Niht-Shoot 





s 



already espied us, and vanish in a second. Doves, 

 which have come in crowds to roost over the water, 

 flutter ceaselessly here and there;, seeking suitable covert 

 in the thorny branches. Now resounds the cry of a little; 

 pearl screech-owl ; its cadence;, almost exactly following 

 the scale, rings out clearly over the now moonlit 

 landscape. 



Unfortunately the moon is not at the full. Never- 

 theless, it lights up the; surroundings, in the clear tropical 

 atmosphere, in a way that would only be possible for 

 the full moon in our home; latitudes. The uncertain 

 glimmer of a moonlight night dances amid the trees and 

 branches ; nocturnal insects hum around ; the leaves and 

 dry wood rustle everywhere. There; breaks out ove-r 

 our heads the; laughter of a family e>f galagos {Otoleitntr 

 crassiaiiidiitus] suddenly awakened. The tops e>f a 

 little cluster e>f tree's make' an abode tor the;se le;murs 

 fe>r many weeks at a time-, and thefr extraordinary 

 sere -am mg resounds the; whole night through. 



So time; ge>e j s by ami we: wait in strained attention. 

 1 he: big ox, which is tie'el up quite- close to us, has now 

 grown accustomed to its e-nvironme-nt ; it begins to munch 

 the grass thrown ne-ar it, evide-mly reassured by our 

 proximity. At first it trie;d seve:ral time's, with much 

 snorting, to get live-. It it had succeeded in this it would 

 have made a hue-line tor the ramp iwhie'h is not far 

 oft) and its comrades le-tt behind there-: but instinctive 

 sagacity cause's it to suppivss any lowing and calling 

 te> them. 



An hour has one: b. At the water a herd o! ante- 



