Kalik by Jack Lasenby Read Free Book Online Page B

mistress say. ‘Why don’t you knock him on the head? We’ll sell his skin and buy a young donkey. One that can carry a decent load. And won’t eat as much as that lazy old brute.’
    “‘She’s talking of me!’ said the old donkey.
    “‘He’s pulled the plough all his life,’ said his master. ‘Hedeserves a bit of comfort.’
    “‘Yes!’ the old donkey brayed. ‘Hee-haw! Hee-haw!’
    “‘I’ll teach you!’ His mistress rushed out and walloped him with her broom. The old donkey galloped into the dark. When the door closed, he crept and put his ear to the crack again.
    “‘When I get up tomorrow morning,’ he heard, ‘I want to see his hide pegged out on the side of the house. Or there’ll be no breakfast for you!’
    “The old donkey nudged up the latch of the gate with his nose, and tip-toed on to the road. Around a bend, he brayed,‘Hee-haw!’ and galloped.”
    About me the children brayed, “Hee-haw! Hee-haw!”
    “‘Who’s that?’ said a voice from the dark.
    “‘Who wants to know?’ asked the donkey.
    “‘Me.’ An old dog slouched out of the night.
    “‘You’re not eating me!’ said the donkey.
    “‘Who said I’m eating you?”’
    “The old donkey told his story. ‘Curious!’ said the old dog. ‘All my life I’ve guarded my owners’ house, but tonight my mistress said I’m too old. “Knock him on the head,” she told her husband. “Skin him, stuff him with straw, and stand him on the gatepost. He’ll scare away more robbers than he does now.”’
    “‘Come with me,’ said the donkey. ‘I’m looking for a place of my own.’
    “‘I’d come, but my feet hurt.’
    “‘Jump on my back. Friends must stick together.’ The donkey trotted down the road, the old dog on his back.
    “At one dark spot, the donkey stopped and said, ‘A ghost!’
    “‘I am not a ghost!’ An old cat stepped on to the road. ‘My farmer and his wife say I’m too old to catch rats. They’re going to knock me on the head and sell my skin to buy a kitten.’
    “‘We’re looking for a place of our own,’ said the old donkey. ‘Jump up! You can ride on the dog’s back.’
    “The cat jumped up and balanced. ‘Grrrrr!’ said the dog.
    “‘No fighting,’ said the donkey. ‘Friends must sticktogether.’And he trotted through the dark.
    “Something squawked. A rooster. Feathers draggled. Comb hanging lopsided.
    “‘What’s the matter with you?’
    “‘My farmer says I’m too old to crow properly. He told his wife to chop off my head, pluck my feathers for a pillow, and boil me for his breakfast. So I ran away.’
    “‘Come with us. We’re looking for a place of our own,’ said the donkey. ‘You can perch on the cat.’
    “‘Don’t go sticking your spurs into me!’
    “‘No fighting,’ said the donkey. ‘Friends must stick together.’ And he trotted down the road.
    “Hours passed. ‘I’m tired.’ The donkey slowed.
    “‘I see a light,” said the rooster. ‘Keep walking!’ The donkey plodded on. “There’s a house!”
    “The tired donkey limped up to the house, put his front feet on the sill, and pressed his face against the window. His nose flattened against the glass, his big lips spread out wide. One above the other, the dog, the cat, and the rooster pressed their faces against the window.
    “Inside a band of robbers sang around a table. A little girl played a fiddle. When the little girl got tired, the robber captain pulled out a big knife and made her play some more.
    “After another song, the little girl covered the table with food and wine.
    “The old donkey’s feet hurt. It didn’t seem fair that robbers had food, wine, and warmth as well as fiddle music. He flattened his lips against the window and brayed, ‘Hee-haw!’
    “The robbers saw a monster with four flattened faces braying, howling, yowling, and crowing at them. They ran over the top of the little girl and jammed in the doorway. Bursting out, they ran through the