"OH, you horrible beast," Miss Fox screamed, pulling Dr. Lamm's shoe off and hitting the crocodile over the head with it. "I could tell you were up to no good when you came in!" She hit his head really hard.
It knocked him out completely. Then Miss Fox pried open the crocodile's long, strong jaws and helped pull the doctor out. He had been scratched by those terrible teeth.
"Dr. Lamm, Dr. Lamm, are you all right?" Miss Fox shook the doctor as she pulled him free.
At last the doctor answered. "Oh, dear. I am all right, but I am afraid I have lost my glasses inside," he mumbled. "But I don't think it would be worth the trouble to go back to get them. I guess I'll just have to get some new ones."
Miss Fox took the doctor by the arm, dragged him out of the office and then quickly locked the door behind them. She helped him to a chair. His coat was quite rumpled, and she brushed it off a little while he sat quietly. There was a scratch on his nose. "Poor fellow," Dr. Lamm muttered. "He is filled with such anger."
"He was just about filled with you," said Miss Fox as she dialed the Animal Control Agency.
The men from the agency came quickly. They tied up the crocodile so they could take him back to the swamp where he belonged.
The doctor looked at him sadly. "I'm afraid I failed you. Perhaps if you had come to me sooner. But I can't understand it. Why did you attack me?"
"Doctor, I was hungry and I am a crocodile. That is what crocodiles do. I never lied to you. It is true that people said those things about me. You just never pressed me for more details."
The moral to the story is: Never trust a crocodile no matter how sad his story or how wide his smile. And be careful and alert around other wild animals too.
This is a Kids' Reading Room Classic. The series first appeared Jan. 13-17, 2003. It will be on The Times' website at latimes.com/kids.
