The animals lived in their kraal, keeping warm in the dung.
At night, though, a thief was eating the dung.
Monkey stood guard, but the thief shot Monkey and escaped in the dark.
Hyena stood guard, but the thief shot him too.
Elephant stood guard. The thief didn't come, and Elephant fell asleep. When Elephant awoke, the thief had come and gone. In the distance, Elephant saw someone escaping; he didn't know Tortoise was the thief.
Tortoise hid in a hole, driving Rabbit out.
Elephant chased Rabbit and caught him. "I'm innocent!" shouted Rabbit. "It was Tortoise."
So Tortoise escaped.
Inspired by: "Sankhambi and the Elephant" in The Bavenda by Hugh Arthur Stayt, 1931.
Notes: You can read the original story online. Sankhambi the trickster is most likely a tortoise (that's the possible Stayt endorses), so I have used the name Tortoise in the Sankhambi stories. Elephant doesn't give up; here's what happens next: The Elephant Chases the Tortoise.
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