The Wonders of the Jungle Volume Ii Part 16

But as soon as she took out her handkerchief, the leopard ceased to snarl and to bite the bars. Instead, he tried to put his head through the bars, as if to get his _nose_ as near her as possible.

Of course the lady did not understand that. She merely wondered why the leopard had changed his behavior so suddenly. She now noticed that the leopard was bending down, and scratching the floor of the cage near the front of the bars--just as a pet cat or dog will scratch the floor outside your door to be let in. The lady wondered still more, and came a little nearer to the cage.

Immediately the leopard got up, and began pacing the cage in joy. The lady now stood about two yards away. Then the leopard put his paw through the bars and began to _s.n.a.t.c.h_ with it. The lady was a little frightened at first, but presently she noticed that the leopard was not s.n.a.t.c.hing at _her_, but at the _handkerchief_, which was still in her hand. And the leopard was not s.n.a.t.c.hing ferociously, but almost playfully, like a great big cat.

After a moment's thought the lady realized that the leopard wanted the handkerchief--but why he wanted it, she did not know. So she threw the handkerchief at the bars. The leopard caught it in his paw, and pulled it into the cage.

Then you should have seen how that wild and ferocious leopard behaved!

He played with that handkerchief more joyously than any kitten ever played with a ball. He put the handkerchief on the floor of the cage, leaped upon it, rubbed his nose on it, and even rolled over it.

Gradually the lady began to understand why he did that. The handkerchief had been scented with lavender. She wondered if it could be the _lavender_ that he loved, and not the handkerchief itself?

Struck by this idea, the lady went to her cabin and brought out a small bottle of lavender scent. She opened the stopper, and splashed a few drops of the scent through the bars. Then the leopard simply went crazy with delight. He leaped upon the places on the floor where the drops had fallen, and he rubbed his nose on them, and rolled over them. Then the lady knew that it was the scent that the leopard loved.

After that she gave him the lavender to smell every day, and the leopard became so tame that he allowed her to come to the bars and pat his body.

But as this is a true story, I must tell you the ending. One of the men pa.s.sengers on that ship gave the leopard a large piece of cotton-wool soaked in lavender. That was unfortunate--I mean it was unfortunate that the man used cotton-wool instead of a handkerchief or even a piece of cloth.

The leopard played with the cotton-wool in delight, and rubbed his nose and face on it. In doing so he must have got the cotton-wool into his mouth--and then he must have taken in a deep breath. We don't know whether he meant to do that, as he liked the perfume so much, or whether he took the breath without meaning to do so. In any case, the cotton-wool got into his windpipe, and he tried to cough it out; but he could not. The foolish pa.s.senger did not know what was the matter; and so he did nothing.

Then in a few days an inflammation set in, and the poor leopard died.

Some people are so thoughtless!

CHAPTER XV

American Leopard: The Jaguar

Now I shall tell you about an American leopard. He is called the _jaguar_. He lives mostly in Central America and South America. His favorite country is Brazil, near the Amazon and other rivers that flow into the Amazon.

Some people call the jaguar the American _tiger_. This is a mistake, because a tiger is striped, not spotted; and the jaguar is spotted, like a leopard. So it is more correct to call the jaguar the American _leopard_.

He has all the qualities of other leopards that I have already described to you. But his spots are a little larger and not quite so completely round; they are more nearly square, with rounded corners.

All four-footed animals can swim naturally in some fashion, but leopards can swim especially well. And the jaguar, who lives near the Amazon and other rivers, is a champion swimmer. He swims as easily as he climbs trees. So he eats fish as often as he eats monkeys!

Yes, he actually catches a monkey sleeping on the bough of a tree! He climbs up so silently that the monkey does not awake. At least, those monkeys that do not cultivate the keenest sense of hearing, even in their sleep, get eaten by the jaguar. But a jaguar that is clumsy in his movements awakes the sleeping monkey--and then that jaguar has to go without his dinner. So, again, life is like a compet.i.tion or trial in the jungle, as I have told you in Book I, pages 118-119. Those animals that cultivate their gifts escape their enemies and they get enough to eat. Those that do not cultivate their gifts are either killed by their enemies, or are themselves starved to death.

