Opening line: "Long ago, in the springtime of the world, people began to be beastly to the other beasts." So begins a moral tale of how humans the hunters have pursued animals throughout time -- and how the animals have tried to trick humans in order to survive. E.g., by attaching brushes and brooms to their tails so as to wipe out their tracks as they walked, then by wearing running whoes with "strange patterns on the soles" (arrows pointing the other way!), by wearing over-sized shoes, and by taking up skateboarding -- completely confusing the humans. (with a great picture of the animals heading to the Egyptian pyramids for their skateboarding championships... and to Stonehenge and Easter Island for large-scale obstacle courses) Meanwhile the humans started working on the invention of the wheel and constructing larger and faster wagons and trucks -- moving so fast through the world that they forgot about the animals. So the animals went back to their "old ways in the deep forests and wild places" and just watch the people rushing by. Ending line: "'Don't worry,' the old animals say. 'The trackers have tricked themselves this time. They too busy chasing each other to bother chasing us.' ( )