Leopard was hungry. “I’ll say I’m sick,” he decided, “and when my friends come to visit, I’ll eat them.”
So Leopard beat his drum slowly and sang:
O Antelope! Rabbit! Monkey!
Your friend is sick; he needs you.
O friends, Leopard needs you.
Antelope approached, together with Rabbit and Monkey. “Give me the drum,” Antelope said. “I will sing too.”
Leopard gave Antelope the drum, and Antelope sang:
Leopard isn’t sick, O friends!
He’s scheming, scheming…
Leopard grabbed the drum. “You’re no musician!” he shouted.
But Antelope, Rabbit, and Monkey had already run away.
Leopard didn’t get to eat anybody.
[an Ambundu story from Angola]
Inspired by: "Dog and Lizard" in Folktales of Angola by Heli Chatelain, 1894.
Notes: You can read the original story online, and the Kimbundu text is also available. The story has deer, antelope, and duiker; I just used antelope.
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