay, little one, I saw them, and it gladdened my old heart. Even the
Keeper, he that is so proud and stout of heart, fled as I have seen his
brown-skinned brothers flee before my onslaught in the Jungle. Verily,
all the Master People fled--"
Mahmoud stopped, with his eye fixed in astonishment on the little
Limping Boy, who stood as before, with his arms on the iron railing,
calm and unmoved. As though doubting the evidence of his eyes, Mahmoud
put forth his trunk, and with the two fingers at its end felt of the
iron on the boy's leg. Then he turned to Duchess and said:
"Behold, O Light of my Life, of all the Master People only the little
Limping Boy remained, his soul unterrified by the roar of the Jungle.
With my two fingers have I again felt the iron on his leg. No longer
do I doubt."
Then turning to the sparrow, Mahmoud, Lord of all the Menial People,
gave this command:
"Go forth, little one, to all my people; to the lions, to the tigers,
to the hippopotami, to the old dromedary who stands all day blinking in
the sun, yea, even to the chattering monkeys, and say: Lo, this is the
command of Mahmoud, that no harm shall befall the little Limping Boy,
for verily, he doth stand between. I have spoken."
The sparrow flew away to do his master's bidding, and from that day on
Toots was able to interpret for the Princess even the sign language
spoken by the blinking old dromedary, who to all but him was the sphinx
of the Zoo, deep of thought, but generally uncommunicative.
CHAPTER II
_Despised Relations_
Oh, behold us, and dispute us if you can!
Only look upon our faces,
On our more than human graces,
And observe the many traces
Of our kinship with our noble brother, Man!
--_Song of the Ambitious Monkeys._
The great round, soft, brown eyes of Dozel, most slender-limbed and
graceful of the herd of Indian deer, were fixed on the face of the
little Limping Boy. There seemed to be a look of pity in their depths.
She licked Toots' fingers, and the Princess tried in vain to attract
her attention.
"Do you suppose the sparrow has already told her of Mahmoud's command?"
asked the Princess.
"I don't know," answered Toots; "I think so, but I haven't quite made
up my mind yet."
"Dozel seems more affectionate toward you than ever," argued the
Princess. "Yesterday she licked my hand, but to-day she has eyes only
for you, Toots."
"It must be so, then," said the little Limping Boy. "You remember that
when the elephant ordered Pwit-Pwit to go and tell all the Menial
People that I stood between the two worlds, and that no harm should
befall me, the sparrow flew away immediately. But, look! here comes
Pwit-Pwit now. He and Dozel are going to have their morning chat. Keep
quite still, and I'll tell you what they say."
[Illustration: The soft, brown eyes of Dozel were fixed on the face of
the little Limping Boy.]
The Princess put her finger on her lip and looked significantly at
Toots, as the sparrow perched herself on the top rail of the yard,
within a foot of Dozel's ear, and began to chirp. The Princess saw the
familiar, dreamy look come into Toots' eyes, as he began to translate
the gossip of the sparrow and the deer.
"Why are you so sad this morning?" asked Pwit-Pwit. "The weather is
simply perfect."
But Dozel merely sighed, and turned her gaze wistfully in the direction
of the Elephant House. Nothing so delighted her as the loud trumpetings
of Mahmoud and his mate, and she always let her eyes roam in their
direction when anything unusual was on her mind.
"You ought to be happy," continued the sparrow; "you certainly never
looked handsomer, with your brown skin so soft and velvety that the
little white spots scattered over it look like snowflakes, and your
eyes so clear and tender--tut, tut, now Dozel, my dear. The idea of
your crying on a morning like this!"
"I can't help it," whimpered the beautiful creature. "It's enough to
make any one weep."
Pwit-Pwit hopped on to Dozel's back and together they took a turn about
the yard.
"And I'm blest if you're not limping, you, of all people in the world!"
said the sparrow, in astonishment.
"It's out of sympathy," sighed Dozel. "When I think of my own legs, so
straight and slender and swift, I can't help thinking of the little
Limping Boy and his poor, crooked leg, with the iron on it. There he
stands now. Isn't it pitiful? Oh, dear, oh, dear!"
