When the Alligator heard this, he said, “If that is true I’d better call out, so he will know that all is right in his house.” And, in a very gentle voice, the Alligator murmured, “Welcome home, sweet little Jackal! Welcome home!”
Upon hearing this the frightened Jackal thought, “Oh, oh! That dreadful old Alligator is in my house. Well, I will surely kill him this time, or he will catch and kill me.”
Then the Jackal answered, very sweetly, “Thank you, my dear little house! I like to hear your sweet voice! I’m coming right in. But first, I must collect some fire-wood to cook my dinner.” So the Jackal ran about as fast as he could and dragged all the branches and dry sticks close to the mouth of the den.
The old Alligator kept very still, and smiled as he said to himself, “Aha! At last I will catch that tiresome little Jackal! In a few minutes he will run in here and then won’t I snap him up?” And the old Alligator rolled his eyes and smacked his lips and ground his teeth.
Now when the Jackal had piled up all the sticks that he could find, he pushed them close up to the den and set them on fire. And the smoke and flames filled the den and smothered the wicked old Alligator and burned him to a cinder.
The little Jackal danced about the den singing:
“Ring-a-ting-a-ting! How do you like my house, friend Alligator? Is it nice and warm in my house, friend Alligator? The Alligator will trouble me no more! Ding-dong, ding-dong! So I dance and sing! Sing-song, sing-song! My enemy is gone! Ring-a-ting, ting-a-ting, ding, ding, dong!”
THE BOLD BLACKBIRD
