m tryin' to get out. He yust ha' to get down an'
dance, an' he gi'es one high ole kick an' a yump, an' over go Ou' Wolf
on his head, an' den darie skellum he's a-prancin' an' a-dancin' all
roun' him, wid de same ole song a-goin':--

"It's de funniest ever you foun'.
When de sick he carry de soun',
It never was done before
Dat de well he ride de sore.

"Ou' Wolf he wantto get up an' yust fight an' bite, but what wid de
bashin' he had in de kraal, an' de fashin' he had carryin' darie Ou'
Jackalse, he's too fair gone in to get up agen. `But on'y wait till I
get hold o' you agen,' ses he, `dat's all!'

"`Yes, yust wait,' ses Ou' Jackalse a-chucklin'.

"An'," ended the old Hottentot, "as fur as I can make out he's bin
a-waitin' ever since. Leastaways, I don't hear yet as he's ever done
it. An' de bettin's all de oder way till now."

CHAPTER EIGHT.

WHEN THE BIRDS WOULD CHOOSE A KING WHICH TELLS ALSO WHY THE WHITE OWL
ONLY FLIES BY NIGHT.

The three children were lounging with the dogs under the tall blue-gums
by the house corner, when the old Hottentot stepped out of the kitchen
to find a shady spot for his afternoon nap. Before he could settle
anywhere, however, the eldest boy lifted his face and caught sight of a
mere speck, far up in the still hot sky, where a vulture hung motionless
in the blue.

"Oh, look!" cried he at once. "There's Old Baldy, the Aasvo'el, almost
out of sight. Ain't he just high! I bet there ain't any other bird can
fly as high as he can."

The old Hottentot turned, first to look at the vulture and then at the
little boy. "Well," said he, "dere was one time, dough, when it took a
whole big indaba of all de birds to say which flew de highest--him or
Young Tink Tinky."

"Young Tink Tinky!" echoed the eldest boy scornfully. "Why! he's the
very littlest, teeniest bird in the veldt!"

"Yes, dat's yust de way Ou' Jackalse talked," answered Old Hendrik
gleefully. "But he find out 'fore he finis' dat it ain't de size but de
sense dat counts."

"Well, I bet I could soon settle which flew the highest," returned the
boy.

"Mebbe," said Hendrik. "But anyhow, it took de birds a deal o' time to
settle it. An' trouble--dere was trouble, too, 'fore dey finis', an' de
White Owl he ain't never fly about in de daytime from dat day to dis.
He's mighty big, an' he's a mighty ole beak an' clawses, but he darsent
on'y fly about o' nights since den."

"Oh, now, you _must_ tell us