small form, the only human amongst
them. Buffalo took very kindly to his protege and showed him around,
while Kibatti amused him with his innocent unsophisticated prattle,
which convinced the kingly bovine that little Kibatti was indeed a
wild-wood waif.

"And where do you all sleep?" asked Kibatti of Buffalo.

"I sleep here, near the gate, King Elephant rests near that big tree.
King Lion prefers lying near that great log there, Brother Rhinoceros
throws himself down on the edge of the banana-grove, Leopard curls
himself near the fence, and Hyena snores stupidly near his pile of
bones."

After a little while Buffalo lay down near the gate for a little rest.
Kibatti stretched himself near him, but not to sleep. His eyes were
quite open, and he soon saw Buffalo's nose rest upon the ground and his
head sway from side to side. Kibatti then untied a cord, and stealthily
passing it round the four legs of the buffalo, drew the other end round
the neck in a slip noose without waking him. He then crawled off
towards the elephant, and tied his four legs together, gently tightening
the slip noose, and fastening the rope three or four times running
round, and brought them all together. To the rhinoceros he did the
same. He then went out of the gate and brought his bundle of nets. He
took one up, fastened one end to the fence, and drawing it lightly like
a curtain over the form of the sleeping lion, just hung it on splinters
and projections of the fence. In like manner he secured a net over the
leopard, and another over the hyena. All this did clever little Kibatti
without waking any of them. He then stole out of the gate a second
time, and made his way to the tree where his parents were sleeping.

"Come, father," he said, "the kings of the herds are trapped and netted.
Bring down mother to the lower fork, and come, do you hasten with me
with a bundle of spears, two bows, and quivers full of arrows, for we
must finish the game before morning."

Completely armed with spears and arrows, Kibatti led his father to the
gate, and stealthily entered the fenced enclosure, and they stood over
the still-sleeping buffalo. Kibatti gave his father a sharp-pointed
spear, and gently laying his finger on the vital spot, between neck and
head, showed him where to strike. The father lifted his right arm high
up, and with one stroke severed the spinal cord. A shiver passed
through King Buffalo's body, and he rolled over stone dead.