"True, it is very sad," said Pwit-Pwit, soberly; "but what can't be
cured must be endured, you know."
"The worst part of it," said the deer, "is that there is something
about the little Limping Boy's walk that reminds me of those
chattering, screaming monkeys I remember so well in the jungle. There
are some of them over in a corner of the Lion House. I can't bear them."
"Hello!" chirped the sparrow, jubilantly. "So that's your opinion of
'em, too, is it, Dozel, my dear? Well, that's too good to keep. I'll
go straight to the monkeys with that, and when they know that it comes
from you direct, they'll have a bad half-hour, I can tell you. They
won't be any happier than you are then, my dear. Do you know, the
impudent creatures actually claim to be related to the birds! As a
general thing, I pay no attention to 'em, but this is different. They
feel so sure of your good opinion, you're so sweet and sedate with
everybody. My, oh, my, but won't it make 'em wild! I'll go straight to
that idiot, Mr. Kelly. Just listen, and you'll hear him jabber himself
blue in the face."
With this, the malicious little bird flew straight into the Lion House,
and to Mr. Kelly's corner, Toots and the Princess following as fast as
their legs could carry them, the iron on the little Limping Boy's leg
clanking all the way.
Now, Mr. Kelly is a very learned monkey, having enjoyed the society
of men for quite a number of years. He had had breakfast, and was
leisurely picking his teeth. Pwit-Pwit perched himself on the rail just
out of reach of his nimble fingers. Truth to tell, the sparrow was so
startled at Mr. Kelly's resemblance to the man who carried the plaster
when the bear's den was being repaired, that he was quite civil at
first.
"Good morning, Mr. Kelly," he said politely, "are you feeling quite
well?"
[Illustration]
"So-so," answered the monkey, eying the sparrow with much deliberation.
"Except for my neuralgia and a touch of the gout I'm in my usual
health, thank you. You don't happen to have a cigar about you, I
suppose?"
"Bless me!" said Pwit-Pwit, astounded and quite off his guard, "you
don't mean to say you smoke?"
"Had my cigar after breakfast every morning when I was acting in a
theater over in the Bowery," said Mr. Kelly. "Seems that smoking isn't
allowed here. These blue laws are beastly, aren't they?"
"Do you find it hard going without?" asked Pwit-Pwit, unable yet to
assume his accustomed air of superiority.
"If they would let me taper off I wouldn't mind so much," answered the
monkey, with a yawn; "but this stopping all at once is rather trying on
the nerves."
Toots shifted his position in front of the monkey's cage, which caused
the iron on his leg to jingle. This attracted the attention of Mr.
Kelly, who threw away the straw he had been using as a toothpick and
came close to the wire netting that surrounded him.
"You heard the command of Mahmoud to all the Menial People touching the
little Limping Boy," said the sparrow. "Well, here he is."
Instead of replying, Mr. Kelly began twisting his features into the
drollest shapes imaginable.
"Mahmoud's command has made a great stir everywhere," continued
Pwit-Pwit. "It has affected Dozel to tears. I left her just now weeping
over the misfortunes of the little Limping Boy."
At this Mr. Kelly began to snivel and moan, while two tears rolled down
his hairy nose.
[Illustration]
"Hello, there! What's the matter with you?" demanded Pwit-Pwit.
The monkey made no reply, but began limping around his cage, moaning
and shedding tears, as though heart-broken.
"Oh, I see," said the sparrow, "you're sorry for the little Limping
Boy, too."
"I have a fellow-feeling for him," answered Mr. Kelly, and went on with
his moaning.
"Why, you--you miserable upstart!" exclaimed Pwit-Pwit, ruffling up his
feathers in indignation.
The sparrow would have said more but for the sudden change in Mr.
Kelly's manner. The monkey had come back to the front of his cage, and
was touching the side of his head with the forefinger of his right hand.
"What are you up to now?" he demanded.
"Saluting my unfortunate distant relation," said Mr. Kelly, who then
went on moaning and weeping worse than before.
