80. The Rabbit and the Antelope

Rabbit wanted Antelope’s horns to make a trumpet, so he persuaded her to marry him.

“Now let’s make a love-feast!” Rabbit said. “I’ll get into the pot and stew over the fire, then you.”

Rabbit sat inside the pot of cold water. When the water was warm, he climbed out.

Then Antelope got in. “It’s very warm,” she said.

Rabbit slammed the lid down. “Just tell me when it gets hot,” he said.

Soon Antelope yelled, “It’s hot! Let me out!”

But Rabbit didn’t let her out.

After he feasted on her meat, he made a trumpet from her horns.

[a Tsonga story from southern Africa] 

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Inspired by: "The Hare and the Lion: C. Antelope" in The Life of a South African Tribe: volume 2 by Henri Junod, 1912.
Notes: You can read the original story online. A detail that didn't fit in my short version: Rabbit tells Antelope she has to wait until he finishes puffing on his hemp pipe; "Wait a minute, my pipe doesn't draw properly! I must pull at it a bit." For another Rabbit-and-Antelope encounter, see: When Rabbit and Antelope Were Starving. And yes, there are many varieties of antelope where the female have horns, just the right size for a rabbit's trumpet...

(piqsels)

80. Hare by Scott at Pixabay