Читать книгу Two-Legs - Ewald Carl - Страница 7

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Then suddenly the ox and the horse and the sheep and the goat came galloping over the meadow. Behind them, as fast as they could, came the goose and the duck and the hen. The ox was at their head and rushed with lowered horns to the place where the strangers lay sleeping.

But then the dog sprang up and barked like mad. The two new animals woke and leapt to their feet. And, when they stood there, tall and slender, with their white limbs and their steady eyes, and the sun shone down upon them, the old animals were seized with terror and ran back the way they came.

“Thank you, friend,” said Two-Legs and patted the dog.

Mrs. Two-Legs looked to his bad foot and spoke to him in her pretty voice. He licked their hands with delight.

Then the new animals bathed in the river. And then Two-Legs climbed up an apple-tree to get some breakfast for himself and his wife.

In the tree sat the orang-outang eating an apple.

“Get out of that!” said Two-Legs, in a threatening tone. “This is my tree and don’t you forget it. Don’t you dare touch a single apple!”

“Goodness gracious me!” said the orang-outang. “What a tone to take up! And I who defended you last night when all the other animals wanted to kill you!”

“Get out, you disgusting ape!” said Two-Legs.

He broke a branch off the tree and caught the orang-outang a couple of such lusty cracks that he ran off crying into the forest.