The great, limpid eyes of the alligator were wet and tears could be seen welling in their suffering depths. He whimpered. Sally blinked and motioned b.u.t.tons, who cautiously worked her way around his tail which lay curled to his side. The alligator moaned. b.u.t.tons and Sally blinked together as the reptile curled up around his forepaw and begin to cry, broken by loud, shuddering moans.

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle," Sally said.

b.u.t.tons sat down with a plop. "Good gosh," was all she could manage.

Sally took a deep breath and approached the sobbing creature. "I'll be d.a.m.ned. I've heard of weeping willows, cri-de-coeur cri-de-coeur, and a weeping vagabond. That's you. That's you. Would you stop it? Sounds pretty silly for a creature of your size to be sniveling like that."

One large, lucent eye opened slowly and gazed at her with hurt. Between sobs, he answered, all the while gurgling deeply in his throat, "It hurts, it hurts soooo bad." He tugged at the large chain which securely fastened his leg to the stake sunk firmly in the ground. "Oh," he groaned, "it hurts my leg soooo bad."

b.u.t.tons stepped forward, until her nose touched his very much larger snout. She was still angry at the sudden attack. "Go ahead, brown eyes, snivel. It's not going to do you any good."

Then, she suddenly remembered Rarebit's and Ms. Lucie's warning. Not once, but three times. She turned to Sally and then back to the alligator's large, round eyes. Sally sighed, "Blew it again, didn't we?"

"Big time, I think. Just look at those eyes. Just like Rarebit said when he left us."

b.u.t.tons's voice was softer and her tone somewhat kinder when she addressed him again. "Look, buddy, who are you. Why'd you try to bite me?"

"Gee, I'd never really meant to do that. Really, I mean, you know," he finished lamely, looking away as he did so.

Sally joined her friend and both faced him, squarely looking him in the eyes. "That's not a truly friendly answer, you know."

b.u.t.tons insisted on knowing more. "What's your name, dummy?" She began to bounce up and down a bit, a sure sign she was becoming impatient.

Sally broke in, "Look, friends don't go about trying to eat one another, you know."

The reptile's stomach ominously growled in disagreement, but its owner saw the wisdom in ignoring it. "I hurt," he repeated. "Besides, I'd never hurt you. Really." Both of his large opulent eyes stared innocently into those opposite him.

Sally coughed as she looked heavenward. "As I recall, your friendship was rather toothy a moment ago."

The alligator sighed, "Well, you see, sometimes my stomach sort of... well..." He stopped. Obviously neither really believed him. "I'm always hungry," he wailed. "I don't have any friends. I've never really been in such a place before, you know."

"Look," b.u.t.tons said, "if you really don't have any friends, maybe it's because they're not around long enough to be friends. Ever think of that." She glared at him, making the alligator wince inwardly. She did have a point.

"Well, maybe, you could be..." He looked expectantly at the two who stood defiantly before him.

Sally relented, somewhat, as she approached nearer. "Look, friend, I'll be a friend, if you're a friend. Get it?"

The alligator slumped against the stake, which only poked him in the ribs, making his decision even more difficult. The pain in his side made his teeth glimmer as his lips rippled in response.

Both dogs immediately backed off, not knowing if they could really trust this very large creature. However, the sound of rustling in the bush behind them froze them momentarily. Their ears went up and they turned toward the sound, ignoring, for the time being, the large alligator in the grasp of the trap.

b.u.t.tons smiled as she immediately recognized the sound as it approached. Sally started wagging her tail as a huge rattlesnake slithered into view. At the snake's appearance, the alligator's mouth dropped open, for he had never seen a snake so large. The alligator looked in shocked amazement as the dogs were rushing toward the snake with tails wagging.

b.u.t.tons leaped against the snake's broad breast as she addressed him, "Morning, Ssserek. Boy, is it good to see you."

Ssserek's pupils expanded slightly as his tongue flitted about her, taking in the many details of the morning's events. Then he touched Sally's nose gently, sending ripples of surprise down the alligator's back.

