Down on the ground, under the family tree, were some empty cocoanut
shells. One was almost whole, with only a small piece broken out.

"I'll put that piece of shell back in the hole," said Mappo, "and it
will look as though it had not been opened. Then I'll give it to Jacko
or Bumpo. They'll think it's a good cocoanut, and try to break it open.
Then won't they feel funny when they see it's empty!"

Mappo was thinking so much about the trick he was going to play, that he
did not look about, as he ought to have done, for any signs of danger.
He was down on the ground, putting the piece of shell back in the hole
in the empty cocoanut, to play a trick on one of his brothers, when, all
of a sudden, there was a crashing in the bushes, right in front of
Mappo, and out jumped the big, yellow and black striped tiger.

"Oh my!" exclaimed Mappo, and he was so frightened that he could not
move.

CHAPTER III

MAPPO IN A NET

Mappo crouched down on the ground, trying to hide under a green bush of
the jungle. In his paw he held the empty cocoanut shell with which he
was going to play a trick on Bumpo or Jacko. The tiger was creeping,
slowly, slowly along, on his soft, padded feet, just as your cat creeps
after a bird. Mappo was too frightened to move.

"Ah ha!" growled the tiger, away down deep in his throat. "At last I
have caught a monkey!"

Of course he had not yet really caught Mappo, but he soon would; there
was very little doubt of that. Mappo shivered. He wished he had not
tried to play the trick. If he had stayed safe up in the tree, the tiger
could not have gotten at him.

Mappo, with his queer little eyes, almost like yours, looked up toward
where he knew his tree-house was. He was looking to see if his papa or
mamma were in sight.

"Ha! There is no use looking up there!" said the cunning tiger, lashing
his striped sides with his long tail. "There's no one up there to help
you!"

Poor Mappo saw that this was so. There was none of his brothers or
sisters up in the tree-house. Nor was his papa or mamma there. The whole
monkey family had gone off to look for more cocoanuts, since those they
had had were all eaten up.

Just before starting out Mrs. Monkey had said:

"Where is Mappo?"

"Oh, he just went on ahead," said Bumpo, who had seen his brother
scrambling down the tree toward the ground. Bumpo did not know what his
brother was going to do, or that Mappo intended to play a trick with the
empty coc