The cub has changed things. That young life has become as important to Tikki as her own. She does not really understand how this can be so. She’s pondered the point till her head aches from thinking and still she reaches no conclusions. Carrying the cub in her belly and getting it out through her loins took a great effort, but she has known great efforts before and none has ever affected her in quite the same way. Maybe suckling the cub had something to do with it. Maybe it’s some kind of magic.