6 The Beginning of the Armadillos

CHAPTER 6 The Beginning of the Armadillos In olden days, on the banks of the wild and dangerous Amazon River, there lived two very good friends. One was Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog who ate shelled snails and things. The other was Slow-and-Solid Tortoise who ate green lettuces and things. Painted Jaguar, who ate anything he could catch, also lived along the banks of the Amazon River. When he could not catch deer or monkeys, he would catch frogs and beetles. When there were no more deer,

monkeys, frogs, or beetles left, he asked his mother what else he should catch. "Hedgehogs and Tortoises," she said. "To catch a Hedgehog, drop him into the water. He'll uncoil, and then you can eat him. To catch a Tortoise, scoop him out of his shell with your paw." One beautiful night along the banks of the wild and dangerous Amazon River, Painted Jaguar found Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog and Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. In defense, Stickly- Prickly Hedgehog curled himself into a ball. Slow-and-Solid Tortoise drew his head and feet into his shell. But Painted Jaguar didn't care. "Which one of you is a Hedgehog, and which one of you is a Tortoise?" he asked. "Why do you want to know?" asked Slow-and-Solid Tortoise from inside his shell. Painted Jaguar explained about his

mother's advice. "I think your mother is all mixed up," said Stickly-Prickly. "The truth is, when you uncoil a Tortoise, you should scoop him out of the water." "And when you paw a Hedgehog, you must drop him on his shell," added Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. "Or perhaps when you water a Hedgehog you must drop him into your paw," said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. "Or when you meet a Tortoise you must shell him until he uncoils," said Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. "Stop! You make my spots ache. I don't want your advice at all. I just want to know which of you is which," cried Painted Jaguar. "I'm not telling you," said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. "Just try scooping me out of my shell."

"Aha!" said Painted Jaguar. "So you're the Tortoise!" Painted Jaguar reached for Stickly- Prickly Hedgehog just as he curled himself up into a ball. "Ow!" said Painted Jaguar. He felt a sting as he knocked Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog deep into the bushes. His paw was full of prickles. Then he turned to Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. "So you must be a Tortoise!" Painted Jaguar said, nursing his prickly paw in his mouth. "I'll just scoop you out of your shell." "Are you sure that's what your mother said?" asked Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. "I thought she told you to drop me into the water and then scoop me out of my shell." Painted Jaguar thought a moment. He couldn't remember what his mother had said. "Now I'm all mixed up," he said. "You seem quite anxious for me to drop you into the water. That makes me think you

really don't want to be. Which means, that's exactly what I'll do!" cried Painted Jaguar as he dropped Slow-and-Solid Tortoise into the river. As soon as Slow-and-Solid Tortoise hit the water, he swam away as fast as he could. "They got away!" Painted Jaguar told his mother as he explained what had happened that day. Meanwhile, Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog and Slow-and-Solid Tortoise knew that Painted Jaguar would be back. So they came up with a new and clever plan. Slow-and-Solid Tortoise taught Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog how to swim. Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog loosened Slow-and-Solid Tortoise's back shell plates so he could curl up in a ball. As they each practiced curling up and swimming, a curious thing occurred. Slow-and-Solid Tortoise's back plates started to overlap

instead of lying side by side. And Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog's prickles began to blend together. After several days of practicing each other's moves, they looked very similar. In fact, they looked nothing like what they were before. They gazed at their reflections in the water of the wild and dangerous Amazon River. "We will certainly confuse Painted Jaguar now," they laughed together. "Let's go find him." They came upon Painted Jaguar, still nursing his prickly paw. "Good morning," said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. "How is your mother?" asked Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. "Who are you?" asked Painted Jaguar. "And how do you know my mother?"