One day, the Rabbit and the Elephant wanted to trade their cloth for a cow. The Rabbit had a little bundle of cloth. And the Elephant had a big bundle of cloth. They started for the village. On the way, they came to a river. The elephant went right into the water. “Wait,” cried the Rabbit. “Help me to cross the river. I cannot swim.” “The water is not deep,” said Elephant. “It just covers my feet.”
“You are very big,” said the Rabbit. “And I am very little. If the water covers your feet, the water will come over my head. I will drown.” The elephant would not listen to the Rabbit. He went across the river and left the Rabbit. “I will get even with that the Elephant,” said the Rabbit to himself. “He did not help me when I needed help to cross the river.” The Rabbit found a big log. He put his bundle of cloth upon the log and jumped up beside it. He paddled with his legs and pushed the log across the river.
The Rabbit and the Elephant went to the village to trade their cloth. The Rabbit was full of fun and he told many funny stories to the women in the marketplace. Everybody liked The Rabbit. They gave him a fine cow for his bundle of cloth. The elephant went to the men and said in a big voice, “I have come to trade my cloth for a cow.” The men did not like the Elephant. They only gave him a little calf for his bundle of cloth. Rabbit and Elephant started for home, taking their cow and their calf with them.
“Rabbit,” said the Elephant, “if we meet anyone on the road, you must say that the cow belongs to me. Anyone can take the cow away from you because you are little. But no one would try to take the cow away from me, for I am very big.” They met a Man. He said, “Elephant, that is a fine cow.” The Elephant was going to say, “Both the cow and the calf are mine.” “No,” said the Rabbit, “the cow belongs to me, for I traded my little bundle of cloth for the fat cow. The elephant had a big bundle of cloth, but he could only get a little calf for it.”
The Man laughed and laughed. The elephant was very angry. He picked the Rabbit up in his trunk and threw him into the bushes. “You can take your cow and go home by yourself,” said the elephant. “And when you meet Lion on the path, he will eat your cow.” The elephant took his little calf and went home by another path. Pretty soon, he met Lion. “On the next path, you will find Rabbit taking home a big fat cow,” said the Elephant. “Thank you,” said the Lion. And he ran off to find the big fat cow.
The elephant met the leopard. “On the next path, you will find the Rabbit taking home a big fat cow,” said the Elephant. “Thank you,” said the Leopard, and he ran off to find the big fat cow. “The Rabbit will never get his cow home,” said the Elephant and he laughed to himself. The elephant met the Hyena, who said, “I am very hungry, for I have found nothing to eat.” ” “If you go to the next path,” said Elephant, “you will find that the Lion and the Leopard have killed a fat cow. They may give you some of the meat.”
“Thank you,” said the Hyena. And he ran to find the cow as fast as he could. When the Lion met the rabbit with his cow, he roared, “I am going to eat you, and then I am going to eat your fat cow.” “Oh, but this cow is not mine,” said the Rabbit. “It belongs to the Great Spirit of the Forest. He is giving a feast for all of the animals. I am so glad that I met you, Lion. The Great Spirit wants you to be the first to be invited to the feast because you are the King of the animals.”
The Lion was very pleased, and he said, “I will help you to take the cow to the Great Spirit.” Pretty soon, the Lion and the Rabbit met the Leopard. The Leopard whispered in the Lion’s ear, “Let us kill the cow and divide the meat.” “Out of my way,” roared the Lion. “We are taking the cow to the Great Spirit of the Forest.” “Yes,” said the Rabbit. “The Great Spirit is giving a feast for all the animals. And Leopard, he wants you to come to the feast.” The Leopard was very pleased. He said, “I will help you to take the cow to the Great Spirit.”
Pretty soon, the Hyena came and said, “Friend Lion, when you kill the cow, please give me some of the meat, for I am very hungry.” “Out of my way,” roared the Lion. “We are taking the cow to the Great Spirit of the Forest.” “Yes,” said the Rabbit. “The Great Spirit is giving a feast for all the animals. The Lion and the Leopard are helping me to take the cow to the Great Spirit. And Hyena, the Great Spirit, wants you to come to the feast.” So, the Hyena came along behind the Lion and the Leopard.
The animals came to the village where the Rabbit lived. There were two big Dogs at the gate of the village who were barking. “Do not bark,” said the Rabbit. “Run to the Great Spirit and tell him we have brought the cow.” The Rabbit said in a loud voice, “The Great Spirit wants Hyena to kill the cow and cook the meat. The lion is to get water. The Leopard is to get wood for the fire. When all is ready, I will call the Great Spirit. “If anyone takes a bite of the meat the Great Spirit will punish all of us.”
Everything was done as the Rabbit ordered. When the meat was done, the Hyena said to himself, “The Great Spirit will not miss the liver. I will put it behind the bush. No one will ever know that I took it.” “At night, I will come back to the village and get my liver.” The Hyena took a bite of the liver before he put it behind the bush. The liver was very good, and Hyena laughed. Then he called in a loud voice, “The meat is done. Come and take it to the Great Spirit Forest.”
The Rabbit looked at the meat. “I see four legs and the back. I see the sides and the neck. But where is the liver? Someone has taken the liver. The Great Spirit of the Forest will punish all of us.” Just then, the Dogs cried, “The Great Spirit is coming. Run for your life. Run for your life.” The Lion, the Leopard and the Hyena ran through the gate as fast as they could go. And the Dogs shut and locked the gate. The Dogs and the Rabbit laughed and laughed. Then the Rabbit gave the Dogs some of the meat.
Just then, the elephant looked over the gate. He was surprised to see Rabbit. “Rabbit,” said Elephant, “how did you get home?” “The Great Spirit of the Forest helped me,” laughed Rabbit. (Folktale from Tanzania) – (Photo: Pixabay)