For a moment the sparrow's indignation was such that he seemed to be
deprived of speech. He looked at Mr. Kelly, and then at the little
Limping Boy, and then at the monkey again. Then he ruffled up the
feathers of his neck angrily, and said:
"Do you mean to say that you believe yourself to be related to this
boy, who will grow into a man some day?"
[Illustration]
"That's the tradition in our family," said Mr. Kelly, "and you
doubtless know that tradition is the basis of all history. Besides,
that's what a very celebrated man once said in a lecture at the
theater where I acted, and he had me on the stage with him for an
illustration--so he said. Any one can see that there isn't much
difference between a monkey and a man, except the clothes. Look for
yourself."
And Mr. Kelly placed his right elbow in his left hand, and rested his
chin on his right hand, just as the little Limping Boy was doing.
Pwit-Pwit looked from one to the other, and the resemblance was so
startling that for a moment he was at a loss what answer to make. Then
he caught sight of the monkey's tail, which Mr. Kelly was trying hard
to conceal behind him.
"Aha!" chirped the sparrow, exultantly; "what about the tail?"
"None of your business, you meddlesome, gossiping little wretch!"
screamed Mr. Kelly, in a passion. And he made a grab for Pwit-Pwit
through the wires of his cage, but could not quite reach him.
"Be careful," warned the sparrow. "Remember the Law."
"Know this once for all, you insignificant bearer of tales," snarled
Mr. Kelly. "Mahmoud himself has said that he was in doubt whether I was
of the Menial People, or whether I stood between the two worlds. Ere
long I shall compel him to proclaim that I am neither the one nor the
other, but that I am of the Master People. So beware!"
But Pwit-Pwit nearly burst his sides with laughter.
"Do you know what Dozel says about you?" he said finally; "the
beautiful young Indian doe at whom you have been making eyes through
the wires of your cage ever since she arrived?"
[Illustration]
Mr. Kelly suddenly turned very pale. Noticing this, the sparrow went on
relentlessly:
"She says that you and all your tribe are chattering, screaming
nobodies."
For a moment the blow seemed almost more than Mr. Kelly could endure.
"Aha, Mr. Kelly," said the sparrow, insolently, "chattering, screaming
nobodies! What do you say to that?"
At this taunt Mr. Kelly nearly exploded with passion. He clenched his
hand and shook it at the sparrow, and screamed at the top of his voice:
"Jocko! Jocko! Do you hear? This meddlesome wretch of a sparrow says we
are chattering nobodies."
[Illustration]
Jocko, the tottering old baboon in his cage on the other side of the
Lion House, turned blue in the face with anger.
"Catch him and pull out his tail feathers!" he screamed. "Never mind
the Law."
But Pwit-Pwit kept well out of Mr. Kelly's reach. By this time, the
little, long-tailed monkeys with black caps and high-pitched voices,
living next door to Jocko, were chattering and shrieking at a fearful
rate. The sparrow flew about from one cage to another, hurling taunts
at the enraged creatures, enjoying himself immensely.
When, at length, the monkeys had chattered and shrieked themselves
hoarse, Mr. Kelly commanded them to be silent while he arranged for a
final settlement of the dispute. He walked in a dignified manner about
his cage until he had recovered his breath, and then said sternly to
Pwit-Pwit:
"You are only a foolish little bird, with a great deal to learn. While
we care very little for your opinion, it is well that this matter
should be settled. Is there any one among all the Menial People whose
word you will accept as the eternal truth?"
"Yes," answered the sparrow, promptly. "There is Caliph, the old
hippopotamus. He is very old and very wise, and he always tells the
truth--which is more than can be said of monkeys."
"Very well," said Mr. Kelly, calmly, "go and ask Caliph if it is not
true that the first man and the first monkey were made out of the same
lump of clay long, long ago on the banks of the river Nile. Tell him to
lift up his voice when he answers, so that all can hear."
"Agreed," said Pwit-Pwit; "and when you hear old Caliph's answer
prepare to hang crape on your door-knob, for it will mean the death of
your absurd ambition."
