The Jerboa and the Hyena: 5 African Fables of Greed and Retribution

The Jerboa, having procured a surfeit of fish, more than he could possibly consume, did proclaim with a stentorian voice, “Pray, who amongst ye hath need of piscine sustenance?”

The Hyena, upon hearing this invitation, did present herself. However, she did not merely partake of a portion, but did, with unseemly gluttony, devour the entirety of the Jerboa's ichthyic bounty.

At this display of avarice, the Jerboa was incensed, his temper quite inflamed by such brazen consumption.

Subsequently, the Guinea-Fowl did saunter past, her presence noted by both creatures.

The Hyena, in a fit of envious admiration, did exclaim, “Observe her beauty! I do so desire to possess such exquisite white speckles as adorn her plumage.”

The Jerboa, seizing upon this opportunity, declared, “It was I who bestowed those speckles upon her. I am capable of bestowing a similar adornment upon thee;.

However, I stand in need of white clay and a keen-edged blade for the task.”

The Hyena, with an alacrity born of vanity, did hasten to procure both the knife and the clay, eager to be beautified.

Then, the Jerboa, with the knife in hand, did proceed to inflict a series of gouges upon the Hyena's hide. “Thou didst seize my fish,” he declared, “and therefore, I shall seize thy flesh in recompense.”

The Hyena, overcome with excruciating pain, fled the scene, her howls echoing through the veldt.

The hyæna's acquaintances were, in point of fact, quite disgusted by her rather indiscriminate eating habits; the hyæna, one observes, consumed all manner of things, even refuse and detritus.

Finally, one amongst her circle declared, 'I shall conduct you to a wizard of considerable repute, who, perchance, possesses the ability to effect a cure for such unseemly voracity.'

The hyæna, with a measure of reluctance, did concur.

They proceeded to the abode of the aforementioned wizard, who, with a swiftness of action, did slaughter a sheep, severing its tail in the process.

'Take this,' quoth he to the hyæna. 'Launder it forthwith in the river, and thereafter, I shall transmute it into a medicinal draught for your benefit.'

Upon their journey to the river's edge, the hyæna didst experience an overpowering desire to devour the sheep's appendage.

'Nay!' exclaimed her companion, with considerable vehemence. 'Pray, do adhere to the wizard's precise instructions!'

But the hyæna, alas, found herself quite incapable of resisting the temptation.

She consumed the sheep's tail with an air of abandon, and thusly, she did forfeit the acquisition of the medicinal remedy.

There once existed a hyaena, a creature of rapacious habit, which persistently preyed upon a certain gentleman's flock of goats, occasioning him no small degree of vexation.

The aforementioned gentleman, after enduring these depredations for a considerable period, did at length contrive to excavate a pitfall, into which the hyaena, by ill fortune, did stumble and was captured.

'Release me forthwith!' entreated the hyaena, her voice tinged with desperation. 'I beseech thee, do not deprive me of life! I vow henceforward to abstain from thy goats; nay, I pledge myself to relinquish the consumption of flesh entirely!'

The gentleman, though harbouring grave reservations regarding the veracity of the hyaena's solemn declaration, was yet moved by a sentiment of pity. Wherefore, he did affix a bell to the creature's neck and, with some trepidation, grant it its liberty.

It is, alas, to be recorded that the hyaena, notwithstanding its protestations, did persist in its pursuit of fleshly sustenance. However, the bell, now serving as an unwitting herald, forewarned its intended victims, enabling them to elude its grasp.

The hyaena, thus thwarted in its rapacious endeavours and deprived of its accustomed nourishment, did ultimately succumb to the inexorable dictates of starvation.

Avaricious Hyæna, in her voracity, consumed her repast with undue haste, wherefore a bone became lodged within her gullet.

“Crane,” quoth she, with a grievous groan, “I am nigh unto suffocation! Haste thee, I implore! Insert thy head within my throat and extract this troublesome bone. Verily, I pledge unto thee a handsome recompense for thy service!”

Thus, the Crane, acquiescing to her plea, did insert his head within the Hyæna’s throat and thence extracted the offending bone. Subsequently, he enquired, “Pray, where is the promised reward of which thou didst speak?”

“Thy reward,” retorted the Hyæna with a snarl, “is none other than the privilege of having ensconced thy head within my maw and thence withdrawn it unscathed. 'Tis thou who art indebted to me, and not the converse!”

Wherefore, the proverb doth caution: Naught that enters the maw of a hyæna doth ever emerge therefrom anew.

His Majesty, the Lion, found himself grievously indisposed and thus, incapable of pursuing the chase.

Diverse denizens of the realm paid their respects at the Lion's den in a sequential manner; however, the Jackal remained conspicuously absent. He observed their spoor leading inward, yet none returning.

Subsequently, the Hyena did denounce the Jackal, uttering, 'The Jackal doth exhibit a want of proper reverence towards your Royal Personage,' she declared.

Whereupon, the Lion, with a resonant growl, commanded, 'Bring forth the Jackal hither!'

The Hyena, with alacrity, conveyed the Jackal into the Lion's abode. The Jackal, with a plaintive yelp, exclaimed, 'O King, I have made diligent enquiry amongst the physicians in quest of a remedy for thine ailment.'

The Lion, with a thunderous roar, demanded, 'Impart unto me thy findings!'

The Jackal did then propound, 'Your Majesty must envelop yourself within the hide of a Hyena, freshly deprived of life.'

Instantly, the Lion seized the Hyena and divested her of her integument with brutal dispatch.

The Jackal, in the meanwhile, availed himself of the distraction and effected his escape with celerity.