Mouse-Deer went on a journey; his servant, Bat, carried the luggage.
When they reached a town, the people pitied Bat carrying the heavy load and offered him food; they didn't offer Mouse-Deer any food.
Mouse-Deer got angry. "I'll pretend to be the servant," he told Bat, "and you pretend to be the master."
"Does that mean you'll carry the luggage?" asked Bat.
"No!" shouted Mouse-Deer. "We're just going to pretend when we're in town."
But in the next town, the people had contempt for servants, so Bat, pretending to be the master, got all the food, and Mouse-Deer got none.
Inspired by: "Nymo and Bat" in Folktales from Liberia (Journal of American Folklore) by Richard C. Bundy, 1919.
Notes: You can read the original story online. The name of the trickster is "Nymo," or Mouse-Deer. There is a second part of the story where Mouse-Deer tries to trick Bat by telling him there's a man with a club outside the door, and Bat ends up posing as that man; I have not included that part of the story.
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