Then he had another house made--a big one,
with a lot of beds in it; and he put all the sick
ones in this house.
But so many were sick, there were not enough
well ones to do the nursing. So he sent
messages to the other animals, like the lions and the
leopards and the antelopes, to come and help
with the nursing.
But the Leader of the Lions was a very proud
creature. And when he came to the Doctor's
big house full of beds he seemed angry and
scornful.
"Do you dare to ask me, Sir?" he said, glaring
at the Doctor. "Do you dare to ask me--ME,
THE KING OF BEASTS, to wait on a lot of dirty
monkeys? Why, I wouldn't even eat them
between meals!"
Although the lion looked very terrible, the
Doctor tried hard not to seem afraid of him.
"I didn't ask you to eat them," he said quietly.
"And besides, they're not dirty. They've all
had a bath this morning. YOUR coat looks as
though it needed brushing--badly. Now
listen, and I'll tell you something: the day may
come when the lions get sick. And if you don't
help the other animals now, the lions may
find themselves left all alone when THEY are
in trouble. That often happens to proud people."
"The lions are never IN trouble--they only
MAKE trouble," said the Leader, turning up his
nose. And he stalked away into the jungle, feeling
he had been rather smart and clever.
Then the leopards got proud too and said
they wouldn't help. And then of course the
antelopes--although they were too shy and timid
to be rude to the Doctor like the lion--THEY
pawed the ground, and smiled foolishly, and said
they had never been nurses before.
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