Precious and the Mystery of Meercat Hill (4 page)

They went outside again, and it was now that Precious learned what the big surprise was. And it was truly surprising. It was the sort of surprise that she would never have guessed, even if she
had tried to do so for hours and hours.

What was this surprise? Well, here it is. It was a MEERKAT.

Now, what exactly is a meerkat? Well, it’s not a cat. And it’s not a squirrel, nor a racoon, nor a … Perhaps it’s a mongoose, but it’s easiest to think of them as
being … just meerkats. They look like meerkats and they do the things that meerkats do – which is just what this meerkat now did, standing up on its hind legs, its front paws held out
for balance, and its small black nose sniffing at the air with the greatest possible interest.

“A meerkat!” exclaimed Precious. “You’ve got a meerkat!”

Teb smiled. “Yes,” she said. “This is Kosi. He belongs to my brother. His name means
chief
, you know.”

Precious leaned forward and, as she did so, the meerkat leaned forward too, his bright little eyes shining, his nose moist and glistening.

“He likes you,” said Pontsho. “You can tell when he likes somebody.”

“And I like him too,” said Precious. “Can I touch him?”

“Of course,” said Teb. “Be gentle, though, as he can sometimes be a bit frightened.”

Precious reached forward and placed a finger as gently as she could on the back of the meerkat’s head, as if to stroke him. His fur was smooth, a little bit like that of a well-groomed
cat. It was a very strange feeling to be touching a meerkat.

Kosi half-turned his head when she touched him, but Precious could see that he was not in the least bit frightened.

“Where did you get him?” she asked.

Pontsho pointed to the hill behind the house.

“From the hill over there,” he said. “I think he must have been separated from the rest of his family. He was sitting on one of the rocks, looking very lost. We call it Meerkat
Hill now, because of him.”

“What does he eat?”

Pontsho smiled as he answered her question. “He likes insects,” he said. “He loves worms. And he even likes to eat scorpions.”

Precious made a face. “Scorpions!”

“Yes,” said Teb. “He’s very brave.”

“Brave enough to face up to a snake,” said Pontsho. “Even a cobra.”

Precious drew in her breath. Cobras were very, very dangerous snakes and the thought that such a tiny creature as this could stand up to that deadly snake was hard to believe.

“Tell her,” said Teb. “Tell Precious about the cobra.”

So they sat down, with Kosi sitting down beside them, as if he too was listening to the story that Pontsho then began.

HIS HAPPENED
quite a long time ago,” began Pontsho.

“Last month,” said his sister, correcting him.

“Well, that’s quite a long time ago,” said the boy. “It didn’t happen yesterday, did it?”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Precious. “I want to hear the story about the cobra. Just carry on with that.”

Pontsho began again. “So,” he said, “this happened quite a long time ago – last month. Our grandparents, as you know, like to sit in the sun. Sometimes they just sit and
sleep, but sometimes they just sit. They’ve worked very hard all their lives, you see, and they’re a bit tired now.

“Well, they were sitting there sleeping one afternoon. I had been off with Kosi to find some worms for his dinner that night. We found some very juicy-looking ones and his stomach was
tight and full. He was very pleased with himself, I think.

“The moment I got back to the house, I noticed that something was wrong. Or at least I saw that something was different.”

Pontsho paused now, and looked at Precious, who was following his story wide-eyed. “What was it?” she asked. “What did you see?”

“My grandfather has big feet,” said Pontsho. “When he sleeps he likes to take his shoes off, and so he had no shoes on. And do you know what I saw? I saw that a great big snake
had curled himself round my grandfather’s toes! Snakes like to do that, you know. I think it keeps them warm. They love people’s toes.”

Precious gasped. She did not like the idea of having a snake curled around
her
toes. “Go on,” she urged. “What happened next?”

“I wasn’t sure what to do,” said Pontsho. “For a little while I stood quite still with shock. You know how it is when you see something really frightening? You sometimes
just stand there, unable to do anything. Well, that was how it was. And I was so shocked I forgot that I had Kosi with me.

“He had seen the snake too. He had been sitting on my shoulder, as he often likes to do when we go for a walk together. Now he jumped down and began to move very slowly towards my
grandparents. Do you know how a cat will move when it’s stalking a bird? That was how he moved. Very, very slowly, and very quietly.”

Precious drew in her breath. “Did the snake see him?” she asked.

“Not to begin with,” answered Pontsho. “But as he began to get closer and closer, the snake started to move. It didn’t move its coils – it just moved its head,
which had bright black eyes like little pinpoints of dark light. And it put out its tongue, which came out like a tiny wet fork and then went back in. That’s how snakes smell things, you know
– they stick out their tongue and then take the smell back inside.