Part 23 (1/2)

”Brother Toad, I indeed at first disputed with thee, saying that I could do more than thou; but, as for my disputing with thee, thou in truth canst do more than I: when the people saw thee, they did not say a word to thee, but when they saw me, they wished to kill me; if our Lord had not helped me and showed me a hole, they, on seeing me, would not have left, but killed me; thou surpa.s.sest me in greatness.”

At that time the Rat entreated our Lord and he placed it in a hole, but the Toad he placed in the open air. The Rat does not come out by day, before any one; as to the time when it comes out at night, it stretches its head out of the hole, and when it does not see anybody it comes out to seek its food.

As for the Toad, it comes out by day and by night, at any time, whenever it likes; it comes out and goes about, not anything likes to molest it; it is bitter, no one eats it on account of its bitterness; the Toad is left alone; therefore it goes about wherever it likes.

The Rat does not come out of its hole and walk about except at night.

What the Toad and the Rat did, this I heard, and have told to thee.

This fable of the Toad and the Rat is now finished.

The Lion and the Wild Dog

The Lion said to the Wild Dog that he did not fear any one in the forest except these four, viz., tree-leaves, gra.s.s, flies, and earth, and when the Wild Dog said, ”There is certainly one stronger than thou,” the Lion replied to the Wild Dog, ”I kill the young ones of the elephant, the wild cow, and the leopard, and bring them to my children to be eaten. If I give one roar, all the beasts of the forest tremble, every one of them, on hearing me roar; none is greater than I within this forest.”

The Wild Dog said to the Lion, ”As thou sayest that thou fearest not any one in this forest, so let us go and show me thy house; and I will come and call thee, in order to show thee a place where a black bird comes to eat, as soon as I shall see him again.”

The Lion took the Wild Dog with him and showed him his house; and then the Wild Dog went home.

The next day, when a hunter was come to the forest the Wild Dog, on seeing him, went to the Lion's house, and said to the Lion:

”Brother Lion, come, and follow me, and I will show thee something which I have seen.”

The Lion arose and followed the Wild Dog, and when they were come to where the hunter was, the hunter prepared himself: he had put on his forest garment, had sewn the bill of a long bird to his cap, and put it on his head, and he walked as a bird. The Wild Dog, seeing him, said to the Lion:

”Brother Lion, yonder is that black bird. Go and catch him, and when thou hast caught him, please give me one of his legs, for I want it for a charm.”

The Lion attended to what the Wild Dog said, and went softly to where the bird was; but the Wild Dog ran back.

The Lion went, thinking, ”I will kill the bird,” but he did not know that on seeing him the hunter had prepared himself, and taken out his arrow; so, as he thought, ”I will go and seize the bird,” and was come close to the hunter, the hunter shot an arrow at the Lion and hit him.

Then the Lion fell back, and having got up and fallen down three times, the arrow took effect and he felt giddy. In the same moment the hunter had disappeared[1] so that he saw him no more. Then the Lion recovered his courage and went very gently home.

On his arrival at home the Wild Dog said to him:

”Brother Lion, as thou saidst to me that thou art not afraid of any one in the world except our Lord, tree-leaves, gra.s.s, flies, and dirt, why didst thou not catch that black bird which I showed thee, and bring it to thy children?”

The Lion replied, ”This man's strength is greater than mine.”

Then the Wild Dog said again, ”Thou saidst that thou fearest no one, except gra.s.s, flies, earth and tree-leaves; thou fearest, lest when thou enterest the forest, the leaves of trees should touch thee, or lest gra.s.s should touch thy body, or lest flies should sit on thy skin; thou also fearest to lie upon the bare earth, and thou fearest our Lord, who created thee: all these thou fearest, 'but not any other I fear within this forest,' thou saidst; and yet I showed thee a bird, the which thou couldst not kill, but thou leftest it, and rannest home; now tell me how this bird looks?”

The Lion answered and said to the Wild Dog: ”Wild Dog, what thou saidst is true, and I believe it; a black man is something to be feared; if we do not fear a black man neither shall we fear our Lord who created us.”

Now all the wild beasts which G.o.d has created hunt for their food in the forest, and eat it; but as soon as they see one black man standing, they do not stop and wait, but run away. Now the following beasts are dangerous in the forest: viz., the leopard, the lion, the wild cow, the wild dog and the hyena; but when they see a black man, they do not stop and wait. As for the dispute which the Lion and the Wild Dog had, the Wild Dog was right, and the Lion gave him his right; then they shook hands again, and each went and ran to his own home. This fable, which I heard, respecting the Wild Dog and the Lion, is now finished.

[1]This refers to the universal belief that hunters are able to render themselves invisible, in moments of danger, by the operation of charms and witchcraft.

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