Why The Heron Has A Crooked Neck
:
Outa Karel's Stories
The flames leapt gaily upward in the wide fireplace, throwing strange
shadows on the painted walls and gleaming on the polished wood of
floor and beam and cupboard. Little Jan basked contentedly in the
warmth, almost dozing--now absently stroking the terrier curled up
beside him, now running his fingers through the softer fur of the
rug on which he lay. It was made of silver-jackal skins--a dozen of
them, to judge from
the six bushy tails spread out on either side;
and as Outa Karel's gaze rested on them, he remarked reminiscently--
"Arre! but Oom Jakhals was a slim kerel! No one ever got the better
of him without paying for it."
In an instant little Jan was sitting bolt upright, every symptom
of sleep banished from his face; the book from which Willem had been
laboriously trying to gain some idea of the physical features of Russia
was flung to the far end of the rustbank; while Pietie, suspending
for a brief moment his whittling of a catapult stick, slid along the
floor to get within better sight and sound of the story-teller.
"Yes, my little masters, sometimes it was Oom Leeuw he cheated,
sometimes it was Oubaas Babiaan or Oom Wolf, and once it was the
poor little Dove, and that is what made me think of how he was
cheated himself."
"Did the little Dove cheat him?" asked Pietie eagerly.
"No, baasje, the Dove is too frightened--not stupid, baasje, but like
people are when they are too gentle and kind and believe everything
other people tell them. She was sitting on her nest one day singing
to her little children, 'Coo-oo, coo-oo coo-oo,' when Oom Jakhals
prowled along under the tree and heard her.
"'Alla wereld! Now I'll have a nice breakfast,' he thought, and he
called out, 'Good morning, Tante. I hear you have such pretty little
children. Please bring them down for me to see.'
"But the Tante was frightened of Jakhals, and said, 'I'm sorry, Oom,
they are not well to-day, and I must keep them at home.'
"Then Jakhals lost his temper, and called out, 'Nonsense, I'm hungry
and want something to eat, so throw down one of your little children
at once.'
"Baasjes know, sometimes crossness drives away frightenness; and Tante
was so cross with Oom Jakhals for wanting to eat one of her little
children that she called out, 'No, no, you bad Jakhals, I shall do
nothing of the sort. Go away and look for other food.'
"'If you don't, I'll fly up and eat them all,' said Jakhals. 'Throw
one down at once.' And he stamped about and made such a horrible noise
that the poor Tante thought he was really flying up. She looked at
her babies: there wasn't one she wanted to give, but it was better to
lose one than have them all eaten; so she shut her eyes and fluttered
about the nest till one of them fell out, and Jakhals caught it in
his mouth and carried it off to his hole to eat.
"Ach! but the poor Tante was sad! She spread her wings over her other
children and never slept all night, but looked about this way and
that way with her soft eyes, thinking every little noise she heard was
Oom Jakhals trying to fly up to her nest to gobble up all her babies.
"The next morning there was Oom Jakhals again. 'Tante, your child
was a nice, juicy mouthful. Throw me down another. And make haste,
do you hear? or I'll fly up and eat you all.'
"'Coo-oo, coo-oo, coo-oo,' said Tante, crying, 'no, I won't give
you one.' But it was no use, and in the end she did what she had
done before--just shut her eyes and fluttered round and round till
a baby fell out of the nest. She thought there was no help for it,
and, like some people are, she thought what the eye didn't see the
heart wouldn't feel; but her heart was very sore, and she cried more
sadly than ever, and this time she said, 'Oo-oo, oo-oo, oo-oo!' It
was very sad and sorrowful to listen to 'Oo-oo, oo-oo, oo-oo!'
"Here came old Oom Reijer. He is a kind old bird, though he holds
his neck so crooked and looks like there was nothing to smile at in
the whole wide world.
"'Ach! why do you cry so sadly, Tante? It nearly gives me a stitch
in my side.'
"'Oo-oo! I'm very miserable. Oom Jakhals has eaten two of my little
children, and to-morrow he will come for another, and soon I shall
have none left.'
"'But why did you let him eat them?'
"'Because he said if I didn't give him one he would fly up and eat
them all. Oo-oo-oo!'
