Jackal climbed a cloud high in the sky and ate the cloud; it was very tasty.
“I’m coming down now!” he shouted to Hyena. “Catch me! I’ll do the same for you.”
Hyena caught Jackal, and then Hyena climbed the cloud and ate her fill.
“I’m coming down now,” she shouted to Jackal. “Catch me!”
Jackal reached up his paws to catch her, but then jumped aside. “Ow, a thorn has pricked me! So sorry! Ow! Not my fault!”
Hyena crashed into the ground and was badly hurt.
To this day, Hyena limps because she was injured in that fall.
[a Khoekhoe story from Namibia]
Inspired by: "Cloud-Eating" in Reynard the fox in South Africa; or, Hottentot fables and tales by W. Bleek, 1864.
Notes: You can read the original story online. This is another one of the Nama stories from Kroenlein's manuscript.
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