The Creator gave gifts to the animals, starting with noses, then legs, hooves, feathers, fur, and so on, ending with tails. Elephant got there first, so he has the biggest nose.
When it was time for the tails, God brought out a big box full of tails. Zebra and Buffalo got tails for flicking flies. Monkey got a tail for climbing; Squirrel got a tail for balancing.
Hyrax, meanwhile, was eating.
"Hurry, Hyrax!" the animals said.
"Just a minute," said Hyrax. "I'm busy eating."
When Hyrax finally came, the Creator had shut the box, so Hyrax doesn't have a tail.
Inspired by: "Why the Sendji Rat Has No Tail" in The Magic Drum: Tales from Central Africa by W.F.P. Burton, 1962. These are stories of the Luba people of the Congo.
Notes: You can read the original story online. The rat is called Sendji. I haven't been able to find out what kind of rat the "sendji" is exactly, so I decided it might be a kind of hyrax (also known as a rock rabbit).
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