‘Now attend to me,’ said Painted Jaguar, ‘because this is very
important. My mother said that when I meet a Hedgehog I am to
drop him into the water and then he will uncoil, and when I meet
a Tortoise I am to scoop him out of his shell with my paw. Now
which of you is Hedgehog and which is Tortoise? because, to save
my spots, I can’t tell.’
‘Are you sure of what your Mummy told you?’ said Stickly-Prickly
Hedgehog. ‘Are you quite sure? Perhaps she said that when you
uncoil a Tortoise you must shell him out of the water with a scoop,
and when you paw a Hedgehog you must drop him on the shell.’
‘Are you sure of what your Mummy told you?’ said Slow-and-Solid
Tortoise. ‘Are you quite sure? Perhaps she said that when you
water a Hedgehog you must drop him into your paw, and when you
meet a Tortoise you must shell him till he uncoils.’
‘I don’t think it was at all like that,’ said Painted Jaguar, but
he felt a little puzzled; ‘but, please, say it again more
distinctly.’
‘When you scoop water with your paw you uncoil it with a
Hedgehog,’ said Stickly-Prickly. ‘Remember that, because it’s
important.’
‘But,’ said the Tortoise, ‘when you paw your meat you drop it
into a Tortoise with a scoop. Why can’t you understand?’
