The Hare, The Baboon and The Jackal
The Hare, The Baboon and The Jackal
The Hare, The Baboon, and The Jackal
Once upon a time, Hare got tired of living alone and decided that it was time to get himself a companion. So in this spirit, he planned to travel to meet his future in-laws.
It was very important to embark on such an important journey with a friend. So Hare went to his happy, loving, and amazing friend, Baboon.
“My dear friend, are you okay?” Baboon asked when he saw his long-time friend Hare in his house.
“Yes, I am okay. I just want to discuss something with you,” Hare said.
“Is that so? Well, let me get a seat for us then,” Baboon said, and he was about to go get a seat when Hare dragged him back.
“Leave the seat for now, my friend. Let me tell you what I have come to say before we start thinking about exchanging pleasantries and small talk.”
“Okay, what is it?” Baboon couldn’t wait to hear what his friend had to say. He had never seen Hare in such a mood before.
“Okay. You know that I have been living alone for a long time, right?” Hare said, and Baboon nodded.
“Well now I want to settle down with a good companion, and as tradition stipulates, I cannot go there alone. I need to go with someone. And I will be honoured if you would be that someone.” Hare finally finished talking and waited nervously for Baboon’s answer.
“Of course. I will love to accompany you.” Baboon said. The two friends hugged and parted ways. The next day, they embarked on the journey.
Halfway into the journey, Hare stopped Baboon near a dense shrub and said, “My dear friend Baboon, I have already asked so much of you that I feel ashamed to ask for more favours. But I promise this will be the last one,” Hare said.
“Please, go on and tell me what it is. After all, we are friends.” Baboon answered.
“Okay. Do you know what shrub this is?” Hare said and pointed at the shrub.
“Of course I do. It is a shrub that cures tummy aches,” Baboon answered.
“That is very correct. When we get to my in-law’s place, they will feed us. During the process of eating, I may develop a tummy ache. I will need you to run back to this place, pluck this shrub and get it back to me to eat.” Hare said.
“I understand that. I will do as you have said,” Baboon agreed.
At sunset, they reached Hare’s in-law’s house. The two friends were very tired and worn out. Their host, who saw how tired they were, prepared a room for them to rest. Afterward, a feast was served. Hare and Baboon dug in.
After the third bite, Hare interrupted his friend’s meal. “My dear friend, I think that problem I told you about has already begun. My tummy is rumbling and also beginning to ache. Now, rush to that shrub I showed you earlier and bring it to me.”
Baboon, after hearing this, left his food and rushed to get the shrub to cure his friend. When Hare noticed he was far gone, he dug into the food and devoured everything before his friend Baboon could return. After he had eaten to his heart’s content, he ordered the food to be taken away. A few minutes later, Baboon returned, huffing and puffing.
“Here you go, my dear friend. I ran as fast as I could. When I got to the shrub, I dug it out and brought it to you to cure your aching tummy!” Baboon said.
“Oh, thank you very much, my friend. But you see after you left, I started to feel much better,” Hare told him.
“Oh okay.” Baboon looked around and saw no food in sight. “What happened to the food?”
“Oh, the host cleared the dishes,” Hare told him. Baboon was no doubt disappointed. That night, he went to bed hungry and sad. In the middle of the night, he woke up due to hunger. Hare suggested they steal one of the goats that belong to his in-laws. “No one will find out!” he said. Since Baboon was very angry, he agreed to it.
The two friends killed the goat and ate it. After eating, Baboon was so satisfied that he slept off. Lo and behold, as he slept, Hare smeared the blood of the goat all over his body.
The next morning, when the in-laws awoke, they found that one of their goats was dead, and they went to meet their visitors to complain. When they got to their room, they discovered the blood of their goat all over Baboon’s body. All of Baboon’s pleas fell on deaf ears. They killed him.
Jackal, a friend of Baboon, heard about how badly Hare treated his friend and caused his death. He was filled with anger and decided to make Hare suffer for it.
So Jackal visited Hare and told him to accompany him to meet his in-laws. Hare accepted. Halfway into their journey, Jackal stopped Hare near a shrub and said, “My dear friend, do you know what this is?” He asked and pointed at the shrub.
“Of course. This is a shrub that cures tummy ache,” Hare responded.
“Oh, that is very correct. When we are at my in-law’s place, we will be served food. I might develop a tummy ache, and I will need you to run back and get this shrub for me,” Jackal said.
“Of course, my dear friend. I will do that,” Hare said. He waited for Jackal to move away a bit, and then, he dug out the shrub and put it inside his bag.
When Jackal and Hare reached their in-law’s house, they were very tired and hungry. The in-laws gave them a place to rest and then brought a feast to their room.
Immediately they started eating, Jackal said,” my dear friend Hare. Do you remember that shrub I told you about? I will need you to run now and get it for me as I am starting to feel the tummy ache.”
“Oh! Is that so?” Hare said, then took the shrub from his bag and gave it to Jackal. Jackal was so surprised, but he had to hide it.
Together, Jackal and Hare finished eating.
When they were done, they went to sleep. In the middle of the night, Jackal woke Hare up and told him he was still hungry. So together, they planned to kill another goat and eat it. So they did.
After they were done eating, Hare didn’t go back to sleep, Jackal, who had smeared goat’s blood all over his hands could not rub it on Hare like he planned to. So in the morning, when the in-laws came looking for who killed their goat, they found the blood on Jackal’s hand, and they killed him.
Moral Lesson
In life, some characters are more clever and cunning than you. Hence, you can never outwit them, especially with their plans. So do not try to copy their ways as you may not have the same advantage.
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