Hedgehog and Rat were cousins.
Rat took Hedgehog to a tree and said, "There's good fruit up in that tree. Why don't you climb it?"
"Treetops belong to the birds," said Hedgehog, "and I'm afraid of birds."
"When the birds come, just jump down," advised Rat, but Hedgehog would not climb.
Then Rat took Hedgehog to a big rock, "There's good food on top of this rock. Climb with me!"
But before Hedgehog got halfway up, he collapsed from exhaustion. Rat mourned Hedgehog, and then said: Hedgehog climbing a rock doesn't get halfway up.
Those words are now a proverb.
Inspired by: "The Hedgehog and the Rat" in Oratory, Songs, Legends, and Folktales of the Malagasy (published in Folklore) by James Sibree, Jr., 1883.
Notes: You can read the original story online.
No comments:
Post a Comment