“I can run fast!” Antelope told Tortoise.
“I run even faster,” said Tortoise. “I’ll prove it: let’s race!”
Then Tortoise hid his companions in the grass along the race-track.
The race started, and Antelope ran fast. “Tortoise!” he yelled. “Where are you?”
Tortoise shouted from in front, “I’m ahead of you!”
Antelope couldn’t believe his ears.
He ran even faster. “Where are you?” Antelope yelled again.
Tortoise stuck his head out of the grass, “I’m still ahead of you!”
Antelope couldn’t believe his eyes.
“I heard it and saw it,” Antelope admitted. “Tortoise really can run faster than me.”
[a Chewa story from Malawi]
Inspired by: "The Tortoise and the Antelope" in Some Folk-lore Stories and Songs in Chinyanja by R. S. Rattray, 1907.
Notes: You can read the original story online, and you can learn about Nyanja, or Chewa, language at Wikipedia. Compare this version: Steenbok and Tortoise and also The Stembuck (Antelope) and the Tortoise.
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Tortoise cheating Antelope out of his rightful position as fastest animal
ReplyDeleteHaha now there's a con artist after my own heart!
ReplyDelete