Yinkin and the Crocodile

Cats are funny. Cats are smart, and sharp. We have always been cleverest but we let other creatures think they are.

We are friends with the storm even though it makes our hair wet, because storms know how to make the fur-secret lightning which we taught them as a password.

We like mountain snow and mountain air, and we like warm caves and we even like fires, although we do not get too close to them. We have Man-Rune people to do that for us.

Let me tell you about our cleverness. Once I was out in the warmth by the Zola Fel having a drink, when I noticed that there was a log looking at me, and the log saw that I was looking, and sank down.

A clever cat knows logs do not sink, so I moved back and waited and watched, and sure enough a bison came to the edge of the water and the log rose up and part of it split in two and grabbed at the bison, and pulled it into the water, and later it ate bits.

Well, of course my plan was made instantly. I could not catch an impala but I could chase it far enough that it had a drink by the log when it thought I had gone. Splash struggle splash and it was gone. Later, the log brought it to the surface to eat, and I was up a palm tree and I dashed down and grabbed the impala and took it over my shoulder up a rock where the log could not grab me.

Sometimes, even now, I like to sharpen my claws on logs to see if they are alive, and to remind them that I am cleverest.