Ssserek nodded briefly to the two, and looked fixedly at the alligator who tried very hard to become invisible by shrinking himself into the most compact position possible. All to no avail.

b.u.t.tons nudged Sally as she watched the great snake, who was both friend and mentor. Of all the creatures in the forest and field, Ssserek was the grandest and the best in their opinion, which they shared with many of their disbelieving friends. Sally looked to heaven again as she recalled the warnings given earlier in the morning.

Ssserek had missed none of the interplay, smiling to himself. Nonetheless, he hissed in their ears as he lowered his head to their level, "Well, Ms. Lucie was correct again, was she not? Hmmm?"

Both b.u.t.tons and Sally squirmed beneath his stern visage. "Well, yes, we did sort of forget." Both sat up, placing a small paw on his chest. Embarra.s.sment, yes, that was there, but so too humor. He couldn't help it. Ssserek smiled, albeit a bit grimly.

Saying nothing more to the two young scamps at his side, he moved so he could clearly view the alligator's predicament. The stake was indeed large and deeply sunk. The chain might be rusty with age, but it, too, was large and would hold such a creature for a long time. The trap itself was of an old, but simple, design and had great strength. It presented a unique problem, which even the cunning of his two friends and their lack of strength could not hope to cope. He turned to them as they sat watching him with keen antic.i.p.ation.

"Well, my young friends, I see you've caught yourself a very large fish, indeed."

A loud groan came from the alligator. "I'm not a fish," he wailed.

Sally looked to one side as she answered for both b.u.t.tons and herself. "Well, it did take some doing, but it wasn't all that difficult. We simply led him into the trap as he tried to catch us." She shrugged contemptuously as the alligator groaned once again.

Ssserek's head snapped down, and before the alligator could move, he found himself staring eye to eye with the father of reptiles. "Not surprising, but then, our Prometheus here obviously has not met you two before. Else he would have known better, I vow."

When his lungs could once again fill themselves, however little, the alligator could only blink slowly as Ssserek asked, "And, fellow reptile, what do you have to say? What did you say your name was? From which land do you hail? AND, how dare you a.s.sault my friends." This last was hissed at the cringing alligator like a maddened steam pipe.

The alligator began to jitter, "I, I, I..." but then catching himself, rose as tall as his short legs allowed. He had s.p.u.n.k.

"My name," his nose rose as he said it, "is Delphinus. And, I am an alligator, the largest of reptiles."

His nose dipped toward Ssserek. "I came by way of Murphy's Marvelous Moving Van of Exotic Creatures."

Sally broke in, "You mean you escaped from some jerk water sideshow?"

She started to continue when b.u.t.tons came to his rescue. "That's OK, Delph, you're sort of cute."

Delph, which became an instant nickname, started to smile, when b.u.t.tons added, "But then, I've never seen one of you before. Do you all have so many teeth?"

Delph gasped as b.u.t.tons stood against him, trying to peer into his mouth, made easier by his actions.

Delph couldn't help but smile.

"Boy, they are big," b.u.t.tons said.

"But, I am not very old." He couldn't help himself. "They are grand, though, aren't they?" His grin was the largest either b.u.t.tons or Sally had ever seen.

"So, do we free you?" Ssserek asked.

Thoroughly deflated, Delph sank once again to the ground. He groaned and eyes filled with tears once again.

"Easy, little one," b.u.t.tons said as she surveyed the trap. "There must be something we can do."

Her tail wiggled enticingly before Delph's eyes, and he clamped them shut for fear his thoughts would be apparent to the snake.

"Now, hold on a sec, b.u.t.tons," Sally broke in. She placed herself directly in front of Delph's nose, making him him cross his eyes as he tried to keep her in focus. "Why should we be friends with you? Tell me that."

Delph moaned. His leg was beginning to hurt more and more. He really did like these two. They were so different.

He tried to explain. "You see, I was caged all the time. And only got fed on occasion. I sometimes eat things I shouldn't because I was hungry all the time." He didn't add that the swamp more than adequately provided for him. That was obvious.

