Lion Country: Part 4

By COLIN DANN, Illustrator NEIL REID

They stood a while longer, inhaling the new scents deeply and contentedly. Then Huru said, 'I need to drink. Are you thirsty too?''Yes,' said Kimya. 'Let's go to the pool.'They descended the slope and Huru led her sister at a steady trot, breasting the tall grasses, their bodies swinging rhythmically. Their pace slowed to a walk as they saw, half hidden by growths of rushes, a number of other creatures drinking around the marshy waterhole. Eventually Kimya sat down, but Huru continued slowly. She could see that the other drinkers were smaller than she was. A family of jackals and some baboons lapped at the water; a warthog wallowed in a patch of mud. Huru turned, sensing Kimya was lagging.'Nothing to fear,' she called and, as she did so, the other animals looked up and saw her emerging from the grasses on to bare ground. They scattered immediately. Kimya quickly joined her sister. The two took their time, drinking their fill at the water's edge but always keeping a look-out for new arrivals. They were not interrupted.

Publisher: Random House

Price: $16.95

Age group: 8-13 years