37. The Man and the Alligator

37. THE MAN AND THE ALLIGATOR

People were in the habit of saying that the alligator could run fast, but one man did not believe it. "He can not catch me," he said. "He can catch you," they began telling him, but he did not believe it. "Well, go and see," they said, so he got a gun and set out. When he got near the water the alligator saw him and came running toward him. The man ran away but it pursued him and almost caught him when he jumped over a log and went on while the alligator had to pass around it. When it had nearly caught him again, he jumped over another log and ran on as before, while the alligator went around. It pursued him again and when it had nearly caught him he reached a bent tree, one limb of which stood up high, and climbed up on to it.

The alligator went by underneath hunting him and, not knowing where he had gone, rambled back and forth. By and by he saw the man's gun and bullet pouch which he had thrown down on the ground. He walked around both of them and covered them with dirt and then left them. Then the man got down, took up his gun and bullet

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pouch and started off. When he reached home the people saw him coming and he arrived white and scared looking. "Did you kill the alligator?" they said. "No," he answered. And they said, "That man who did not believe has seen for himself."