“Oh, dear!” thought the little Jackal; “the big Alligator has my paw in his mouth!  In another minute he will pull me down and gobble me up!  What shall I do? what shall I do?” Then he thought, suddenly, “I’ll deceive him!”

So he put on a very cheerful voice, as if nothing at all were the matter, and he said,—­

“Ho! ho!  Clever Mr. Alligator!  Smart Mr. Alligator, to take that old bulrush root for my paw!  I’ll 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 most 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 today?”

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 go Puff, Puff, Puff, and then they go pop, pop, pop, and they show me where the little juicy crabs are, so I can put my paw in and catch them.  I wonder if I shall see any little bubbles to-day?”