It is said that in the dry season the animals observe a truce around the waterholes. The predator comes to drink alongside its prey, their common need revealing an affinity beyond the natural hostility between the species. But no such truce exists, as the antelope found out to their cost.

For the antelope it had been a long journey to reach the waterhole and by the time it arrived it was desperate to drink. Its mouth felt as if it had chewed its jawbone into dust. And yet it suddenly pulled up short of the water’s edge. The ostrich, arriving shortly after, asked them why it had stopped.

“I’m not stupid,” the antelope explained. “I’m checking for leopards and lions and cheetahs. There are so many animals gathered here, the predators can’t be far behind.” “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about them,” the ostrich replied. “There’s a kind of truce in force around the waterhole. It’s perfectly safe.”

“What do you mean a truce?” the antelope asked. “I mean a suspension of hostilities. No hunting, no killing,” answered the ostrich. The antelope wasn’t so sure. “How can that be?” it asked. “They’ve still got to eat, haven’t they? And it’s not grass they eat, it’s you and me.” “Ah, but they must drink as well and water is more important than flesh, or grass, as I’m sure you know,” the ostrich explained. “It would be a big mess if they continued with their killing by the water. They can kill anywhere, but it’s better to be able to drink in peace.”

“Are you sure?” the antelope asked, still unconvinced. “Oh yes, quite sure,” replied the ostrich. “I’m surprised you didn’t know. I thought it was common knowledge. But all this talk has made me thirsty—even more thirsty!—so if you don’t mind, I’m going to have a drink.”

The ostrich plunged its head into the water and the antelope followed suit. As it drank, it felt its composure return and by the time it resurfaced, it was relaxed and refreshed. ‘I needn’t have worried,’ it said to itself. ‘The ostrich were right. It is perfectly safe.’

A few steps from the water’s edge, however, the antelope saw precisely what it had feared. A tiger. Coming towards them through the trees. But while the antelope’s body screamed ‘flee,’ its mind was more detached. ‘The tiger is merely on its way to the water to drink, that’s all,’ it told itself.

This was one of the its last thoughts as the tiger took advantage of the antelope’s hesitation and swiftly made a good meal of the poor creature, after which it did indeed make its way to the water to drink.

The ostrich, meanwhile, had scarpered.

© Richard Parkin, 2023