The truth is that animals are just as clever as people but clever in different ways Animals think people are the stupid ones sometimes Next time you pass a field of sheep stop and look they will stare back at you with a steady sympathetic gaze If you look closely though you might see them shake their heads amused that we need to wear sweaters and coats made out of wool that grows perfectly naturally on their backs What a silly business
But anyway back to my story It begins ten years ago far away in Africa Africa as you may know from photographs and television programs is a very hot and beautiful place There are forests and bush and vast open plains where lots of wild animals live lions and elephants and giraffes There are brightly colored birds that live in the trees monkeys and gorillas lizards hyenas porcupines and buffaloes The place is teeming with life of every size and shape you can imagine And in Africa let me tell you the wild animals are also very clever They watch human beings and chuckle to themselves Fancy going around cooped up in air-conditioned buses and cars and eating boring cooked food Humans all look so uncomfortable We so-called wild animals wander around freely they say to each other Breathing the
fresh air and eating fresh food that we catch or pick or graze for ourselves Far better in our humble opinion Which lifestyle seems nicer to you All the animals in Africa know that the cleverest among them are the hyenas They aren’t the fastest or fiercest or let’s face it the most beautiful but they are smart and determined and work together to get what they want They are very good at scavenging too the But thing hyenas do best and
which drives all the other animals crazy is they laugh In fact they’re known as laughing hyenas Long loud shrieks and cackles
