Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore TalesNassau, Robert Hamill
Philosophy
Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore Tales
Nassau, Robert Hamill
Animals -- Folklore; Tales -- Africa, West
The goats and sheep increased, until the village of Leopard was
positively full of them crowded in abundance.
About three years passed, and Chameleon said to himself, "Our herd
with Chum must be about sufficient for division." Thereupon he started
on his journey crawling, naka, naka, naka, until he came to the house
of his friend Leopard. Leopard said to his wife, "Make food!" It was
cooked, they ate, and rested.
Chameleon said to Leopard, "Chum! I have come, that we should divide
the shares of the herd." Leopard replied, "Good! but, first go back
today. Who can catch goats and sheep on a hot day like this? Come
tomorrow morning." Chameleon said, "Very good." And he went back to
his village.
The next day, in the morning, he rose to go to the village of
Leopard. (Actually, after midnight, Leopard had already opened the
pens, and all the animals were scattered outside.) He protested regret
to Chameleon, and said, "Chum! go back! I don't know how those fellows
have opened their pens. I was expecting you, for this day; I had let my
herdman know that a person was coming on the morrow. So, go back. And,
as I am going tomorrow to the swamp for bamboo, you must come only
on the second day." Chameleon submissively replied, "Very good."
Chameleon continued coming; and his treatment was just so every time,
with excuses.
Leopard, hoping, said to himself, "Perhaps he will die on the way,"
because he saw him walking so slowly, naka, naka. And Chameleon kept
on patiently going back and forth, back and forth.
One night, Leopard and his wife were lying down; whereupon his wife
asked him, "What is the reason that you and Yongolokodi have not
divided the shares of the herd? Do you think he will die of this
weakness?" Leopard answered, "No! it is not weakness, Njambe is the
one who created him so; it is his own way of walking."
Finally, Chameleon said to himself, "I must see what Njâ intends to
do to me; whether he thinks that he shall eat my share." He went by
night and waited outside of Leopard's. Next day, in the morning,
as Leopard rose to go out, he found, unexpectedly, as he emerged
from the house, Chameleon sitting on the threshold. There was no
other deception that Leopard could seek; for, the animals were still
in their pens. So, he called his children, and said, "Tie the goats
and sheep with cords." So they tied them all. And he and Chameleon
divided them. Then this one returned to his place; and that one to his.
TALE 29
BORROWED CLOTHES
Persons
Koho (Parrot)
Kuba (Chicken)
NOTE
A story of the cause of the enmity between chickens and parrots. When
a chicken comes near to a parrot, the latter turns to one side, saying,
"wâ!"; for fear that the chicken will take his fine feathers from him.
Parrot and Chicken were fowls living in a village of Mankind near
a town; which they had built together. They were living there in
great friendship.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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