d he said,--

"Ho! ho! Clever Mr Alligator! Smart Mr Alligator, to take that old
bulrush root for my paw! I hope you'll find it very tender!"

The old Alligator was hidden away beneath the mud and bulrush leaves,
and he couldn't see anything. He thought, "Pshaw! I've made a mistake."
So he opened his mouth and let the little Jackal go.

The little Jackal ran away as fast as he could, and as he ran he called
out,--

"Thank you, Mr Alligator! Kind Mr Alligator! _So_ kind of you to let me
go!"

The old Alligator lashed with his tail and snapped with his jaws, but it
was too late; the little Jackal was out of reach.

After this the little Jackal kept away from the river, out of danger.
But after about a week he got such an appetite for crabs that nothing
else would do at all; he felt that he must have a crab. So he went down
by the river and looked all around, very carefully. He didn't see the
old Alligator, but he thought to himself, "I think I'll not take any
chances." So he stood still and began to talk out loud to himself. He
said,--

"When I don't see any little crabs on the land I generally see them
sticking out of the water, and then I put my paw in and catch them. I
wonder if there are any fat little crabs in the water to-day?"

The old Alligator was hidden down in the mud at the bottom of the river,
and when he heard what the little Jackal said, he thought, "Aha! I'll
pretend to be a little crab, and when he puts his paw in, I'll make my
dinner of him." So he stuck the black end of his snout above the water
and waited.

The little Jackal took one look, and then he said,--

"Thank you, Mr Alligator! Kind Mr Alligator! You are _exceedingly_ kind
to show me where you are! I will have dinner elsewhere." And he ran away
like the wind.

The old Alligator foamed at the mouth, he was so angry, but the little
Jackal was gone.

For two whole weeks the little Jackal kept away from the river. Then,
one day he got a feeling inside him that nothing but crabs could
satisfy: he felt that he must have at least one crab. Very cautiously,
he went down to the river and looked all around. He saw no sign of the
old Alligator. Still, he did not mean to take any chances. So he stood
quite still and began to talk to himself,--it was a little way he had.
He said,--

"When I don't see any little crabs on the shore, or sticking up out of
the water, I usually see them blowing bubbles from under the water; the
little bubbles g