Running from Leopard, Antelope hid in the stream; only his horns stuck out.
Rabbit watched.
Leopard ran up. He grabbed a horn, thinking it was a reed, and leaned out over the water. "Where'd you go, Antelope?"
Then Rabbit spoke up. "Antelope! Don't move, or Leopard will know it's you! Leopard, don't let go, or you'll lose your dinner."
"Damn you, Rabbit!" shouted Antelope, plunging deeper into the water.
"Damn you, Rabbit!" shouted Leopard as Antelope dragged him down.
Antelope finally escaped when Leopard lost his footing in the mud.
Wanting to be friends with both, Rabbit was nobody's friend.
Inspired by: "How the Rabbit Made Enemies by Trying to Be Too Friendly" in The Magic Drum: Tales from Central Africa by W.F.P. Burton, 1962. These are stories of the Luba people of the Congo. The rabbit is called Kalulu. The bushbuk is Gulungu, and the leopard is Nge.
Notes: You can read the original story online.
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