The jaguar is very fond of monkey for his dinner, just as you are fond of roast turkey. The things he likes next best are fish and turtle. He catches a fish by pouncing on it from the bank. Turtles that he finds on the bank he merely turns over on their backs, so that they cannot run away. Then he leisurely scoops out the flesh with his paws and eats it.

But when the jaguar is in the water pouncing on fish, he in turn has an enemy that wants to eat _him_. When the jaguar has pounced on a fish, a silent snout may come up to him from behind--and grab him! Yes, an alligator! And the alligator needs only to hold the jaguar in his jaws, and drag him down, and keep him under water till the jaguar is drowned.

Then the alligator can have jaguar flesh for _his_ dinner.

Here again we have an example of compet.i.tion in the jungle. The jaguar must cultivate not only quickness in catching fish, but also his own sense of hearing, so as to escape from the alligator in time.

"But what about the alligator?" you may ask. "Doesn't _he_ need to cultivate some gift to escape his enemy? Is there no enemy that tries to eat the alligator in his turn?"

No! There is no other animal in the water that wants to eat the alligator, or that can do so. But still the alligator may have an enemy near by, who wants to kill him. There may be a hunter on the bank who wants to shoot the alligator to provide you with purses, handbags, or satchels. So the alligator too must be on his guard against his own enemy.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Chain of Conflict in the Jungle]

You can understand the whole story by supposing that there are in that place:

A small fish, A bigger fish, A jaguar, An alligator, and A hunter.

Then let us suppose that the small fish is trying to catch some tiny creature of the water on which it feeds. But while the small fish is catching the tiny creature, the fish itself must look out for its own danger. Otherwise:

A bigger fish comes, and eats the small fish. But the bigger fish also must look out for its own danger. Otherwise:

The jaguar comes, and eats the bigger fish. But the jaguar also must look out for his own danger. Otherwise:

The alligator comes, and eats the jaguar. But the alligator also must look out for his own danger. Otherwise:

The hunter comes, and shoots the alligator.

So you see that the animals that dwell in the jungle have to cultivate all their gifts to get on in life.

CHAPTER XVI

The Dog Tribe

I have told you of several flesh-eating animals that are of the Cat Tribe. But there are some flesh-eating animals that are of the Dog Tribe. The most important one of these in the jungle is the _wolf_.

How can you tell the difference between the Cat Tribe and the Dog Tribe?

By the four qualities that the Cat Tribe has, and which the Dog Tribe does not have.

I. The members of the Cat Tribe have four fangs. Those of the Dog Tribe do not have fangs. They have special teeth of their own kind.

II. The members of the Cat Tribe have a rough tongue. Those of the Dog Tribe have a tongue which is not quite so rough. They do not need a very rough tongue, as they can sc.r.a.pe the meat from a bone with their teeth.

III. The members of the Cat Tribe have retractile claws. The Dog Tribe's claws are rigid and stiff; that is, they are thrust out all the time.

The members of the Dog Tribe do not use their claws in seizing or holding their prey; they hold the prey in their jaws.

IV. All of the Cat Tribe have padded paws: they have them for many reasons, which I have mentioned on pages 71-72. But the paws of the Dog Tribe are not so thickly padded with muscles. The Dog Tribe do not need the thick padding of muscles, because:

1. They do not need to stalk their prey silently. They catch their prey by running it down, as a greyhound catches a hare.

2. They do not strike down their prey with their paws, but seize it in their jaws.

3. They do not need to give a _bound_ in catching their prey, so the muscles under their feet need not act like _springs_.

The members of the Dog Tribe gain on their prey by moving their legs _quickly_, not by covering a large amount of ground with each movement of their legs. But the Cat Tribe do just the opposite: they do not move their legs so quickly, but they cover a larger amount of ground at each movement of their legs. As I have told you already, a dog _gallops_, but a cat _bounds_. The dog's legs move much faster than the cat's, but the cat gives a bigger jump than the dog each time.