“A merry twilight to you,” answered Lion; and then all the rest added their voices in greeting while Dan, skipping to the side of the White-White Horse, offered his round, pointed hat as a cup to receive the Pretty Lady’s foot that he might assist her to alight. This she accepted as quick as a wink and, tossing her slim, little whip and the bag with the spangles to the broad back of Hippo, made a quick little run and a quick little bound, twitched her toe-tips together just as riders always do at the circus, and then ran straight to the seat in the midst of the animals.
“Now,” said she, “if you will pay the strictest attention, I’ll go on with the story. But, first, who will tell me just how it began?”
At this all the animals talked at one time and there arose such a din that the Pretty Lady put her two hands to her ears in direst despair.
“Order! Order!” shouted Lion. “Gracious, what a racket! Giraffe, since you were the only one who remained silent, you may tell us the first part of the tale.”
So Giraffe took the chalk and, going to the side of his house, wrote these words:
“Many years ago—that time animals mixed with own folks only—wise monkey—Vargu by name—thinking—in tree—Leopard passes underneath—Signed: Giraffe.”
“Exactly,” cried the Lady. “You see, the very wise monkey named Vargu had been sitting there wondering why it was that the different kinds of animals could not be more sociable. So, when the leopard came in sight, what do you suppose Vargu did? A most unheard of and a most daring thing—he spoke to him! Now at first the leopard, whose name was Soft Foot, could not believe his ears, so he kept straight on his way. But Vargu was determined. He spoke once again. And with that, the leopard stopped full in his tracks and gazed at the monkey in utter amazement.
“‘Why, What does this mean!’ he called up to the other. ‘You cannot speak to me. You are a monkey.’
“‘Ah,’ answered Vargu, ‘but I can speak to you even if I am a monkey. And, if you don’t believe it, just listen to this: Hello, Mister Leopard! Hello! Hello! Hello!’ And, with that, he went scampering to the very top of the tree.
“For a moment Soft Foot made as if to spring into the tree. But he finally contented himself with blinking his eyes in a dazed sort of way, and then making off through the maze of the grass, shaking his head as he went. Yet, try as he would, he could not forget what had happened. He thought of it as he was going to sleep and he thought of it when he wakened. Then curiosity got the better of him and the next afternoon found him trotting along beneath the very same tree. And there, as before, sat the monkey called Vargu.