THE NGANDOS, OR CROCODILES
A troop of monkeys were looking down one day from the top of a tree at a
lagoon studded with mud banks, and saw a large number of ngandos basking
in the sun. They laughed at them, and said: “Ngandos are big and ugly;
but they cannot climb trees, and come and gobble us into their big, ugly
mouths. Strange it is that their enormous mouths are only good for
eating; but this must be so, for we never hear them talk.” The
crocodiles were very numerous, and could hardly be distinguished from
the mud upon which they lay. Many of them were more than twenty feet in
length.
The monkeys were making all kinds of disparaging remarks about the
crocodiles, who could hear their chatter, but did not move or wink. “No
creature,” said one of the monkeys, “looks as stupid and lazy as the
ngandos. Look at them!” and all the monkeys laughed. The crocodiles did
not understand the language of the monkeys, and even if they had been
able to, they could not have gone to fight them, as they could not climb
trees and jump from one limb to another. Had they even thought of
trying, the monkeys would have laughed at them still more.
Every animal has a nature to suit his mode of life, and that of the
crocodiles is not to climb trees to get food, but to wait for prey,
hidden in the water or in the rushes. They are most cunning creatures.
[Illustration: [Crocodiles]]
Once in a while a huge ngando would open his long, pointed mouth,
showing his fierce-looking jaws armed with sharp teeth, enough to make
one shudder at the sight. “When I seize my prey, and shut my mouth and
hold it there,” said one of them, “my long teeth sink into its flesh,
and it cannot escape; besides, I drag it into the water, where it would
drown anyhow. What a good thing it is that we ngandos have such powerful
jaws, and can move so swiftly in the water! Our tails propel and steer
us wherever we want to go, and our sharp-pointed heads allow us to
cleave the water swiftly. We can also see well.”
Once in a while a crocodile’s head would appear suddenly on the surface
of the water, and lie so still that it might have been taken for a big
piece of wood or a dead tree floating; while other heads were seen
moving in the direction of the mud banks, leaving an almost
imperceptible ripple behind them; and when near the banks their huge
dark bodies would gradually appear out of the water as they climbed on
the mud. There they would lie perfectly motionless by the side of the
others. They were then so quiet that they appeared as if they were dead.
There were many crocodiles that were out of sight; these were hidden
among the tall reeds growing on the muddy shores of the lagoon, and were
resting among them.
All the denizens of the forest wondered how ngandos could understand one
another, for they never had heard them speak or even make a noise. Yet
the crocodiles understand one another perfectly, by signs made with
their eyes, and in peculiar silent ways unknown to anybody but to
themselves. They are not as stupid as they are thought to be, otherwise
they would not be able to get their living.
The ngandos often said to one another, “We are safe in our lagoons, for
no animal of the forest dares to come and attack us. Our enemies are the
human beings; but if we see one walking on the shores of our lagoon, we
dart at him and seize him in our powerful jaws, taking him in the water
to devour him.”
As the days advanced, and the sun became warm, almost all the crocodiles
went in among the reeds, and all the mud banks became deserted, and the
animals of the forest did not know what had become of them. When the sun
was half down to the horizon from noon-tide, the crocodiles left their
hiding-places to try to get their afternoon meal. The water then seemed
to be covered with crocodiles’ heads. They were seen everywhere. They
watched the shores with their piercing eyes. They knew that it was the
time when many animals of the forest came to drink. One ngando said to
his mate: “You and I will go yonder and watch that opening among the
reeds, where we can see the shore, for it is a good place for watching.
Prey may come there to drink, or to see if there is some good fording
place to reach the other bank.”
The two crocodiles swam slowly and noiselessly toward the bank of the
river. They seemed to have no apparent object. They did not wish to draw
attention to themselves; but, after a while, it happened that all the
crocodiles had chosen their watching-places. The two already spoken of
took each a good position to watch for prey, and were quite a distance
from each other, for crocodiles seek for prey alone. Soon the big one
saw a kambi coming toward the water, and swam toward him. His head was
the only part of his body that was visible. Only the acutest eye could
have noticed the ripple he left behind. Then he stopped and waited,
sinking his flat head deeper into the water, up to his very eyes.
Just at that moment a nshiego (chimpanzee) from a tree was looking at
the lagoon and watching all the moving heads going hither and thither.
Suddenly he gave a yell and frightened the kambi, which ran off. The
crocodile was much disappointed.
Soon after this appeared on the shore a drove of ngoas. At their head
was a fierce-looking boar, the chief of the drove, with formidable
tusks. They were heading for the water. As soon as the crocodile saw
them, he swam nearer the shore, and once in a while his head would
disappear under the water, and when it reappeared, it was nearer to the
ngoas than before. Once the ngoas became suspicious and glanced in his
direction. When he saw this, he said: “I must hide under water to allay
the fear of the ngoas,” and then disappeared under the water for a
while. But every time his head reappeared, it was nearer to the bank
than before. His eyes and the top of his head above them was all that
could be seen floating. He swam slowly toward the ngoas.
These in the mean time were in the mud and enjoying themselves, and did
not notice the crocodile. The chief of the ngoas stood ahead of his
drove, digging up the mud with his nose. The crocodile made for him as
quick as an arrow; and, before the ngoa had time to become aware of his
danger, he was in the powerful jaws of his enemy. The poor ngoa gave one
shriek of pain. All the others fled in the utmost terror, each uttering
cries of fear, and soon disappeared in the great forest. In the mean
time, their poor chief was making a meal for the crocodile.
[Illustration: “_All the others fled in terror and disappeared in the
Great Forest_”]
In their flight the ngoas met another drove of their kind, and shrieked
to them in the language of the ngoas: “Don’t go to the lagoon, for our
chief has just been eaten up by a ngando!” Then they put themselves
under the other chief, and rambled in the forest in search of food,
taking good care never to go near the lagoon.