The hyaena thought awhile and then said, "My age is five hundred years old."
The lion then said to the hare, "You have heard the hyaena, now you must speak."
But the hare said, "How can I speak before you, my lord, have spoken?"
The lion thought and then said, "I am two thousand years old."
When the hare heard these words he wept. The other two asked him why he wept, and he said, "Oh, my friends, I weep to think of my eldest son, my first born, for it was on a day just two thousand years ago that he died."
So the lion killed the hyaena, and when he and the hare had eaten him they were able to get strength to go on, and they finished their journey in safety.
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Transcriber's Note: The story "Kajikarangi" is mentioned in the Foreword but not included here. In the [Table of Contents], original short entries, e.g. "KIBARAKA" were expanded to the full story title, e.g. "[THE STORY OF KIBARAKA AND THE BIRD]." Original spelling variations have not been standardized.