"Besides," Delph continued, "I am the world's most ferocious alligator." He finished lamely. "Well, that's what the sign said, but golly gee whiz, oh nuts." He stopped. He wasn't getting anywhere.

Sally decided to champion Delph. She had taken a liking to the young alligator, although she would never admit it. She glanced at b.u.t.tons. "Good cop, bad cop?"

b.u.t.tons didn't bother to nod. The gleam in her eye clearly said, "Go for it."

"Well, Delph, we would really like to help, but..." Sally left her thought hanging as Delph raised up, pulling at the chain in the sudden hope of being released.

"Yeah, but, no more trying to eat us." b.u.t.tons stood on stiff legs, her voice hard and demanding.

Delph wilted. "Look, I wouldn't ever, ever eat you. You know that." He began again. Obviously, it hadn't gone over particularly well.

"Gosh, I've never had a friend, anywhere. In my cage, I couldn't even see who was next to me. And I had to fight for what I got to eat. Hunger has few friends, you know."

Sally saw the immediate opening. "But, here in the swamp, you need never be hungry again.

Even b.u.t.tons had to admit the truth of his last statement, even though she did so grudgingly and slowly.

b.u.t.tons glared at Delph. "Look, maybe we can be friends. But how do we know you'll keep your word?"

Ssserek broke in. It was time to finish the matter. He calmly gazed at the young alligator and his two friends. "I don't believe he would ever forget his word if he gives it to all three three of us. True, my young alligator?" of us. True, my young alligator?"

Delph stared at the great snake. He won't dare not to keep his word. It would be hard, but he wanted friends. He wanted to be free, free to be able to talk with someone, anyone, yes, even these two, these two who had so neatly trapped him. Yes, he would keep his word.

"Yes, yes, yes," Delph shouted with glee. "Yes, I will keep my word. And, be your friend." He hesitated slightly as he said the last, looking squarely at b.u.t.tons. Clearly, it was her call with Ssserek to back her up.

b.u.t.tons couldn't hold anger very long, particularly when trying to feign it. She smiled. "Yes, we're friends. OK?" She licked Delph on the nose and Sally sealed the deal by climbing onto his snout and licking his eyebrow. It was just as well she couldn't see his huge grin for at the best of times, only Ssserek's smile could be more alarming.

Ssserek grinned to himself as b.u.t.tons was joined by Sally. Their simple and transparent joy in life always filled him with a warm feeling. They began a minute inspection of the chain and trap, Sally's tail slapping Delph's nose again and again as the two went about their business.

Delph simply clamped his mouth shut and closed his eyes. Temptation had never been greater.

It took several moments before they reached the same conclusion."Nuts! Take all day to dig up that stake."

While the dirt flew furiously from b.u.t.tons's paws, Sally sought a limb with which they might lever-open the jaws of the trap. In a very short time, it became apparent they would fail. However deep, b.u.t.tons dug. The soft silt-like dirt fell back in, and however they tried to wedge the jaws open, either the branch broke or the angle was wrong. b.u.t.tons dropped disconsolately next to Delph.

Why did he have to mix it up with these two? Bad enough with them running back and forth before his very nose, but to have Ssserek watching every move. No. No. No. It was his own fault. Here, he had friends, no longer lost or hungry. No. He would see it through. He groaned, but hung in there, waiting for his new friends to solve the impossible.

"He sounds like a sick moose," Sally said.

b.u.t.tons jerked erect. "Ha! That's it!" She said it very emphatically.

"It's what," Sally asked as Ssserek grinned to himself.

Leave it to them. They'd come through. He moved forward. "The moose, my little one. He has a hoof that no trap can resist." Ssserek stopped and swayed as he looked at the sky. "Yes, I think we can do it. Sally?"

She jumped at the singular urgency in his voice. "Yes, sir, what can I do?"

Ssserek swayed back and forth as he considered all possibilities. "You can bugle. Bugle loud, dear. That's what you can do. That's precisely what you must do."

Sally nodded. Then she wasted no more time in questions. She knew what had to be done. She raced off to the east, and in a short time reached a small knoll amidst a clearing of trees. Quickly reaching the top, she raised her voice in the clarion call of her kind.

