During the time the old crab had been fighting the Elephantiasis, the hare had been very busy, and had killed and eaten three of the crab’s children, and then threw their shells behind the fireplace near to where the old crab used to keep her salt. When she returned the hare told her that they should cook and eat his dead enemy, so he made up the fire, and the flesh was put into a pot to boil. While the meat was cooking the crab went to get some salt, and to her horror saw the shells of three of her children on the ground where the hare had thrown them. Having put the salt into the pot she went into the next hole where she had left her children, to count them. But the hare, seeing that trouble was likely to come, and not liking the idea of being nipped by the crab’s strong claws, with which she had just killed his enemy, took the pot off the fire and ran away with the meat.
When the mother crab returned vowing vengeance on the hare, she found he had gone and had taken her pot with the meat in it; and although she shouted to him several times to come back she got no answer.
The hare ran on some distance with the pot of meat, on the road to his house, and when he thought he was safe from pursuit he sat down on an ant-hill, with his tail down a hole. Having looked round everywhere carefully to see that no one was following or watching him, he commenced to eat the flesh of his late enemy. All this time the ants were busy building their house, and while the hare was eating his food the ants had covered half his tail and had bitten it through.
When he had finished his meal the hare felt that something was wrong with his tail, so he jumped away from the ant hill, and found to his disgust that he had left half his tail behind him where the ants had bitten it through. When he saw what had happened he did not like to return to his wife at once, as she might deny him, so he waited until it was dark and then joined his wife. She was very glad to see her husband again, and asked him about the war party he was running away from.
The hare said, “All the trouble is now over, as I have gone through the ceremony of the war ju-ju, and the chief cut me on the tail so that in future I shall never die from war or fighting in any way.” And as it was then dark the hare’s wife lit the lamp,[10] but the hare hid his tail in the darkness so that his wife could not see it, as the wound had not healed up.
When the evening meal was over, the two hares retired for the night, but when his wife had put the lamp out, the hare told her that if she wanted to get up during the night or light the lamp she must wake him up first, as otherwise his war ju-ju would be spoilt.
Now the hare was tired after all his running, and very soon he was fast asleep, so when his wife was certain that he would not wake up easily, she got out of bed very quietly and lit the lamp, as she was extremely curious to know what the ju-ju man had done to her husband’s tail. When she saw that the hare had lost half his tail, she was ashamed of him, and began to cry. Then the hare woke up and began to abuse his wife, saying that she had spoilt his ju-ju and would have to pay a great deal to make it right again. After a violent quarrel they eventually went to sleep; but in the morning at first cock-crow the hare’s wife got up and packed up all her things, saying that she was going away to find another husband, as she could not possibly live with a hare who had lost half his tail, whether it had been cut by the ju-ju man or not.
The hare then said, “You have no sense. It will not help you at all to leave me, as all the other hares have had the same thing done to them on account of the war ju-ju. You had much better stay with me.” But his wife was not satisfied, and told her husband that she should go out and see for herself whether what he had said was true; so she started off along the path to the nearest hare’s house.
Directly she was out of sight the hare ran through the bush as fast as he could to the house his wife was bound for, and as she was carrying a heavy load he got there some little time before her. He then told his friend that his wife had left him because he had lost part of his tail, and was on her way to see whether he had also lost his. The hare then asked his friend to step into his back room and allow him to speak to his wife from the door when she came. His friend gladly consented to help him, and soon after he had gone inside the hare’s wife appeared and put down her load. The hare then stood up in the doorway, facing his wife, and calling her by name said, “Ekanga, where are you going with that load? Are you leaving your husband?” And his wife said, “Yes.” The hare then said, “What is the matter?” and she replied, “My husband has lost his tail, and told me that it had been cut on account of the war ju-ju, and that all the other men-hares have also had their tails cut, so as I do not like to live with a hare who has no tail, I have come to see if he told the truth.”
The hare then said, “We have all passed through the same ju-ju and had our tails cut off; look and see.” He then turned round and showed her.