The Dassie and the Squirrel

Squirrel had loaned Dassie his tail, despite the advice of his relatives. "Dassie won't give it back," they told him, but Squirrel didn't listen.

Then Squirrel realized his relatives were right; Dassie liked the tail so much that he didn't want to give it back. "Look at my beautiful tail!" Dassie boasted to everyone he met.

Dassie's relatives told him, "That's Squirrel's tail, not yours. Give it back!"

"No!" insisted Dassie. "It's mine!"

Finally Squirrel snuck up from behind and grabbed back his tail. Dassie was so ashamed that he hid himself in the rocks and still lives there today.

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Inspired by: "Why Coney Lives Among the Rocks" in Talking Animals by Wilfrid Hambly, 1949.
Notes: You can read the original story online. I am guessing that this is one of the stories Hambly collected in Angola; compare this southern African where Squirrel is the thief: The Dassie and the Squirrel.

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