Her bell-like voice reached higher and higher into the air as only beagles can when very excited. Into the afternoon air her call rose, reaching far to the south and east.

At first, nothing happened. A few birds stopped to ponder the racket, but then went back to their feeding. But her voice carried until it touched a receptive mind. Rummaging in deep and wet foliage, two very large ears snapped erect. Their owner was large, very large indeed, and his head came up from the water that encircled him. He listened carefully, taking in the nuances and urgency of the message. He listened as large green leaves and other foliage hung from his large blubbery mouth.

Then the young moose surged toward the sh.o.r.e, leaving his feeding for later. He was large even in his relative youth, for moose are the largest of all deer. He was lank and very tall, his shoulders being higher than the rest of his back. His head was awkward-looking to those not familiar with a moose, long in the snout, with large nostrils which he could close and open rapidly, and drooping blubbery lips which could suck large amounts of water foliage into his gaping maw. He liked to eat, and he would often leave the large zoo's grazing field for the nearby swamp when he was really hungry. Of course, he wasn't supposed to leave the field, but he had solved that problem some time ago. Now, he came and returned as he pleased, knowing when the time was right.

But now was the time for action. He moved. He moved with speed and strength. He moved with ground-eating strides, his bulk seemingly blotting out sun as he made his way, first to the forest and then through it. He traveled along hidden trails. Where there was none, he made them. Bushes he ignored. Saplings he simply tore from the earth in his pa.s.sage. The large trees he nimbly avoided. At last, he burst on the beach, shaking leaf, mud and water in all directions.

Ssserek waited patiently until the great creature approached and dipped his long snout.

"I'm here, Ssserek, as you called."

b.u.t.tons stood on her hind legs for a better view of the very large animal before her. Ssserek was large, Delph even larger, but this one was huge. "Holy cow," she blurted out. "What are you?"

His head swung down and around to take in the small dog in front of him. As he did so, he sprayed her with particles of aquatic plants, gobs of mud, and drops of water.

"Yuk. My, but you're messy," b.u.t.tons spluttered.

"I was in a hurry, and I don't appreciate your humor," rumbled the deep voice.

b.u.t.tons took a few dainty steps around the messy moose. "You what?" she asked him.

Before the conversation could tail off, Ssserek stopped them both with a flick of his tail. "Your opening exclamatory comment, b.u.t.tons. He is definitely not a cow. Nor the least bit holy," he chuckled.

"Sure, OK. But that's not what I meant. And besides, you know very well."

A plaintive voice came from behind them. "Could we perhaps get on with this? My foot! It hurts!" Delph whined.

All three turned their attention to the unhappy alligator who drooped disconsolately before them. They were gathering around him when Sally appeared from the trees, having made her way back more slowly from the knoll.

She took one glance at the creature and started to say something, but just shook her head in wonderment. She raced up to them, taking her position between b.u.t.tons and Ssserek.

Ignoring the poor alligator's plight, the great creature took a deep breath, raised one eyebrow, and then lowered his head so that his nostrils puffed directly into their faces with each breath. "I am Milo, the moose, famous for his strength and..."

Sally interrupted by muttering beneath her breath, "Good gosh. Another Greek scholar."

The creature's head swayed ever so slightly, his large upper lip gently contacting Sally's shoulder. She went tumbling, fetching up in surprise against the alligator's snout, a smile rippling down his face so that all glowing fangs pa.s.sed in review.

They looked at one another in surprise but said nothing as Milo continued, "Famous for my strength and cunning sense of humor." His "Ho, ho, ho" boomed out over the swamp, sending egrets and cranes flapping into the air.

Sally looked more disgruntled than chagrined, but closed her mouth.

She took the tumbling in good humor.

Ssserek moved past the moose and scanned the chain, stake, and trap binding Delph securely to the ground. Motioning to b.u.t.tons, he said, "You will have to guide our rather large friend here, as I will instruct you. Please note the lever at this end. It must be pressed very firmly and not too fast."