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1、I Met A BushmanPeople told him not to drive along that road aloneBut he decided to try it -Dont try to drive across the Kalahari Desert alone, my friends in the city said. If your car breaks down , you will be there for days before anyone passes by and it is terribly hot. Besides, what will you do i
2、f you meet a Bushman? My friends told me that Bushmen were wild people who had no mercy for travelers. When a traveler lost his way in the desert, they said, there was often a Bushman watching him from behind the tall grass. The Bushman was waiting for him to die, my friends said. He was waiting to
3、take the travelers water bottle, belt and shoes. Listening to my friends, I almost decided not to drive across the desert alone. But I was going to a distant town in Southwest Africa, and the road across the Kalahari Desert was 1,000 miles shorter than any other. I decided to try it. For a long time
4、 everything went well, but then my car broke down! The sound of the engine told me that there was no water in the radiator. lifted the hood of the car and looked inside. It was true - the radiator was empty and - I was 30 miles from a village.Alone in the Desert I sat in the car for an hour, trying
5、to decide what to do. Shall I pour the last of my drinking water into the radiator? I thought. Or shall pour it down my throat? I certainly didnt want to leave the car and look for water in the desert. If I do that, I thought, I will probably lose my way, and meet a Bushman, too. So I made as much n
6、oise as I could with my automobile horn. I sounded the horn every ten minutes, hoping that some other traveler passing near me would hear. The noon sun was terribly hot, and the car was as hot as a stove. There was no air anywhere. I felt lonely and thirsty, and, remembering my friends stories, I wa
7、s a little afraid, too. Then I saw the Bushman. He was squatting behind the tall brown grass. He was holding a small bow with several sharp arrows, about as long as pencils. He had small dark eyes and an untidy pile of hair on his head.When he stood up, I saw that he was shorter than the tall brown
8、grass.Friend or Enemy? When he saw that I was looking at him, he began to walk slowly toward me, still holding his bow and arrows. He opened his lips and pulled them back, showing a row of very white teeth. Maybe this is a smile, I thought, but maybe it isnt. I did not smile back. He squatted motion
9、less under the sun, watching me, for an hour. Every ten minutes, when I sounded the automobile horn, he made a happy noise in his throat. The noise shook his small body from head to foot. But he still squatted motionless under the hot sun, just watching me. Once, he said something to me in his langu
10、age, then put his bow and arrows on the ground, stood up and lifted his hands toward the sky. He seemed to be telling me that he came in peace. But I didnt trust him. Later, as the sun went down, he came closer to the car and began to talk in his strange language. His face showed that he could not u
11、nderstand why I was not more friendly. I felt a little ashamed, but I still didnt trust him. I remembered those stories about Bushmen. On the other hand, when evening came, I found that I was rather grateful that the Bushman was near. Night is a lonely time in the desert. I was less afraid while ano
12、ther human being was near, even that squatting Bushman. I envied him, too, as he made his fire of dry sticks - then night was suddenly cool. Every few minutes he turned and waved his hand. He seemed to be telling me he would protect me during the long night. Each hour I felt less afraid. At last I s
13、lept, still in my car.Water from the Sand I woke in the early morning. My little Bushman was squatting mo-tionless on the hood of the car, smiling as usual. I sat up, feeling cold. For the first time, I smiled at him, too. At that moment, his face changed, and he spoke in a wild but happy way. He se
14、emed to be saying, At last you are beginning to act like a human being. Now we can do something together. I suddenly saw what he had in his hand. It was a small leather bag, full (I hoped) of water. Water! Where did he find it in this part of the country? Forgetting to be afraid, I opened the door o
15、f the car for the first time. He seemed to consider this a sign that I wanted to be friendly. He ran around the car like a happy child, making loud sounds of pleasure. In sign language I showed him that I needed water for the car. He understood. Ah! he said. He gave me the bag that he was carrying,
16、and I poured the water into the radiator. It was not enough. Then the Bushman ran to the tall grass and found a long hollow stick. In sign language he told me to follow. I still didnt completely trust him, but I followed a little behind him. After a short walk he squatted on the ground and pushed one end of his hollow stick into the sand. I watched, amazed, as he put his lips around the other end of the stick. A mome
