Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore Tales — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore Tales
John Stuart Mill · en
When they reached the marriage town, food was set before them. But
Leopard immediately began to groan and scream, "I'm dead! I'm
dead! I'm dead with pain!" Wild Goat sympathisingly inquired, "What
shall I do to help you?" Leopard replied, as in the case of Rat,
"Go back to that tree, and get its bark as a medicine for me." Wild
Goat went; and while he was away, Leopard ate the food, leaving very
little of it. On his return, Wild Goat protested at so little being
given him. Leopard explained, "In my great suffering from tooth-ache,
I ate nothing. Perhaps it was the town's-people who ate up the food,
leaving you only these pieces."
After they had eaten, they were called to the reception-house, and
spent the evening in conversation with the people of the town. Then,
they were shown to the house in which they were to sleep. It was
the one with the pit-fall inside the door-way. Leopard, of course,
jumped over it; but Wild Goat fell into it. And, as in the case of Rat,
Leopard called out, "People of the town! This is your dowry-goods! I
have brought it to you!" The next morning, Leopard took his journey,
and came back home. When the people of his town asked him, as in the
case of Rat, "Where is the friend you took with you?" he made the
same reply, "Don't ask me! He is entangled off there with women."
On a third journey, Leopard called Antelope to accompany him. Antelope
agreed. They came to the River; and as before Leopard told how that
river could not be crossed by travelers unless their knives were
thrown away. This, Antelope did.
Then, they came to the Kuda tree. There, Antelope heard Leopard
splitting the nuts, and asked him. "Did you not throw away your
knife? Do you travel with two?" Leopard answered, "Yes! I always
travel with two." Then, they came to the Medicine tree. And Leopard
explained about its bark being the cure for his frequent tooth-aches,
when eating at his father-in-law's town.
They came to the town. And when food was brought to them, Leopard
cried out, "O! my tooth! my tooth!" Antelope asked, "Where is your
medicine that you said you use?" Leopard answered, "At the tree
which I showed you on the way. Go, and get it." While Antelope was
gone, Leopard ate up almost all the food. On returning, Antelope
exclaimed "What! only this little food for me?" Leopard explained,
"With my great tooth-ache, I ate none. Nothing happened, except
that the town's-people came, and were eating up the food; and I,
in my kindness for you, begged them to leave at least a little for
you." Antelope handed him the medicine, and Leopard said, "Put it
down there"; and he threw it away, while Antelope's back was turned.