Leopard thinking

Lemme tell ya, friend, this gal jus' loves to sleep. Ah loves to sleep, that's mah non-secret, mah gran' passion, mah ambition and mah joy.

I like the annelope huntin' jus' fine. Annelope huntin' is the necessary lead-in to a good sleep and I'm verra good at it.

What kind of annelope is the best kind? Some like yer dik diks, others like yer duikers. I'm a gemsbock gal myself, klipspringer in a pinch. But them's all good.

I walk up to a herd of them little guys in that casual way that says, "I ain't huntin'..." They lemme walk right up to them when I walk that way. I check 'em out, look for the fat ones, the tender ones. I know the book says you wan' the sick ones and the lame ones, but no, you don't really wan' them sick and lame ones at all. Not unless you're sick er lame yerself in which case yer days are nummered anyway, the big sleep juss 'round the corner.

So I walk up to 'em. I'm real up front about it. They don' mind a bit.

"Hi girls. It's juss me.... how are you? Say, you are lookin' good Sha'Quonne, real good..." You scope 'em out, charm 'em a little, make 'em feel comfor'ble. If you git a chance it never hurts to drive off a hyeener or two, establishes ya as a good person, a go-to kind o' gal. Everybody relaxes a little. Like, when you're around, nobody gots to watch out for hyeeners.

When the sun gets warm I lies down, right there amongst them annelopes. I love the sun, the dust, the flies, the whole gestalt of the place. The sweet smell o' warm annelope hide, warm annelope shit, warm annelope piss, it just kind of makes everythin' dreamy like. I rest while mah appetite prepares itself.

And when my appetite finds itself prepared I stand up and doggone it, right away everybody jus'knows mah appetite done prepared itself.

Then I gots to walk away and do mah spot magic, make mah spots do that mojo they do so well, and I kinda jus' vanish, like. An' when I all vanished I creep back up on 'em again, all down low now, belly-walkin' style, pressin' way down, only shoulder bones in the sand, thass all I am. Lookin' for Sha'Quonne, Sha'Quonne baby you is lookin' so damn good, shugah.

Then I eats her.

And then I sleeps. I do love to sleep.