So don't injure
your health for my sake, if you please.'
With that he blew her a kiss, and trotted away with his tail up.
Of course he never came back, though trusting Miss Crocodile waited
patiently for him; at last she understood what a gay deceitful fellow
he was, and determined to have her revenge on him one way or another.
So she hid herself in the water, under the roots of a tree, close to a
ford where Mr. Jackal always came to drink. By and by, sure enough,
he came lilting along in a self-satisfied way, and went right into the
water for a good long draught. Whereupon Miss Crocodile seized him by
the right leg, and held on. He guessed at once what had happened, and
called out, 'Oh! my heart's adored! I'm drowning! I'm drowning! If
you love me, leave hold of that old root and get a good grip of my
leg--it is just next door!'
Hearing this, Miss Crocodile thought she must have made a mistake,
and, letting go the Jackal's leg in a hurry, seized an old root close
by, and held on. Whereupon Mr. Jackal jumped nimbly to shore, and ran
off with his tail up, calling out, 'Have a little patience, my
beauty! The barber will come some day!'
But this time Miss Crocodile knew better than to wait, and being now
dreadfully angry, she crawled away to the Jackal's hole, and slipping
inside, lay quiet.
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