'

"Well, it did look all serene-o, wid him dis side of 'em an' de river
bent all round 'em on de oder sides, an' plenty o' grass an' water an'
nice trees about. `Sho,' ses he, `dem cows stray off? Dey's got mo'
sense,' ses he.

"It was yust sich a easy yob dat in a while his eye 'gun a-wanderin'
round to see what else dere is dere besides de cows an' de rest of it.
An' fust he sees a little bushiekie, wid green leaves like he swears he
ain't seen afore, or leastways he ain't 'xamined much; so o' course he
hops over to dat an' pretends to tas'e it, an feel it, an' turn it over
gen'ally.

"Den he sees de blesbuck wanderin' past, wid de teenty little buckies
whimperin' an' nosin' ahter deir mammies, an' fust he squot an' watch
'em, an' den he get to feelin' cussed, an' he fair hop round 'em to
scare 'em an' make 'em flurry, till deir mammies turn round an' chase
him out o' dat. Next he slant his eye at de spruit an' tinks he'll yust
sa'nter down an' frow stones at Ou' Sculpat, de Tortoise, an' ax him
what's his latest time for a mile wid a flyin' start. Den he can hear
Ou' Sculpat use some rocky ole words.

"But when he gets down to de spruit Ou' Sculpat ain't dere at all, an'
dat make him hoppin' mad. He's yust dat mad he chucks stones into de
water an' savages de reeds for anoder five minutes on end. Den he looks
up an' dere he sees de honey-bird a-whickerin' about. `Whatto!' ses
Hahsie. `Dere's honey somewheres. Here's on to it like one man.'

"Well, he hops on ahter de honey-bird, an' he hops on an' on, tinkin'
every mile he's gun' to get to dat honey soon. An' den here comes a man
ridin' along, an' he sees de honey-bird too, an' he 'gins to folio' as
well. Hahsie looks at him once, an' he sizes his face up. `Dat lets me
out,' ses he to hisse'f. `Dat face ain't a-gun' to stand me gettin' any
o' dat honey. I'd about better turn back.'

"So he turns back, but de day's got dat hot an' de shade under de little
bushiekies is dat cool, he tinks he'll rest him a little while an' den
go on agen. Wid dat he finds a nice bush an' squots him down. An' you
know what's bound to happen den--he pop off to sleep.

"Along in de afternoon, when de day gets a bit cooler, he wake up an'
open his eyes. `Hello!' ses he, `where's dem cows by dis time?' Den he
rub his eyes an' he grin. `One ting anyhow,' ses he, `if Ole King Lion
don't eat again till he eat me for dis, den he's mighty liable to die o'
starvation.'