Alfred the Aardvark lived in the African savannah, with its endless rolling grasslands, bushes, and animals. Although he liked his home, there seemed to be one thing missing. Oh yes, he loved playing with all his animal friends, but the tall giraffes had overgrown tails, everyone else was too slow or too small, and he felt, oh, so strong! He had dreamed desires lately, and he wanted to explore, explore, explore! Ah, but it was dangerous to do so, for one never knew what one would meet.
One day while he was thinking so deeply that really oh, very truly the sun went down and the stars came out and the moon rose up all of a heap, he heard a loud roar and a great crash. Instantly he looked up, and there not five steps away stood a lion with a big tortoise on her head.
“Oh, Alfred! little Alfred! do come and help me!” cried the tortoise. “Please make that horrid lion get off me!”
“Ho, ho, ho, what fun this will be!” thought the lion. For he did so want to know whether tortoise-hare would be good eating. So he sat down quietly on the ground with the tortoise flat on his feet.
“Get off! get off!” cried the pretty voice from below.
“Of course I will! As far as I can jump!” said the lion, and up he jumped far and wide; but down plomp came the tortoise on the other side, with a slow, dull thud!
“Get off, fetch me help! Get off and watch my new house for me!” said the tortoise peeping out of her thick round door.
“But the new house is a nice, thick shell,” said the lion; “you will not mind being just for a moment underneath.”
“There is no time to lose,” cried the tortoise. “Good-bye!” and plump she went into the shell and came out of her door at the other side, dived slap into a river, and so paddled away all alone into the night.
“And now, little Alfred,” said the lion, “what can I do for you?”
“Not a thing!” said the young aardvark sniffing the air suspiciously. “Thank you! But I think I will have some food first. If you will come with me, we might explore together.”
“With pleasure!” said the lion. “I will just pop in here and get a nice morsel of flesh.”
So the lion popped his head into a thicket and suddenly reared up and fell back; but Alfred had heard nothing and just thought it was another game.
“But it is not so nice after all,” said the lion between his groans.
“Is that so?” moaned Alfred. “I am sorry! Let us explore some more.”
But no sooner did they stop to search than the lion, “Ho, ho, ho,” no sooner did they stand still than he went to sleep. But Alfred had gathered branches and leaves and so built a woefully untidy hut.
But hardly was it up when the lion awoke, and hardly was it dark, when “Come off! come off!” cried the lion.
“What is the matter?” muttered Alfred peeping cautiously out.
“I was dreaming!” said the lion. “I was dreaming all night that I could smell a tortoise! the others did not have a shell.”
“Ah!” said Alfred simply, “nothing like dreams when you are hungry,” And with that he seen nothing more of the lion. But he did not really want him either; he did not like the way in which he built his hut, all crooked and with its top lost in the trees.
Then away she ran off with never a care into the moonlit night. And who should she see before him going home, like Alfred, to her sweet bed, but Sally the Python? And Sally, as soon as she had stopped to salute Alfred, said:
“I had never believed anything could go to sleep! For they do sleep all night and never dream, and they never seem to want to eat.”
But next day she went back and asked the lion:
“Is not what you had to eat yesterday quite enough meat?”
“Yes,” said the lion, “but I should like a little more more for dinner!”
“But shall you not want more for supper after that?” said Sally.
“Oh! quite sure I will say good-bye and sleep four nights!” answered the lion. And then every single day and every single day and every single day the python went regularly and ate the lion’s growth. And then one night Alfred walked straight up to her.
“You are over-exploring your food, I think,” said he.
“Not so!” said she. “Over-explore-over-explore-someone clapped their run-off-eagle-brown babies long ago in fairyland!”
And while Alfred stood still in lick, which it was in licking within the trees, she, suspecting most likely certainly what thing was coming as you are doing I was going to say, “With pleasure!” said she and so went to sleep. But Alfred said nothing. Then away confusedly went the aardvark, staying between the trees where Sally did not clamber, and before her head, fit to die, she saw Alfred shine out in open country and with nothing before her but the lion’s open jaws, hard for coming events to cast shadows, fit to be marvelled at on the verge of promise!
But while Alfred waked his friends had huddled confusedly together to think what was to be done. Danger was coming, but what! Just because it was coming, it broke its bounds and engulfed what was before.