Perhaps he would not have hurt Mappo, had the monkey opened
the cage; but I cannot be sure of that.

All day long through the jungle tramped the natives, carrying the wild
animals in their crates. There were several besides Mappo and
Sharp-Tooth. There were snakes, in big boxes, other monkeys, a
rhinoceros, a hippopotamus, two lions, who roared dreadfully all the
while, and many other beasts.

In fact, it was a small circus marching through the jungle, and all the
animals had been caught, in one way or another, to be sold to circuses
and menageries. But in this book I will tell you mostly about Mappo,
just as in other books I have told you of Squinty, the comical pig, and
Slicko, the jumping squirrel.

"Oh, I do wish I had something to eat!" thought poor Mappo. But he did
not see anything for a long time. It was getting dark when the natives,
carrying the crates, set them down in the jungle, and began to build
fires to cook their supper. They were going to camp out in the woods all
night, and they had stopped near a pool of water.

Mappo smelled the water. So did the other animals, and they began to
howl for drinks. You remember I told you wild animals can often smell
better than they can see.

The natives did not want to be cruel to the animals; they only wanted to
sell them to the white people. And the natives knew if the animals did
not get something to drink, they might die. So, pretty soon, they began
to give the beasts water to drink. Mappo got some, and oh! how good it
was to his little dry throat and mouth.

"Don't forget, you are going to let me loose in the night," whispered
the tiger to Mappo, as it grew darker and darker in the jungle. Mappo
said nothing. He pretended to be asleep. But, all the same, he made up
his mind that he was _not_ going to let the tiger loose.

When it was all dark and quiet in the camp, Mappo tried to open his own
cage with his smart little fingers. But the natives were smarter than
the little monkey. They knew all monkeys were very good at picking open
boxes, so they had made this one, for Mappo, especially tight. Mappo
tried his best, but he could not get out.

So, after all, he did not have to play any trick on the tiger, and not
let Sharp-Tooth out, and he was glad of it.

"Hist! Hist!" the tiger called, from his crate, near that of Mappo.
"Aren't you going to let me out?"

"I can't get out myself," answered the little monkey.

"Bur-r-r-r-r! Wow! Wuff!" roared the ti