The Big Boasting Battle
Written by Hans Wilhelm, Illustrated by Hans Wilhelm,
Page 1
It was four o'clock in the afternoon. Sylvester was late again. Horace, the lion, was getting impatient. He couldn't wait to tell his friend all about the things he had seen and done, or was going to see and do.
Page 2
It was no fun having tea and cookies alone with no one to impress. Suddenly Horace heard Sylvester slithering through the grass.
"You are late!" said Horace.
Page 3
"Maybe," said Sylvester,
"but I don't know why I should always have to come to your place.
YOU should come to visit ME."
"Don't make me laugh!" Horace said.
Page 4
"You forget who I am. A lion is the king of the animals."
"Phooh. What's so great about that?" Sylvester wanted to know.
Page 5
"We snakes were around long before you guys were even born."
Page 6
"That's ancient history!" Horace scoffed.
"Strength is what counts. And no one is stronger than a lion!"
Page 7
"Maybe so," said Sylvester, "but you forget that snakes are stupendously more intelligent than lions!"
Page 8
"Oh, yeah?" said Horace. "Well, a lion can roar louder than any other animal." And he gave a frightful roar.
Page 9
Sylvester was not impressed. "But I can swim faster than you!" He zipped across the river and was up on the bank again in a flash.
Page 10
"Also," Sylvester continued, "I'm better at hiding!"
Page 11
"So what?" Horace said. "You can't dance as wild as I can!"
Page 12
"And," he continued, "you can't climb a tree and look out over the whole forest!"
"Big deal," Sylvester said. "I can hide in the smallest hole, but you can't."
Page 13
"I'm a mile taller than you!" Horace said.
"And I'm a mile longer than you are!" Sylvester said.
Page 14
"I bet you can't hold your breath as long as I can," Horace said.
"And I bet you can't stand on your head as straight as I can!" Sylvester boasted.
Page 15
"I have a beautiful fuzzy mane," Horace boasted back. "And you don't!"
"Who wants to look like a dust mop?" replied Sylvester.
"Besides, I am more acrobatic than you!"
Page 16
"That's not true," Horace said, "because I can jump higher than you can!"
Page 17
"But I can run faster than you!" Sylvester said.
"No, you can't!"
"Yes, I can!"
"No, you can't!"
"Yes, I can!"
Page 18
"Nonsense!" Horace yelled finally. "Snakes don't run as fast as lions!"
"You are right, they don't!" Sylvester said. "They run even FASTER!"
Now Horace's blood was really boiling. "Let's see who runs faster. I dare you to race me!"
Page 19
"You're on!" Sylvester cried.
"Okay," said Horace. "I will count to three. Ready? One...two...three...GO!"
Page 20
And off they went. Across the plain, over the ditches, around the trees, and through the tall grass...
Page 21
...until the ground suddenly gave in.
Page 22
Through dried leaves and branches they fell into a deep hole! Down, down they fell until they landed with a thud on the bottom.
Page 23
"Holy Hippopotamus!" moaned Horace. "What is this?"
"I think we have fallen into a trap," Sylvester said.
"A TRAP? Oh no! We have to get out. Quick!"
Page 24
"There's no way out of here," said Sylvester in a gloomy voice. "The sides are too high. And unless you can grow wings, we have had it!"
Page 25
"But I don't want to get caught," cried Horace, "and be locked up in a circus cage."
"Neither do I," said Sylvester, "but there's nothing we can do."
Page 26
"Wait. Don't give up so easily. Think a little! Didn't you say snakes are smarter than lions?"
"That's true, but the fact that lions are stronger doesn't help us either."
Page 27
Horace started to pace in circles.
"Naturally we cannot expect any help from the zebras or the giraffes. They are probably already celebrating because the lion has fallen into a trap."
Page 28
"Oh why don't you sit down?" Sylvester was getting nervous. "You're going to stomp on my tail. There's hardly enough room here to swing a cat - if you will pardon the expression."
Horace looked up at the branch above the trap. "Swing a cat?" he said. Then he laughed. "That's IT! What a brilliant idea!"
Page 29
"Maybe there's not enough room to swing a cat...but there's just enough room to swing a snake," Horace cheered. "Hold on!"
Then he grabbed Sylvester's tail and whirled him round and round...
Page 30
...and tossed him up toward the tree branch.
The clever snake quickly tied himself into a knot around the branch. Now Horace had a perfect "rope" to climb out of the trap.
The two friends were overjoyed when they realized that they were free again!
Page 31
"I have to admit it," Sylvester said, "but I'm very happy that lions are so strong."
"And I'm very happy that snakes are so smart," Horace replied. "After all, it was your idea that saved us."
Page 32
"But without your strength,
I would have never reached that tree branch,"
Sylvester admitted.
"I guess we are both perfect in our different ways,"
Horace said. "And I'm mighty grateful for that!"
Page 33
From then on, Horace and Sylvester did not argue about where they would meet for tea and cookies. Every afternoon they got together under the old baobab tree, which was exactly halfway between their two homes. And they were always on time.
