but an unpleasant, oily skin of the color of dark chocolate, so thick
that no ordinary bullet could possibly penetrate it. On all parts of
his body the skin was three-quarters of an inch thick, while on his
back it was more than twice that thickness.

Therefore, Hippo was pretty safe from the attacks of enemies, a fact
of which he was well aware, and, not being sensitive in any way, or
nervous, he was not given to trouble or worry.

He made his way slowly towards a nice corn-field, which he had found a
few days ago, and the only thing he felt at all uneasy about was that
some of the other hippopotami might also have found it. Hippo belonged
to a herd consisting of from twenty to thirty hippopotami--mothers and
fathers, sisters and brothers, relations of all kinds, and several
little baby calves. They agreed well together, on the whole.

The only time they grew quarrelsome was when they were selecting new
wives, or when one of them had discovered a field of corn or rice, and
found that the others wanted to explore it, too. Then some nasty
things were said, and some terrible fights took place; for, although a
hippopotamus is such a heavy and ungainly creature, he can move
swiftly when he is angry.

However, this time Hippo wended his way to the field of corn without
the others noticing him, and, arriving there, walked slowly through
the ripe grain, his short legs and thick body doing an enormous amount
of damage. He never ate what he crushed down--only what he actually
cut with his wonderful teeth. [Footnote: The teeth of a hippopotamus
are very large and powerful, and those in the under jaw grow forward
and outward, not straight up and down, as in most other animals. The