His mate was waiting for him before their lair. After he arrived, she looked at him, and said: “Dear, I see blood around your mouth and on your paws. This is the blood of a kambi. Your flanks are also so swollen that your stomach must be filled with flesh.”
“Yes,” he replied, “I have been lucky. I came upon a kambi; you are right.”
“I have also been fortunate,” she said. “I had a ncheri for my meal, but, as you know, a ncheri is small compared with a kambi. So I had only a good meal and nothing to spare. But I am thankful for this, for I am not hungry any more.”
The two njegos were soon fast asleep, and did not wake during the day.
After the njego had left the remains of the kambi, a pack of hyenas came just in time, before the ants arrived to eat the rest, and they feasted on what the leopard had left of the kambi.
CHAPTER VIII
BIRTH OF THREE LITTLE NJEGOS
One day, three tiny little njegos were born, and the old ones were delighted.
They watched over their little ones with great care, and when Mamma Njego would go in search of prey, Papa Njego remained behind to take care of the little ones. Now and then he had a hard time, for they cried when they wanted Mamma Njego to nurse them. But mamma wanted an outing sometimes, and had to go after prey.
“What made you so late?” Papa Njego would sometimes say when his mate returned.
“If I am late,” she would reply, “it is because I have had a hard time to find prey,” or, “Well, dear, I am famished; I found nothing.”