5. The Rabbits and the Elephants

The dung of an elephant fell on a baby rabbit, crushing it to death.
“This means war!” shouted the rabbits, and they attacked the elephants.
The elephants, however, easily defeated the rabbits in battle, cutting off the rabbits’ tails as punishment, and that’s why rabbits have short tails today.
The rabbits then devised another plan. “We will collect all our dung in one place until we have enough to crush a baby elephant.”
So the rabbits leave their dung in the same place, but before they can collect enough, the rain always washes it away.
Still, the rabbits keep trying.

[a Chok story from Kenya]


Inspired by: "The Elephant and the Hares" in The Suk: Their Language and Folklore by Mervyn W. H. Beech, 1911.
Notes: You can read the original story online. Beech conducted his research in the Baringo district of Kenya; you can find out more about the Suk/Chok people at Wikipedia.




No comments:

Post a Comment