"But when he gets back to de hook o' de river, dere's de two quiet ole
cows all right, but de t'ree wand'ry ones--well, dey's wandered. He
look round an' round, an' he hop dis way an' dat, but he don't find hide
nor hair o' dem t'ree, till at last it's about time to be startin' for
de kraal wid dese two. He takes one more long ole look round, but it
ain't no use, it don't find dem cows, an' so he starts dese two for
home.
"He ain't a-goin' far wid 'em dough. He yust folio's on till de two can
see de kraal, an' den he pops back to de place where de oders was lost.
Now dere was a long ole, rocky ole, bushy ole island in de river dere,
wid rocks stickin' up all de way across de water to it, so Little Hahsie
can cross wid some tall hoppin'. An' he crossed, you bet he crossed
mighty smart--an' he find him a snug little place all in a patch o' big
boulders an' bushes an' trees. `Here's me,' ses he, `till I sees what's
a-goin' to happen.'
"Well, he ain't dere very long 'fore here comes Ole King Lion, yust
a-gur-r-rowlin' an' a-pur-rowlin an' a-singin' out, `Where's dat Klein
Hahsie dat went out so high an' smarty dis mawnin'? Lemme yust find
him, dat's all!' You bet Little Hahsie lie low den, an' wish dere was
big wings to him as well as long legs an' short 'uns.
"But Ole King Lion couldn't find him. He ramp an' he stamp, an' he
squot down like he's goin' to be sick an' brings up a whackin' ole roar
dat fair shakes de island, but he don't start Little Hahsie, 'cause
Little Hahsie's too tremblin' to shift a foot, an' by'n'by King Lion he
go off to roar up some oder spot. `Dat's a bit more like what I likes,'
ses Hahsie den.
"So at last it come dark, an' de lion was far enough off, an' Little
Hahsie hop out to stretch his legs an' tink a bit. `But I wonder how
I'll do now when I goes back home to-morro',' ses he.
"Well, to-morro' come, an' Hahsie he tink dis way an' dat way, but he
make so little out of it dat he stop anoder night on de island, an' he
'gin to feel mighty longin' for home, I tell you. An' nex' day it on'y
got worse, till it got dat bad about sundown he yust couldn't stand it
no longer. `Here's off home,' ses he, `an' chance de chips. I'll bet
I'll manage somehow.'
"In a while he gets home to King Lion's place, an' it's as dark as
billy-o, an' he squots down by de end o' de barn to see what's
happenin'. By'n'by out comes his ole missis f'm de kitchen where she's
a-washin' up ahter sup
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