They walked for seven days before they got there but just as they were getting near, the ears called out "Shh, listen! I can hear something."

Immediately the eyes started to search among the trees, and then suddenly they called out, "There! Look! An antelope! Over there... "

The legs set off to chase it, followed closely by the arms. As the legs caught up with the antelope, the arms reached out and killed it. After a while, the ears and the eyes caught up with their friends.

"What do you want?" said the arms. "The antelope's ours, we caught it. Shove off."

"No, come off it," said the legs. "You would never have been able to grab it if it wasn't for us being fast enough to catch up with it."

"Never mind that," said the eyes. "I reckon the antelope's ours, because we were the ones who saw it. You wouldn't have known where to go if it wasn't for us."

"All right, all right," said the ears. "Who got the whole thing going? Us, of course. We heard the antelope, didn't we? You'd all be sitting around back there if it wasn't for us hearing it move."  

Just then a mosquito came by.

"What's the row about? What's all the fuss about?" They told it the story.

"Hmm," said the mosquito, "this is a tricky one. Very tricky. But listen, there's a wise old chief not far from here - why not take the problem to him?"

Off went the four friends to the wise old chief, with the arms carrying the antelope. The chief listened to the story and then ordered the antelope to be cooked.

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Edited text© 1992 Michael Rosen.
Illustrations © 1992 Louise Brierley.
Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Walker Books Ltd., London.