The animals of the town saved their grain in a common storeroom so they would have food to eat during a famine.
Spider went there secretly every day and ate the grain.
He also collected Hyena’s dung in a calabash, dumping it out in the storeroom.
When famine came, the animals went to their storeroom.
“It’s empty!” they yelled.
Then they saw the dung and shouted, “That is Hyena’s dung!”
“But I’m innocent,” protested Hyena.
Spider replied, “The evidence says otherwise.”
They chased Hyena far from town, and now she has no friends among the animals.
All because of Spider.
[a Hausa story from northern Nigeria]
Inspired by: "The Spider, the Hyena, and the Corn" in Fifty Hausa Folktales (published in Folklore) by A. J. N. Tremearne, 1910.
Notes: You can read the original story online.
That's too sneaky from Spider, awful for poor Hyena
ReplyDeleteHaha Spider is a genius and knows how to get away with his crimes! Hyena is just gullible!
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