What Not To Say To A Llama

The llama with the brown face is happy. See his happy ears? (Can you tell I write books for kids?) The other llama is not happy. His ears are MAD. Why is this llama mad?

I think I insulted him.

The llama on the right was humming. I matched his pitch and repeated the hum back to him. Mmmmm? He did NOT like it. I kept humming and pretty soon I started to think I could be wiping llama spit off my glasses at any moment. I decided to Be Kind To Animals, and stopped humming. Next time I'll quote poetry.

Here is a Peruvian poem I translated from an old book of South American "cradle songs."

Llama Song
(Author Unknown)

If I had a llama,
with fleece of golden wool,
as brilliant as the sun,
as strong as love,
as soft as the mist
that dissolves with the dawn,
I'd spin myself a counting string,
so I could count the flowers that die,
the clouds that pass me by.