'
'No, but I've been thinking. Last winter I tried setting traps,
different kinds for different animals. They do not bring in large game,
but are more..... I don't know how to say it. Less aggressive and
dangerous. And with the reserves almost gone, we must live one day at a
time. I do not like living without some cushion, no matter how small,
especially when it is not my life alone I have to think of. But I have
done it before, and never failed utterly. Fear and despair are my
enemies now.'
'It's good to hear you say that, Kalus, it really is. There's
only one thing wrong with that whole line of reasoning.'
'What's that?'
'Don't misunderstand me. I feel for the tiger, too, and I want
him to survive. But how can you possibly feed him and us too? He must
eat more than the three of us put together. Akar was right in that, at
least.'
'I don't misunderstand, but there is something I haven't told
you. I think Akar knew it also. It is part of the reason he left when
he did. Two males, natural competitors---there would have been friction
between them.'
'You've lost me.'
'Well. It is true that the first and deepest thing I feel for the
tiger is compassion. But if that was all I felt, I would not take him
among us. Love cannot exist without survival.
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