Awesome Animal Stories

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Chapter One Crocodile Tears Joyce Dunbar Two mother crocodiles were basking by the river, their jaws wide open in the sun. They were very proud crocodiles because their eggs had successfully hatched, and in each of their mouths was a tiny baby crocodile. But these mother crocodiles had a problem. It was time for their babies to leave the comfortable pouch in their jaws and join the other baby crocodiles in the swamp, but the babies just wouldn't let go. They were frightened of the big, wide world. The mother crocodiles looked at each other, chewing over their problem. This in itself wasn't easy, for it is very hard to chew anything at all when you have a lot of sharp teeth and a small baby crocodile in your mouth. "I've never known a baby to be so clingy," said the first mother crocodile. "He wants me to carry him everywhere." "Mine's just the same," said the second mother crocodile. "I've coaxed and cajoled, but this baby will not be put down. I have to eat on one side of my mouth. Just try that when you're attempting to dig into a wart hog." "I know how it is," said the first mother crocodile. "So tiresome." Then, with their jaws still wide open in the sun, cozily cradling their babies, the mother crocodiles went to sleep. A crocodile bird came along, pick-pick-picking at the teeth of the first mother crocodile for pieces of food left between the teeth. Her baby didn't like this. They were his pieces of food. He gave a snap with his baby jaws, but the crocodile bird escaped. It flew to the second mother crocodile's jaws. Pick- pick-pick, it went again. The second mother's baby also gave a sharp snap with his baby jaws. Again the crocodile bird escaped. "Yah! Missed!" said the first baby crocodile to the second baby crocodile. "So did you!" said the second baby crocodile, peeping between his mother's teeth. "So what if I did?" said the first baby crocodile. "My mom's bigger than yours." "So what if she is bigger?" said the second baby crocodile. "My mom's scalier than yours." "So what if she is scalier?" said the first baby crocodile. "My mom can swim faster than yours. She catches more fish." "Well, my mom caught a shark this morning," said the second baby crocodile. "And she ate it all, and that was just for breakfast." "I don't believe you," said the first baby crocodile. "There aren't any sharks around here. Anyway, my mom frightened some people this morning. Three people in a boat. She frightened them away." "Did she only frighten them?" said the first baby crocodile. My mom catches people. She catches them and puts them in the fridge." "No, she doesn't," said the second baby crocodile. "Because my mom went looking in your mom's fridge yesterday, and there weren't any people there. There was only a skinny water rat." "Oh, did your mom go looking in my mom's fridge?" said the first baby crocodile. "Well, I'll tell my mom when she wakes up. My mom will take a bite out of your mom." "Oh, will she?" said the second baby crocodile. "I'd like to see her try. My mom has a lot more teeth than your mom." "How do you know that?" asked the first crocodile. "You can't count!" "Oh, yes, I can!