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They were traveling quietly along, under the shade of the trees, when
suddenly an enormous jaguar leaped upon them from a limb and with one
blow of his paw sent the little Brown Bear tumbling over and over until he
was stopped by a tree-trunk. Instantly they all took alarm. The Tin Owl
shrieked: "Hoot--hoot!" and flew straight up to the branch of a tall tree,
although he could scarcely see where he was going. The Canary swiftly
darted to a place beside the Owl, and the Green Monkey sprang up, caught
a limb, and soon scrambled to a high perch of safety.
The Jaguar crouched low and with hungry eyes regarded the little Brown
Bear, which slowly got upon its feet and asked reproachfully:
"
For goodness' sake, Beast, what were you trying to do?"
"
Trying to get my breakfast," answered the Jaguar with a snarl, "and I
believe I've succeeded. You ought to make a delicious meal--unless you
happen to be old and tough."
"I'm worse than that, considered as a breakfast," said the Bear, "for I'm only
a skin stuffed with straw, and therefore not fit to eat."
"Indeed!" cried the Jaguar, in a disappointed voice; "then you must be a
magic Bear, or enchanted, and I must seek my breakfast from among your
companions."
With this he raised his lean head to look up at the Tin Owl and the Canary
and the Monkey, and he lashed his tail upon the ground and growled as
fiercely as any jaguar could.
"
"
"
My friends are enchanted, also," said the little Brown Bear.
All of them?" asked the Jaguar.
Yes. The Owl is tin, so you couldn't possibly eat him. The Canary is a fairy--
Polychrome, the Daughter of the Rainbow--and you never could catch her
because she can easily fly out of your reach."
"
There still remains the Green Monkey," remarked the Jaguar hungrily. "He
is neither made of tin nor stuffed with straw, nor can he fly. I'm pretty good
at climbing trees, myself, so I think I'll capture the Monkey and eat him for
my breakfast."
Woot the Monkey, hearing this speech from his perch on the tree, became
much frightened, for he knew the nature of jaguars and realized they could
climb trees and leap from limb to limb with the agility of cats. So he at once
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