Hairy Hezekiah (6 page)

Authors: Dick King-Smith

It takes very little time for people to cross the Atlantic by air from America to England (or vice versa). But to transport by sea a gorilla going westward or a Bactrian camel going eastward is not something that can be done in a hurry. So it was springtime before Lord Basin had news of the arrival date of Hezekiah's proposed mate.

She must have a suitable name, thought the Earl. I'll consult the vicar.

“Do you happen to know, Vicar,” he said to him the following Sunday, “the name of the wife of Hezekiah?”

“D'you mean Hezekiah the King of Judah?” the vicar asked. “Lived about 700 B.C.?”

“That's the one, I expect,” said the Earl.

“As a matter of fact, I do, Lord Basin.”

“What was it?”

“Hephzibah.”

“Splendid, splendid! I like it!” cried the Earl. “Could you spell it for me?”

“I'll write it down,” said the vicar.

“I've got a camel called Hezekiah, you see, and
though he doesn't know it, he's got a mate arriving next week.”

“How nice,” said the vicar. “Bless them.”

“Thanks so much, Vicar,” said Lord Basin. “Bye.”

The spring that year was everything it should be. The young green grass grew apace, the trees burst into leaf, the birds were singing their heads off, the skies were blue, the sun shone.

In the West Country, visitors poured into Shortseat, to see the famous lions, to see all the many other animals, and even to catch sight occasionally of the Earl of Basin riding on his camel. Hezekiah always kept to a steady walk
now, and his rider sat upon a large comfortable cushion wedged between the camel's two humps and doffed his cowboy hat to passing visitors.

Now that the weather was warmer, Hezekiah no longer slept in his old shed but stayed out with his companions. There was a lot of heehawing as the zebra stallions courted their mares, and a lot of booming as the male ostrich pranced
about and flapped his wings before his two hens. The giraffes, of course, were silent, but they stayed very close to one another, sometimes entwining their long necks in token of their love.

Elsewhere, all the animals of Shortseat were enjoying the springtime, from the two gorillas, alone now on the lake island, to the herds of antelopes and the pride of lions.

Only Hezekiah had no companion of his own kind.

One morning when he was giving his friend a ride, he spoke to him about it. “I wish I had a mate,” he groaned. “Everyone else has, but I'm on my own.”

“What's up, Hezekiah?” said the Earl. “You sound a bit down in the dumps. But you just wait, old chap, just wait till this afternoon. You're going to get the shock of your life.”

That afternoon (you won't be surprised to hear) Hezekiah got the shock of his life. He was resting comfortably on his horny kneepads beside the water trough, from which he'd just drunk a great deal, when he saw a cattle truck coming up the road, followed by a Land Rover.

From the truck a ranger got out and opened the gate, and then the driver backed the vehicle into the gateway.

From the Land Rover emerged the brightly
dressed figure of the Earl of Basin, and between them, he and the ranger undid the clasps that held up the tailgate, and let it down.

Hezekiah got to his feet, curious to know what newcomer was being put into the enclosure.

“What have you got in there?” he said to his friend the Earl.

“Guess what we've got in here, Hezekiah old chap!” said Lord Basin. “Come on, Hephzibah, out you come!” Before Hezekiah's astonished eyes, down the tailgate there walked with stately steps a beautiful, brown, hairy, young female Bactrian camel.

“Hullo,” she said to him. “I'm Hephzibah. Who are you?”