90 THE MONKEYFOLK OF SOUTH AFRICA 



A CRAFTY DODGE 



Then other plants adopted a different plan. Instead 

 of growing up into the air to allow the sun and the dry- 

 scorching atmosphere to suck out their water, their roots 

 slowly swelled and swelled, until they looked like fat stumpy 

 bottles. These roots you call bulbs. Of course all plants 

 must breathe and absorb some sunshine, just like all of us 

 more intelligent creatures, such as you and I ; so these 

 crafty plants spread out their leaves flat over the ground and 

 pressed them tight down to the earth. They had two reasons 

 for doing this. One was because they wanted to expose 

 as little of their surfaces to the dry parched air as possible. 

 The other was to prevent themselves, or rather their heads, 

 being eaten off by wild animals. So, don't you ever again 

 say that plants haven't got any sense. 



What I have told you about them are just a few of the 

 wonderful things they do. 



STORED-UP WATER 



Now we baboonfolk can live in the driest parts of 

 South Africa, because we know how to get water when there 

 is a drought on, and the vleys and springs are all dry. We 

 dig up the plant-bulbs, which are really natural reservoirs 

 of water. The bulb provides us with nourishment, and the 

 water it contains is all that we require in the absence of 

 a proper water supply. Now these plants are up to all 

 kinds of dodges. You see, they learn from experience, just 

 as you and I do. They struggle fiercely for existence, 

 just as much as we do, for life is also dear to them. They 

 know that victory lies with the fittest, so they have schemed 

 and planned to outwit their enemies. Some of them grow 

 sharp spikes all over their bodies, which stick out in all 



