Of course the Bear had a mishap. It was through treading on the Crocodile's tail that he came down on a poor little Porcupine who had crept out from a neighbouring cactus thicket and was dancing a little fling all by himself. However, the Porcupine was not really hurt except that he came out quite smooth--all his bristles having stuck in the Bear. But, apart from this, everybody enjoyed it immensely. To be sure, they had to sing the tune themselves, but that added to the fun.

'There's something else just as nice!' cried Baby Jane when they had stopped, breathless, but eager for more. Then, with the Lion, she led off in the Washington Post.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Washington Post.]

Speak not of dancing in a room. What room is large enough when the romping begins? What you want is a good large desert. That is what Baby Jane and her pupils had, and it was grand. The Lion bounced so high that Baby Jane was swung about like a leaf on a bough on a windy day, and had nothing to do but waggle her toes in the air.

Afterwards, all rather tired, the creatures came and Baby Jane arranged them round her, the Lion and the Bear on each side with her arms round their necks, the Piccaninny and the Rabbit at her feet with their little heads on her knees, and the Crocodile round the whole party like a rampart.

'Isn't that better than being cruel, dears, and going about roaring and fighting?' asked Baby Jane.

'Lots!' said the Lion, and the others all grunted approval.

And Baby Jane went to sleep in the midst of her pupils very proud and happy, for she knew now that her plan would really work, and had found what dears wild beasts were when you only knew them.

CHAPTER II

NUTS IN MAY

Baby Jane was slowly waking up, with the gentle morning sun shining on her face.

'What is this silky, furry thing under my head?' she murmured to herself. And then it all came back to her.

'Oh yes, of course,' said she. 'I've come out to the African Desert to teach the poor dear creatures nice things to do, instead of fighting and howling and killing one another. And I've been asleep with my head upon my dear, naughty old Bear, with all my animals and the Piccaninny round me. And yesterday I gave them a dancing lesson.

'There now, dears,' she said, sitting up and nodding wisely at the gently snoring circle, 'wasn't it nicer to sleep properly through the night by me, after being tired out with playing, than to wander and howl and be wicked in the dreadful woods and the lonely desert?'

Her little speech waked them, and they sat up and rubbed their eyes and smiled sleepily at her.

'Now,' said Baby Jane briskly, 'we'll go and wash our faces in the river.'

Her pupils, except the Crocodile, who tried to look as if she were very brave in obeying, all made excuses, but Baby Jane was firm, and there was soon a great spluttering and s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up of eyes, and they became very lank and dank and shiny.

Then came breakfast under a spreading palm--a fine breakfast. There was bread-fruit--which always grows ready toasted in this part of the world because of the heat of the sun--and b.u.t.ter-nuts and cocoa-nuts with fresh milk in them; and any one who knew more of these wonderful African plants would probably tell you of the shrimp shrubs, and of the whiting-fried-in-egg-and-breadcrumbs-with-their-tails-in-their-mouths bushes.

'Do you know,' said Baby Jane confidentially when they had finished, 'it _is_ nice that I'm going to teach you something that is great fun this sunshiny morning, instead of being taught myself in a stuffy school-room--and perhaps put in the corner.'

At this point she grew red, and looked round to see if they looked shocked, but they were all grinning affectionately. A great reformer loses nothing by little admissions like this.

'Come along, now,' said she; 'I'll teach you some games on this smooth patch.'

The animals and the Piccaninny all frisked around in high excitement.

'First we'll play blindfold "Cat and Mouse,"' said Baby Jane, after a moment's thought. 'Lion, you are "mouse," and, Rabbit, you are "cat."

Now I want two handkerchiefs.'

The Bear retired and came back with a large spotted handkerchief. This time Baby Jane did not ask how he got it--she only sighed.

It was old, so they tore it in half, and, having blindfolded the Lion and the Rabbit, they spun them round three times and then kept very quiet to watch the fun.

The Lion was dreadfully nervous at first and crept about on tiptoe, and listened quaking to the sound of the Rabbit as he scuffled around snorting fiercely and making savage grabs at the air. Once they b.u.mped their heads together, but, with an ear-splitting yell of terror, the Lion bounded away before the Rabbit could grip him.

By-and-bye the Rabbit, having run up against Baby Jane, whispered to her, 'I reckon he's gone up a tree; I'll go after him.'

Then he felt about till he came to the stem of a palm, and up he went, hand-over-hand.

In a little while the Lion, who was still tiptoeing about on the ground, also ran up against Baby Jane, and said in a quavering whisper, 'I reckon it's not safe down here; I'm going up a tree.' And he felt about till he came to the very tree up which the Rabbit, or, I should say, the 'cat,' had just climbed, and up he went.

The Rabbit had reached the top, and was meditating on the ease with which we deceive ourselves, when he heard a scratching sound below him, and p.r.i.c.ked up his ears. Nearer and nearer came the sound.

'Sure enough,' said he, 'it's that "mouse" coming up after me,' and with a triumphant squeak--'Caught!'--he let go with his four little paws, and down he dropped plump on the Lion's head.

The Lion shrieked aloud with terror and dismay, and fell heavily to the ground; and there he lay with the Rabbit sitting smiling on top of him.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Down he dropped plump on the Lion's head.]

Then the others tried their hands at being 'cat' and 'mouse,' until the whole party was weak with laughing.

'Now we'll have a three-legged race,' said Baby Jane when they had at last subsided into giggles. 'It is rather a boys' game, but I'm only going to do it to teach you.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: Baby Jane and the Piccaninny.]

There were three couples--the Lion and the Rabbit, the Bear and the Crocodile, and Baby Jane and the Piccaninny.

The Bear and the Crocodile made a splendid race with Baby Jane's couple. The Bear took tiny steps to suit the shortness of the Crocodile's legs, and their feet pattered as fast as a fly flaps its wings; but the children won by two yards.

As for the Lion and the Rabbit, they sat down to quarrel half-way, the Rabbit recommending big kangaroo-like bounds, while the Lion was for hopping on the joint leg.

After this came a game of 'Gathering Nuts in May,' and the creatures nearly went wild with excitement.

It is to be feared that they were so anxious for their side to win that they did things that were not quite honest.

Now, Baby Jane had decided that the Rabbit and the Piccaninny might always pull together, being each so small.

On a certain occasion her side had declared in song that they would

'Have Miss Crocodile for Nuts in May, Nuts in May, Nuts in May';

and also that they would

'Send Bunny and the Piccaninny to fetch her away, Fetch her away, fetch her away.'

Then that little couple went out, and the Rabbit, having caught the Crocodile's hand, and the Piccaninny having gripped the Rabbit's little tail, they tugged and they tugged for the honour of their side to pull Miss Crocodile over the line, until their little hearts nearly burst and the Rabbit's tail nearly came off.

[Ill.u.s.tration: She had anch.o.r.ed the end of her tail to a stout young palm tree.]