This story was related by a native of Inkum called Abassi.—[E.D., 25.5.10.]
II.—The Cunning Hare; or, Why the Tortoise has a Patched Shell.
The hare (asima bieso, native name) was known to everyone as a very cunning animal. He was very fond of meat, although he was unable to kill anything himself. He therefore thought out a scheme by which he would be able to obtain meat without any trouble.
The first thing the hare did was to call all the animals together, and when they arrived, he said: “We ought to have a king over us,” to which the animals agreed, and, after some discussion, the elephant was chosen. A law was also passed, at the hare’s suggestion, that a piece of ground at the roadside should be set aside for the king’s own private use, and that if anyone was caught defiling this piece of ground in any way he should be killed and eaten.
In the night time the hare went to the king’s private piece of ground and made a mess there.
When the morning came he hid himself in the bush near the place, in order to see who might be the first animal to pass the piece of ground, so that he could give false information against him.
After he had been waiting for a short time, a bush cat passed on his way to the farm, whereupon the hare jumped up and said: “Have you visited the king’s piece of ground this morning?” Upon the bush cat saying “No,” the hare ordered him to go there at once. He did so, and returned saying that the place was very dirty indeed. The hare then said: “How is that possible? I visited the place myself this morning, and it was quite clean then. You must have defiled it yourself, and I shall report you.”
The hare then ran into the town and told the people what he had seen. The big wooden drum was then beaten, and when all the animals had come together the bush cat was put upon his defence.
The bush cat told the people what had happened, and that he had nothing to do with the matter. But the hare stood up as the accuser, and the people decided that the bush cat was guilty, and the king ordered him to be killed, and said that the meat was to be dried by Keroho and brought to him in the morning.
Now, Keroho is a fruit-eating animal, who is very lazy, and sleeps most of the day. He always seems tired, and after he has taken a few steps he lies down, and sleeps for a time.