Читать книгу Chunky, the Happy Hippo: His Many Adventures онлайн

15 страница из 19

Big Foot partly turned in the water and looked back. Then he saw what it was. A big crocodile, which is something like an alligator, only with a longer and more slender nose, or snout, its mouth filled with long, sharp teeth, was swimming after the little hippos.

“Is that why you wanted us to come ashore?” asked Big Foot of Chunky’s mother, calling to her as he swam toward land.

“Yes, indeed it is!” she answered, in her big deep voice. “And don’t stop to ask any more questions! Hurry!”

So they all hurried and got safely into shallow water, where the crocodile dared not come, bold and hungry as he was. He thought perhaps big Mrs. Hippo would step on him and smash him. A crocodile can grab hold of a baby hippo, and take it away, but dare not touch a big hippo. So this crocodile, with an angry snap of his teeth, turned and swam back into the middle of the river again, to wait for another chance to grab a tender, baby hippo.

“My! how frightened I was!” said Mrs. Hippo, when she saw that her own and the rest of the animal children were safe. “I saw the crocodile coming toward you, but you didn’t see him because you were playing tag so hard.”