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Anna thought for a moment. ” She sat back in her canvas chair, folded her arms, and narrowed her eyes at Mitch. ” Mitch shrugged. “Look, if you get the dog, you must know this. Owning one will bring you nothing but heartache. Sooner or later he will get bitten by a tsetse fly and be infected with the trypanosome parasite. It causes sleeping sickness. Most wild animals are immune. ” He reached for the teapot. “And keep your eye on him. After all, he’s part terrier. ” Like a drunken rhino, the Land Rover swayed between holes and ruts on the muddy road.

For the first time that evening, there was a glint of a smile in Chief Kakumbi’s eyes. He reached over and touched the little white dog. ” The dry season had crept into the valley. Month after month, scorching winds nearly suffocated all life from Luangwa. Temperatures soared over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Wild animals were gathered in great numbers around shrinking water holes. Grasses were reduced to stubble. The apple-green leaves of the woodlands had shriveled to dark reds and browns.

A bit tuckered out, huh? ” Steve thought back to how a few months ago, Bulu had tried to chase some village chickens but ended up being chased by a rooster. From then on, Bulu gave all roosters respect—and he stopped chasing chickens. That misadventure now gave Steve an idea. What if he and Anna took Bulu on a safari far into the bush? Maybe Bulu could learn to respect wild animals the way he’d learned to respect chickens? Steve sat on the embankment and took a long, hard look at Bulu. “It’s time you start learning a few survival skills, big guy.