“Stupid Goat!” shouted Leopard. “Why do you let the people touch you with their long, bony hands? You should come with me instead; my hands are so soft and furry.”
“No!” bleated Goat. “I’m staying here! I’m not going with you.”
Then Leopard grabbed Goat, and Goat screamed, “Me-e-e-e-e-eh!”
“Fool!” said Leopard. “Why do you scream when I touch you, but not when people touch you with their skeleton hands? I don’t understand you.”
Goat kept on screaming, and Leopard ran off, afraid that the people would come.
Ever since, Leopard is angry at Goat and tries to kill him.
[a Chok story from Kenya]
Inspired by: "The Leopard and the Goats" in The Suk: Their Language and Folklore by Mervyn W. H. Beech, 1911.
Notes: You can read the original story online. In the original story, the emphasis is on the people's black hands and on the leopard's white hands, but I put the emphasis on bony versus furry. Beech conducted his research in the Baringo district of Kenya; you can find out more about the Suk/Chok people at Wikipedia.
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