"Then Oom Reijer was very angry. He flapped his wings, and stretched
out his long neck--so, my baasjes, just so" (the children hugged
themselves in silent delight at Outa's fine acting)--"and he opened
and shut his long beak to show how he would like to peck out Oom
Jakhals's wicked eyes if he could only catch him.
"'That vervlakste Jakhals!' he said. 'To tell such lies! But, Tante,
you are stupid. Don't you know Oom Jakhals can't fly? Now listen to
me. When he comes again, tell him you know he can't fly, and that
you won't give him any more of your children.'
"The next day there came Oom Jakhals again with his old story, but
Tante just laughed at him.
"'Ach, no! you story-telling Bushytail!' she said, 'I won't give you
any more of my little children, and you needn't say you'll fly up
and eat them, because I know you can't.'
"'Nier-r-r, nier-r-r!' said Oom Jakhals, growling, 'how do you
know that?'
"'Oom Reijer told me, so there!' said Tante. 'And you can just go to
your mother!'
"My! but Tante was getting brave now that she knew she and her little
children were safe. That was the worst insult you can ever give a
grown-up jakhals, and Oom Jakhals growled more than ever.
"'Never mind,' he said at last, 'Tante is only a vrouwmens; I won't
bother with her any more. But wait till I catch Oom Reijer. He'll
be sorry he poked his long nose into my business, the old meddler,'
and he trotted off to look for him.
"He hunted and hunted, and at last he found him standing on one leg
at the side of the river, with his long neck drawn in and his head
resting on his shoulders.
"'Good day, Oom Reijer,' he said politely. 'How is Oom to-day?'
"'I'm all right,' answered Oom Reijer shortly, without moving an inch.
"Jakhals spoke in a little small voice--ach! toch so humble. 'Oom,
please come this way a little: I'm so stupid, but you are so wise
and clever, and I want to ask your advice about something.'
"Oom Reijer began to listen. It is maar so when people hear about
themselves. He put down his other leg, stretched out his neck, and
asked over his shoulder, 'What did you say, eh?'
"'Come toch this way a little; the mud over there is too soft for me
to stand on. I want your valuable advice about the wind. The other
people all say I must ask you, because no one is as wise as you.'
"Truly Jakhals was a slim kerel! He knew how to stroke Oom Reijer's
feathers the right way.
"Oom Reijer came slowly over the mud--a person mustn't show he is
too pleased: he even stopped to swallow a little frog on the way,
and then he said, carelesslike, 'Yes, I can tell you all about the
wind and weather. Ask what you like, Jakhals.' His long neck twisted
about with pride.
"Oom, when the wind is from the west, how must one hold one's head?'
"'Is that all?' said Oom Reijer. 'Just so.' And he turned his head
to the east.
"'Thank you, Oom. And when the wind is from the east?'
"'So.' Oom Reijer bent his neck the other way.
"'Thank you, Oom,' said the little small voice, so grateful and
humble. 'But when there is a storm and the rain beats down, how then?'
"'So!' said Oom Reijer, and he bent his neck down till his head nearly
touched his toes.
"My little masters, just as quickly as a whip-snake shoots into his
hole, so Jakhals shot out his arm and caught Oom Reijer on the bend of
his neck--crack!--and in a minute the poor old bird was rolling in the
mud with his neck nearly broken, and so weak that he couldn't even lift
his beak to peck at the false wicked eyes that were staring at him.
"O! how glad was cruel Jakhals! He laughed till he couldn't any
more. He screamed and danced with pleasure. He waved his bushy tail,
and the silver mane on his back bristled as he jumped about.
"'Ha! ha! ha! Oom thought to do me a bad turn, but I'll teach
people not to interfere with me. Ha! ha! ha! No one is as wise as
Oom Reijer, eh? Then he will soon find out how to mend his broken
neck. Ha! ha! ha!'
"Jakhals gave one last spring right over poor Oom Reijer, and danced
off to his den in the kopjes to tell Tante Jakhals and the little
Jakhalsjes how he had cheated Oom Reijer.
"And from that day, baasjes, Oom Reijer's neck is crooked: he can't
hold it straight; and it's all through trying to interfere with
Jakhals. That is why I said Jakhals is a slim kerel. Whether he walks
on four legs or on two, the best is maar to leave him alone because
he can always make a plan, and no one ever gets the better of him
without paying for it in the end."