de top ear wag, an' de
sculpats all rink, by jimminy, darie elephant's de liv'est elephant
dey's seen dis many a day.

"`Run now!' shouts de sculpats. `Darie elephant's Klein Hahsie's daddy,
an' he's a-gun' to get up an' tromp us to smash! Get away now!' ses
dey.

"Little Hahsie, inside, he hear all dat, an' he fair 'gun to ramp about
in dat elephant, an' he shout outen his trunk like billy-o, an' it made
dat big a row, an' dat big a wiggle, dat you hain't never seen no
sculpats ever doin' no sich a gettin' away as dey did. 'Fore dat time
dey used to have hair on 'em like a otter, but dey went dat far an' dey
went dat fas'--for sculpats--troo de bush an' de stones an' de grass,
dat dey wear all de hair off n 'em, till dey get's quite smoove an'
polish like you sees 'em now.

"An' dat's why de sculpats is got no hair on 'em," concluded the old
Hottentot, with all the dignity of a learned professor to his class.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

WHY THE RATEL IS SO KEEN ON HONEY.

The children were accompanying Old Hendrik from the tobacco lands to the
mealie lands farther out, and on the way, in crossing the broken,
bush-grown spruit between, the eldest boy marked a fresh earth of the
Ratel or honey-badger. "Dat's bad to see if we don't do sometin'," said
Old Hendrik. "Dere'll be mighty little honey on dis place 'fore long if
we don't drop on to Mr Ratel."

"But, Ou' Ta'," demanded Annie, "why is the Ratel always after the
honey?"

"Well, Ainkye," answered Old Hendrik gravely, "it's 'cause it's in de
blood. Some folk ses it's dis way an' some ses it's dat way but as soon
as Ou' Ratel sees 'em comin' to ax, he fair dives into diggin', an' he's
half-way down to Dublin, as your mammy ses, 'fore dey comes to where he
started f'm. It ain't dat dese hyer Ratels ain't proud o' de reason,
'cause dey tinks it was mighty smart o' deir grandaddy. It's yust dey
rinks nobody knows, an' so dey won't tell.

"But I knows, 'cause my ole grandaddy tole me, an' it happen in his
grandaddy's time. You see it was de grandaddy of all dese yere Ratels,
an it was when he was a young _kerel_ in his daddy's house. Dere ain't
no doubt he was slim, _baiah_ slim, an' he was yust dat gone on honey
dat he even played tricks on his ole daddy, till at last he tried on dat
about de sack o' honey an' de honey-gum tree. Den--well, you listen.

"Dis young Seeunkie Ratel was de sort dat his mammy was al'ays a-fallin'
out wid his daddy over him,