The Jackal and the Women's Clothes

Jackal saw the village women bathing; they had left their clothes on the river bank. Jackal crept up quietly and stole some clothes. "Disguised as a woman," he thought to himself, "I'll be able to enjoy the food at the village feast."

So Jackal put on the clothes and entered the village. The plan was working! But when he started devouring food, the people said, "You look like a woman, but you act like an animal!"

Then a woman shouted, "Those are my clothes!'
"It's Jackal!" another woman shouted, and Jackal ran, leaving both the clothes and the food behind. 

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Inspired by: "The Greedy Jackal" in The stolen water and other stories: traditional tales from Namibia by Jennifer Davis, 1993.

Notes: You can read the original story online. This is a Khoekhoe story from Namibia. The end of the story says that this is why the jackal prowls at night, but that makes him sound more like hyena than jackal. Perhaps there are versions of this story about hyena too...?

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