Some East African Pets 



became possessor of a young serval, which, had 

 it lived to grow up, would have been formidable 

 enough to defy the most truculent tyke ; since 

 the serval is one of the largest of that section of 

 the /elides which are usually known as tiger- 

 cats, and branded with a reputation for fiendish 

 ferocity. 



By letting him run about the bungalow and 

 sleep in my bedroom, however, and petting him 

 whenever he would let me, I managed in time to 

 get him as quiet and playful as a tame kitten. 

 His relations with the other pets of the bungalow 

 were at times strained ; towards the monkey he 

 maintained an armed neutrality, but he cast a 

 sinister eye on the parrot, and had on one occa- 

 sion a furious tussle with the mongoose. This 

 animal was smaller than my lamented pet, being 

 hardly bigger than a rat, and of a uniform pale 

 brown. It belonged to my friend, and was 

 very gentle, habitually sleeping nestled up on 

 his shoulder all night. But it was not without 

 spirit, and when the serval tackled it, it pinned 

 him by the hind leg with considerable determina- 

 tion ; in fact, for some five minutes after they 

 were separated, that cat's profanity was awful, 

 and he had to adopt a tripod style of locomotion 

 for some days. To this day I do not know 

 whether his leg was really not broken just above 

 the hock ; but his recovery was very rapid, and 



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