Mahina Preferred To Sit Where He
Could Take A Comfortable Nap, And Wedged Himself
In A Fork Of The Tree
Some little way below me,
but still some eight or ten feet from the ground.
It was a calm and
Perfect night, such as can be
seen only in the tropics; everything looked
mysteriously beautiful in the glorious moonlight,
and stood out like a picture looked at through
a stereoscope. From my perch among the
branches I watched first a water-buck come to
drink in the river; then a bush-buck; later, a
tiny paa emerged from the bushes and paused
at every step with one graceful forefoot poised
in the air - thoroughly on the alert and looking
round carefully and nervously for any trace of a
possible enemy. At length it reached the brink
of the river in safety, and stooped to drink. Just
then I saw a jackal come up on its trail and
begin carefully to stalk it, not even rustling a
fallen leaf in its stealthy advance on the poor
little antelope. All of a sudden, however, the
jackal stopped dead for a second, and then made
off out of sight as fast as ever he could go. I
looked round to discover the cause of this hurried
exit, and to my surprise saw a large and very
beautiful leopard crouching down and moving
noiselessly in the direction of our tree. At first
I thought it must be stalking some animal on the
ground below us, but I soon realised that it was
Mahina that the brute was intent on.
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