Then, while Mr. Kelly continued to walk about his cage in a dignified
manner, the sparrow, followed by Toots and the Princess, flew quickly
to the Hippopotamus House. Straight up to the edge of the deep pool in
which Caliph lay, with only an island of black back and his two bulging
nostrils showing above the surface of the water, hopped Pwit-Pwit.
"What, ho! Caliph!" chirped the sparrow, "come forth from thy
meditations and give ear to a matter of consequence concerning all the
Menial People."
At first Caliph only blinked his small eyes. Pwit-Pwit bobbed his head
at the monster with evidence of vast respect, and said in a louder
voice:
"Greeting, O master of the deep! It is concerning the general welfare
that I come to disturb thy reflections on the glorious past. The
pretensions of the monkeys have grown past all bounds, so that there is
menace to the general peace. The trouble happened in this wise: Mr.
Kelly, who is only a poor sort of monkey, at best, claims kinship with
the Master World, whereat there is much discontent and not a little
jealousy. He avers that the first monkey and the first man were made
out of the same lump of clay on the banks of the Nile. Is this the
truth? Speak, I pray you, in tones that may be heard by all, that the
trouble which threatens us may be averted."
While the sparrow thus spoke, Caliph raised his head slowly out of the
water. Seven times did he open and close his enormous mouth. At length,
in a voice that rang throughout the Menial World, he spoke as follows:
"Harken unto me, all ye Menial People. As to the first monkey, it was
in this wise: When the first man had been made, his shadow fell upon
some very poor clay that had been thrown away. And it came to pass
that when the first man walked, and his shadow walked after him, the
poor clay upon which the shadow rested rose and ran shrieking into the
forest. And, lo! it was a monkey. Behold, I have spoken."
When Caliph had sunk beneath the water again, Pwit-Pwit, with his head
on one side, listened eagerly for the comments of the other Menial
People, and Toots, with his hand placed warningly on the Princess,
listened, too. First, Mahmoud trumpeted his acquiescence:
"It is true. I heard it from my father in the Jungle one day when these
insolent chatterers were particularly annoying. The monkeys are but as
chips that fall from the hewn log."
"Behold, Caliph's words are the words of wisdom," said Sultan,
patriarch of the lions, in his deepest roar. "I, who was born in the
shadow of the great pyramids, had it from my father, who had it from
the father of Caliph when he went down to the Nile to drink. Lo! the
monkeys are as the chaff when the wheat is winnowed."
"I am not of that country," said the old dromedary from the plains of
Arabia; "but my cousins, the camels, known to all the world as ships
of the desert, brought the news to my people. By the fat in my hump, I
swear that Caliph speaks the truth."
"My grandmother had it from an aged crocodile who crawled up on the
bank of the Nile to sun herself, just as she was laying in the hot sand
the egg that hatched my mother," screamed the old cock ostrich. "The
monkeys are of no more consequence than straws blown by the wind."
And no voice among the Menial People was silent. Those who had no
testimony to add to that of Caliph, roared and screeched and howled
their approval of it. But the monkeys did not remain long abashed at
the verdict against them. When Pwit-Pwit, followed by Toots and the
Princess, returned to observe its effect upon them, they found Mr.
Kelly sitting cross-legged on his overturned water bucket, with his
chin in his hand, meditating deeply.
[Illustration]
"Well," chirped Pwit-Pwit, "did you hear the verdict of old Caliph?"
"Eh?" said Mr. Kelly, raising his head abstractedly. "Hum, ah, oh, yes,
I heard it."
"And the corroboration of all the other Menial People?"
"All my expectations were verified," said Mr. Kelly, complacently.
"Malice and prejudice were so apparent that every logical mind will
at once class the statements of Caliph and his satellites as perjured
testimony. My contention, therefore, is sustained."
Too perplexed and astonished to make any reply, Pwit-Pwit flew away
to his favorite perch on the rim of Mahmoud's ear, where he sat,
crestfallen, for fully three and a quarter minutes.