x
We were left alone for the remainder of the day. In the evening, after giving us another meal, the gorillas withdrew, turning out the lights. I slept little that night, not because of the discomfort of the cage---the hay litter was thick and made a halfway decent bed---but I could not stop working out ways and means to enter into communication with the apes. I resolved never to lose my temper again but to seek patiently and ceaselessly every opportunity to display my talents. The two keepers with whom I had dealt were probably lowly underlings incapable of interpreting my movements, but there surely existed other apes who were more civilized.
On the following morning I saw that this hope was not in vain. I had been awake for an hour. Most of my companions were restlessly pacing up and down their cages in the manner of captive animals. When I realized I was doing likewise and had been doing so for some time without noticing it, I was ashamed of myself and forced myself to sit down behind the bards, assuming as human and as pensive an attitude as I could. It was then that the door of the corridor was pushed open, and I saw a new figure enter the room accompanied by the two keepers. It was a female chimpanzee, and I realized from the way the gorillas kept in the background that she held a high post in their organization, whatever that was.
The keepers must have given her a report about me, for no sooner had she come in than she questioned one of them, who promptly pointed his finger in my direction. Thereupon she came straight over to my cage.
I watched her carefully as she approached. She, too, was dressed in a white smock, cut more elegantly than those the gorillas wore, gathered in at the waist by a belt and with short sleeves that revealed two agile dangling arms. What struck me most about her was her expression, which was remarkably alert and intelligent. I felt this argued well for our future relationship. She seemed to be quite young despite the simian wrinkles that framed her white muzzle. She carried a leather briefcase in her hand.
She came to a dead stop in front of my cage and began to scrutinize me, at the same time taking a notebook out of her briefcase.
"Good day, ma'am," I said, bowing.
I had spoken in my gentlest voice. A look of intense surprise came over the she-ape's face, but she maintained her composure and with a gesture of authority hushed the gorillas, who had begun singing again.
"Um, ma'am," I continued, feeling encouraged. "I am sorry to present myself to you in these conditions and in this state of undress. Believe me, I'm not in the habit of...."
I was again spouting whatever nonsense popped into my skull, selecting only words in keeping with the polite tones I had made up my mind to maintain. When I finished speaking, punctuating my speech with the gentlest of smiles, her shock changed to stupefaction. Her eyes blinked several times and the wrinkles on her forehead grew more pronounced. It was clear that she was trying desperately to find the solution to a tough problem. She in turn smiled at me, and I had the impression that she was starting to suspect a part of the truth.
During this scene the men in their cages watched us, this time without showing the hatred that the sound of my voice usually provoked in them. They showed signs of curiosity. One after the other, they stopped their feverish pacing and came glued to their faces against the bars to see us better. Novaya looked furious and was unable to keep still.
The she-ape extracted a fountain pen from her pocket and inscribed several lines in her notebook. Then, raising her head and again meeting my anxious gaze, she smiled once more. This encouraged me to make another friendly advance. I stretched an arm out through the bars, keeping my hand open. The gorillas gave a start and made as if to come between us. But the she-ape, whose first reaction had been to draw back, recovered herself, stopped them with one word, and, without taking her eyes off me, likewise stretched her hairy arm out, which trembled a little, towards mine. I froze. She drew nearer still and placed her hand with its excessively long fingers on my wrist. I felt her tremble at this contact. I did my best not to make any movement that might startle her. She felt my hand, stroked my arm, and then turned towards her assistants with an air of triumph.
I was breathless with hope, feeling more and more sure that she was starting to recognize my noble quality. When she spoke haughtily to one of the gorillas, I was stupid enough to hope that my cage was about to be thrown open, with a million apologies. Not so, I'm afraid! The keeper fumbled in his pocket and extracted a small white object that he handed to his supervisor. She herself put it in my hand with a charming smile.
It was a lump of sugar.
A lump of sugar! I fell from such a height, I suddenly felt so discouraged by the humiliation of this reward, that I almost flung it back into her face. Just in time I remembered my good resolutions and forced myself to stay calm. I accepted the sugar, bowed, and munched it with as intelligent an air as possible.
Such was my first encounter with Zero. Zero was the she-ape's name, as I presently learned. She was the head of the department to which I had been brought. Despite my disappointment, her manner gave me some hope and I had a feeling that I would manage to enter into communication with her. She had a long conversation with the keepers and I fancied that she was giving them instructions about me. Then she went about her rounds, inspecting the other occupants of the cages.
She carefully scrutinized each of the newcomers and made a few notes, more succinct than in my case. She never ventured to touch one of them. Had she done so, I believe she would have been jealous. I was starting to feel proud of being the exceptional subject who alone deserved special treatment. When I saw her stop in front of the children and throw some sugar to them as well, I felt definitely vexed, but surely no less so than Novaya, who, after baring her teeth at the she-ape, had lain down in fury at the bottom of her cage with her back turned to me.
