Out in the Wild Woods all the animals wondered what had happened to Wild Dog, and at last Wild Horse (who is not a zebra, honest) stamped with his foot and said, 'I will go and see and say why Wild Dog had not returned. Tort, come with me.'
The Tort Who Walked By Herself. By Tidgy's Dad.
- Thread starter Tidgy's Dad
- Start date
' Nenni!' said the Tort. 'I am the Tort who walks by herself, and all places are alike to me. I will not come.' But all the same she followed Wild Horse (who is still honestly not a zebra) softly, very softly, and she hid herself where she could hear everything.
When wifey heard Wild Horse (truly not a zebra, honest) tripping and stumbling on his long mane, she laughed and said, 'Here comes the second. Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods, what do you want?'
(I note that Kipling failed to mention the 'dried wild-horse skin, tail down' that wifey hung over the cave entrance and Wild dog later lifted up with his nose. Perhaps it was being washed, or else wifey, clearly expecting Wild Horse had wisely hidden it for the night, knowing it might cause Wild Horse - not a zebra - to scream, shout 'Neigh!' and trot off, post haste, back into the Wet Wild Woods, knowing what had happened to the last Wild Horse that Adam and wifey had encountered. Rather remiss of Kipling, don't you think?)
(I note that Kipling failed to mention the 'dried wild-horse skin, tail down' that wifey hung over the cave entrance and Wild dog later lifted up with his nose. Perhaps it was being washed, or else wifey, clearly expecting Wild Horse had wisely hidden it for the night, knowing it might cause Wild Horse - not a zebra - to scream, shout 'Neigh!' and trot off, post haste, back into the Wet Wild Woods, knowing what had happened to the last Wild Horse that Adam and wifey had encountered. Rather remiss of Kipling, don't you think?)
Wild Horse (still, positively, NOT a zebra) said, ' O Enemy and wifey of my Enemy, where is Wild Dog? '
INTERLUDE
THIS is the picture of the Cave where Adam and wifey lived first of all. It was really a very nice Cave, and much warmer than it looks. Adam had a canoe. It is on the edge of the river, being soaked in water to make it swell up. The tattery-looking thing across the river is Adam's salmon-net to catch salmon with. There are nice clean stones leading from the river to the mouth of the Cave, so that Adam and wifey could go down for water without getting sand between their toes. The things like blackbeetles far down the beach are really trunks of dead trees that floated down the river from the Wet Wild Woods on the other bank. (on the other bank? Hmmm. This means the poor animals have to swim the river to get to the Cave and not like my pictures or how I imagined it at all. ) Adam and wifey used to drag them (the tree trunks, not the animals. maybe both at times.) out and dry them and cut them up for firewood. Mr. Kipling (makes exceedingly good cakes, you know.) didn't draw the horse-hide curtain at the mouth of the Cave, because wifey has just taken it down to be cleaned. (Aha! This may have been the time Wild Horse ,no zebras in this story, came to visit!) All those little smudges on the sand between the Cave and the river are the marks of wifey's feet and Adam's feet. (Wild Dog, Wild Horse and the Tort must have kept to the stepping stones.)
Adam and wifey are both inside the Cave eating their dinner. They went to another cosier Cave in Morocco when the Baby came (?), because the Baby used to crawl down to the river and fall in, and the Dog had to pull him out.
THIS is the picture of the Cave where Adam and wifey lived first of all. It was really a very nice Cave, and much warmer than it looks. Adam had a canoe. It is on the edge of the river, being soaked in water to make it swell up. The tattery-looking thing across the river is Adam's salmon-net to catch salmon with. There are nice clean stones leading from the river to the mouth of the Cave, so that Adam and wifey could go down for water without getting sand between their toes. The things like blackbeetles far down the beach are really trunks of dead trees that floated down the river from the Wet Wild Woods on the other bank. (on the other bank? Hmmm. This means the poor animals have to swim the river to get to the Cave and not like my pictures or how I imagined it at all. ) Adam and wifey used to drag them (the tree trunks, not the animals. maybe both at times.) out and dry them and cut them up for firewood. Mr. Kipling (makes exceedingly good cakes, you know.) didn't draw the horse-hide curtain at the mouth of the Cave, because wifey has just taken it down to be cleaned. (Aha! This may have been the time Wild Horse ,no zebras in this story, came to visit!) All those little smudges on the sand between the Cave and the river are the marks of wifey's feet and Adam's feet. (Wild Dog, Wild Horse and the Tort must have kept to the stepping stones.)
