“Leeuw said, ‘You have killed most, so you rip open and begin to eat.’
“‘Oh no!’ said Volstruis, ‘you have cubs to share the food with, so you rip open and eat. I shall only drink the blood.’
“This put Leeuw in a good humour; he thought Volstruis a noble, unselfish creature. But truly, as I said before, Volstruis was clever. Baasjes see, he couldn’t eat meat; he had no teeth. But he didn’t want Leeuw to know. Therefore he said, ‘You eat; I will only drink the blood.’
“So Leeuw ripped open—sk-r-r-r-r, sk-r-r-r-r—and called the cubs, and they all ate till they were satisfied. Then Volstruis came along in a careless fashion, pecking, pecking as he walked, and drank the blood. Then he and Leeuw lay down in the shade of some trees and went to sleep.
“The cubs played about, rolling and tumbling over each other. As they played they came to the place where Volstruis lay.
“‘Aha!’ said one, ‘he sleeps with his mouth open.’
“He peeped into Volstruis’s mouth. ‘Aha!’ he said again, ‘I see something.’
“Another cub came and peeped.
“‘Alle kracht!’ he said, ‘I see something too. Let us go and tell our father.’
“So they ran off in great excitement and woke Leeuw. ‘Come, come quickly,’ they said. ‘Volstruis insults you by saying he is your equal. He lies sleeping under the trees with his mouth wide open, and we have peeped into it, and behold, he has no teeth! Come and see for yourself.’