A TALE BY THE WAYSIDE. 231 



call up all the crocodiles of the river, so that the 

 mouse-deer might count them. 



This was agreed to, and soon all the crocodiles in 

 the river floated to the surface. At the mouse-deer's 

 suggestion they put themselves in a row, so that they 

 might be more easily counted, and the row extended 

 from one bank to the other. Then the mouse-deer 

 began to count. "One," he called out as he jumped 

 on to the back of the first crocodile ; " two," and he 

 jumped on to the back of the next one; "three," and 

 so on until he reached the other side of the river. 



When he was safely upon the bank he turned and 

 jeered at the deluded raja in front of all his sub- 

 jects, and then gleefully continued his way skipping 

 through the forest. 



Another time a crocodile caught the mouse-deer by 

 the hind-leg, which is such a marvel of fine-drawn 

 skin and shapely bone. The mouse- deer saw that any 

 struggle to escape would be fatal, and while with his 

 other three legs he endeavoured to maintain his hold 

 upon the bank, he called to the crocodile 



" Ha ! you missed me that time." 



" I think not," snuffled the crocodile, with his jaws 

 clenched upon the poor little leg ; " I've got you by 

 the leg." 



" Leg ! " laughed the mouse-deer, suppressing the 

 agony he felt ; " that is no leg you are biting. You 

 are holding on to an old dry twig." 



The little leg that the crocodile held was as fleshless 

 as any twig ; and the crocodile believed that he had 

 made a mistake, and opened his mouth, thus allowing 

 the mouse-deer to escape. 