Adam and wifey are both inside the Cave eating their dinner. They went to another cosier Cave in Morocco when the Baby came (?), because the Baby used to crawl down to the river and fall in, and the Dog had to pull him out.
Back to the story :
wifey laughed, and picked up the blade-bone and looked at it, and said, 'Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods, you did not come here for Wild Dog, but for the sake of this good grass."
wifey laughed, and picked up the blade-bone and looked at it, and said, 'Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods, you did not come here for Wild Dog, but for the sake of this good grass."
And Wild Horse, tripping and stumbling in his long mane (see picture immediately above for the reason), said, 'That is true; give it me to eat."
wifey said, 'Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods, bend your wild head and wear what i give you, and you shall eat the wonderful wonderful grass three times a day.'
' Ah!' said the Tort, listening. 'This is a clever wifey, but she is not so clever as I am.'
Wild Horse bent his wild head, and wifey slipped the plaited-hide halter over it. and Wild Horse breathed on wifey's feet and said, 'O my Mistress, and wifey of my Master, I will be your servant for the sake of the wonderful grass.'
'Ah !' said the Tort, listening. 'That is a very foolish Horse.' (Notice she didn't say zebra.) And she went back through the Wet Wild Woods, waving her wild stubby tail and walking by her wild lone. But she never told anybody.
When Adam and the Dog came back from hunting stuffed bears, Adam said, 'What is Wild Horse doing here?"
And wifey said, 'His name is not Wild Horse any more, but the First Servant, because he will carry us from place to place for always and always and always. Until someone invents the motorcar. Ride on his back when you go hunting.'
And wifey said, 'His name is not Wild Horse any more, but the First Servant, because he will carry us from place to place for always and always and always. Until someone invents the motorcar. Ride on his back when you go hunting.'
Bonus pic.
Next day, holding her wild head high that her wild horns should not catch in the wild trees, Wild Cow came up to the Cave, and the Tort followed, and hid herself just the same as before;
and everything happened just the same as before; and the Tort said the same things as before; and when Wild Cow had promised to give her milk to wifey every day in exchange for the wonderful grass, the Tort went back through the Wet Wild Woods waving her wild stubby tail and walking by her wild lone, just the same as before. But she never told anybody. And when Adam and the Horse and the Dog came home from hunting and asked the same questions as before, wifey said, ' Her name is not Wild Cow any more, but the Giver of Good Food. (Cheese). She will give us the warm white milk for always and always and always (i can't drink it warm, gotta be quite cold, still no refrigerators back then, one suspects.), and I will take care of her while you and the First Friend and the First Servant go hunting. (and secretly gobble all the cheese, i suspect.)
and everything happened just the same as before; and the Tort said the same things as before; and when Wild Cow had promised to give her milk to wifey every day in exchange for the wonderful grass, the Tort went back through the Wet Wild Woods waving her wild stubby tail and walking by her wild lone, just the same as before. But she never told anybody. And when Adam and the Horse and the Dog came home from hunting and asked the same questions as before, wifey said, ' Her name is not Wild Cow any more, but the Giver of Good Food. (Cheese). She will give us the warm white milk for always and always and always (i can't drink it warm, gotta be quite cold, still no refrigerators back then, one suspects.), and I will take care of her while you and the First Friend and the First Servant go hunting. (and secretly gobble all the cheese, i suspect.)
Next day the Tort waited to see if any other Wild Thing would go up to the Cave, but no one moved in the Wet Wild Woods, so the Tort walked there by herself; and she saw wifey milking the Cow, and she saw the light of the fire in the Cave, and she smelt the smell of prickly pear and tomatoes.
Tort said, 'O my Enemy and wifey of my Enemy, where did Wild Cow go?"
wifey laughed and said, ' Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods, go back to the Woods again, for I have braided up my hair, and I have put away the magic blade-bone, and we have no more need of either friends or servants in our Cave. '
Tort said, ' I am not a friend and i am not a servant. I am the Tort who walks by herself, and I wish to come into your Cave.'
wifey said, 'Then why did you not come with First Friend on the first night?"
Tort grew very angry and said, ' Has Wild Dog told tales of me?'
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