Long ago elephants lived with people in the village, and the people's children took the elephants out to graze.
Then one day an elephant killed a child. The other children ran home, shouting, "Mother! Father! An elephant killed one of us."
The children's father took his bow and arrow and shot the elephant, and the elephant died.
The other elephants said, "We did wrong, and now the people will kill us."
So the elephants all ran away.
When the people saw an elephant, they said, "You killed our child," and they shot the elephant.
Elephants and people are still enemies.
[a Yao story from Malawi]
Inspired by: "Elephants" in Africana by Duff Macdonald, 1882.
Notes: You can read the original story online. This is a legend of the Yao people of Malawi.
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