People of the Drinking Pool

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22540, 3 October 1936, Page 8 (Supplement)

People of the Drinking Pool

"KTyalugwe, the Leopard, gazed at his reflection in the Looking-Pool above the waterfall and told himself for the hundredth time that his coat was truly magnificent. Those spots . . . yes, they really were superb! Suddenly the stillness of the pool was broken as an ugly, flat head appeared above the surface. In alarm, Nyalugwe jumped back. He had not expected to find Crocodile there —not that N'gona was likely to take liberties with him, but, well, you never could tell with crocodiles. "Ha!" barked N'gona nastily. "Gazing at yourself as usual, I see. Vain creature 1" "You'd be vain if you'd been given the lovely spots that I have," replied Nyalugwe with dignity. "Spots—pah! Who wants spots? What's the good of spots I'd like to know."

"You'd soon find out if you lived in the woods instead of iu the river." "The river's n very good place, thank you—or it would be if you didn't come here so often to gaze at your silly self," Crocodile snorted. "I wonder you don't count your precious spots! Or perhaps you have? How many of the pretty things are there?" he inquired with a sneer. "1 don't know. I never thought of counting," said Leopard as he turned the idea over in his mind and found it good. "Now that you have suggested it, I should very much like to know. But I don't see how I can count them for myself." Nyalugwe wasn't going to admit that he did not know how to count, and he wondered if, by any chance, Crocodile knew. , "Would you like to count them for me?" he asked. "No, I would not!" barked N'gona. "I've something better to 'do than to waste mv time counting spots." And with a vicious swirl of his tail, Crocodile turned and slipped beneath the surface of the water. "i bet that means N'gona can't count," chuckled Nyalugwe as he stalked up the river bank and wandered into the woods, where he happened to meet Njiri, the Wart-hog. "Morning, Njiri!" he called out. "I suppose you wouldn't care to count my spots for me, would you?" " What, me? Count? One-two-three-four?" "Yes, that's it," cried Leopard excitedly. "What luck that; you know how !'' "But I don't," said the surprised Wart-hog. "Whatever made you think that?" "Oh, you do! You must! . . . what you said thing.' That's counting." Wart-hog shook his head. "It's much more difficult than that," he said earnestly. "There are things that come after 'four,' and I don't know what they are, or what they mean." "A pity," sighed Nyalugwe, looking very disappointed. "1 wonder who would know?" "Ask at the Drinking-Pool to-night," suggested Njiri. "There's sure to be someone there who could help you." "That's an idea." Nyalugwe brightened up at once. "I know! I'll cive a prize to any one who can tell me how many spots I've got." There was quite a large gathering at the Drinking-Pool that night, and when the animals heard that Nyalugwe was offering a bag of maize as a prize they were only 100 eager to start counting" Njobvu," the Elephant, insisted that he should have first try, as ho was the oldest and biggest animal present.

THE LEOPARD'S SPOTS

By GERALDINE ELLIOTT.

"One-two-three-four - fire - six - seven* eight-nine-ten," he started, all in one breath and at a tremendous pace. Then he took another breath. "One-two-three-four-five-sj—" "No, no!" shrieked the other animals. "You've already got as far u ten." Elephant frowned. "I should be obliged if you would refrain from interrupting," he said coldly. "You have made me forget where I waj .. . somewhere in the second ten, I think?" "What d'you mean, 'the second ten'?" demanded Nchefu, the Eland. "The numbers that come after the first ten, of course. I don't approTe of those 'teen-things and I prefer to count ten twice, which makes twenty. It's all a Question-of-Multiplication." ISTjobvu's air of superiority was quite insufferable, and although none of the ani« mals knew what Elephant meant by

'this last remark, they were determined not to he impressed. "Supposing you start again at I the beginning," suggested Njati, the Buffalo. So Elephant began again, and WM® he'd counted ten twice and made twenty he stood quite still and thougu® so hard that his whole face puckered up into little wrinkles. Then slowly, ha made his announcement. "Nyalugwe has more than twenty spots." ' "Tee-hee!" giggled a young Bushbuck. "I don't believe Elephant can count above twenty for all the airs h 6 gives' himself!" (And Bushbuck urss quite right.) 5 „ "Can you count above twenty, asked Leopard, but not very hopefully. "Me? Oh. no! I can only count four. I can-do that because I knotf I've got four „ Nyalugwe sighed. He was beginning to feel depressed. "Can't any one count better than Elephant?" he asked sadly. ~ "I once counted up to fifty, Nkaka, the Antbear, diffidently. W you think that would be enoughr "It might. Come and try." , . "Very well. Where shall I At the tail, I think . one, two, three, four, five . . . now I wonder that ought to count as one or t spots? It's sort of double." , All the animals crowded round 8 looked at the spot in question. An« n good deal of arguing it was agreeu that it should only count as one. t "What does that make, then? asked Nkaka. "Six," said Jackal. . . rt "Five. Nkaka said"—this from Eland. _ T . .. it. ".Better start again," said Njati, Buffalo, in a mournful voice. , "Start what again?" It was Ka • the Rabbit, who spoke. He had only that moment arrived, and knew ing of what was coinp: on. , w Instantly all the .Animals beg talk at once and explain about pard's spots. , , " Wants to know how many liesg does he?" said Kalulu when he Inst, managed to grasp what tnev „ trying to say. "Well, that ogn to be difficult. I can tell hmi. "You can?" „ Kalultt "Yes. It's easy. Lock!& - 9 pointed to tlie first spot. Thi dark, it? Now this one is »g D # Here . . . dark . . . hero . . • ll £ b ,,'g a . . . dark . . . light . . - dark . • • went on until every spot h a touched. ~ , had "You see?" ho said when finished. "Leopard has only C u spots—dark ones and light one • (To bo Continued) i 1