3. The Snake, the Hedgehog, the Man, and the Hunters.
| The Hedgehog | personates | the Kadi. |
| The Hunters | „ | the Soldiers. |
| The Snake | „ | the People. |
| The Man | „ | the Sanctuary. |
Once upon a time there were some hunters, who went out to hunt a fairy embodied as a snake. The snake being pursued meeting with a man passing by, said to him, ‘Will you afford me protection, for there are hunters following, who want to catch me?’ The man answered, ‘Very well,’ and allowed the snake to be concealed in his clothes; presently the hunters came up to the man and asked him whether he had seen a snake, to which he answered no, and the hunters passed on in pursuit. After the hunters had left, the man asked the snake to go down. The snake said, ‘No, and if you attempt to force me down, I will kill you.’ The man said to the snake, ‘Very well, let us go to the Kadi and hear what the law says.’ The snake said, ‘Very well, come along.’ So they went on till they came to the hedgehog, who was Kadi; and the man said, ‘Your servant, my lord; here is a snake that I have saved from the hunters, and I have told him to get down, but he would not.’ The hedgehog addressed the snake, and said, ‘I will decide the law for you, but first get down.’ The snake at once got down, and then demanded of the hedgehog what the law said. The Kadi then addressed the man as follows: ‘The snake is on the ground and a stick is in your hand.’ The man, taking the hint, struck the snake on the head and killed it.
4. The Sheep, the Fox, the Lion, and the Shepherd.
Once upon a time a fox met a lion, and the lion, addressing the fox, said, ‘Will you be my servant to catch sheep for me? The fox said, ‘I will, if you will give me my share.’ The lion said, ‘No, and if you eat a single bit, I will kill you.’ ‘Very well,’ said the fox, ‘if that is the bargain, I will agree to go hunt for you.’ So away went the fox and hunted about till he found some sheep, one of which he killed and ate. He then went off to the owner of the sheep and said, ‘The lion sent me to hunt your sheep for him, but I would not do so, and he came himself and ate one, and I have run to tell you.’ ‘Very well,’ said the shepherd, ‘you shall be the guard over my sheep, and let me know when the lion comes;’ and the fox said, ‘All right.’ So he waited till the evening, and then went to guard the sheep; and whilst on guard he killed and devoured two more, and afterwards, making a little wound in his own leg, he ran off to the shepherd, and said, ‘The lion has come and eaten two sheep, and wanted to eat me also; see the wound he made in my leg.’ The shepherd said, ‘I see it is true; I will put two men to assist you to guard.’ The fox said, ‘All right; I will go hunt for something to eat, and then return.’ So he went off in search for the lion, and meeting him, said, ‘I know where there are lots of sheep; they are in such a place, you come in the evening to eat them.’ The lion said, ‘All right.’ The fox then ran back to the shepherd, and said, ‘The lion is coming to-night,’ and directed the men who were to assist in guarding to conceal themselves, but before doing so to bring a big sack into which the fox put a great stone, and waited till the lion came. When the lion came he said to the fox, ‘Why have not you killed me a sheep?’ The fox said, ‘Because I was afraid of a great monster that none but you can master, and there he is in that sack; go in and kill him.’ The lion said, ‘All right,’ and went in, when the fox tied securely the mouth of the bag, so that the lion could not get out. The fox then said to the lion, ‘Have you found him?’ The lion replied, ‘No, no, I have not, and it is funny I cannot get out.’ The fox said, ‘Push away, try and get out.’ The lion said, ‘I cannot.’ The fox said, ‘Probably the monster holds you there.’ The fox said to the lion three times, ‘Can’t you get out?’ and three times the lion replied, ‘I cannot.’ The fox said, ‘He who wishes to kill me I catch him in a trap, and to him who does good to me I will do good in return.’ So he went away and called the guard, and said, ‘There he is, beat him;’ so they beat him, and beat him till they were tired; and at last broke his leg. The fox said to the guard, ‘Now let him out, he has broken his leg and cannot escape;’ and when the lion got out the fox, addressing him, said, ‘Now, which is master?’ The lion replied, ‘You are my master;’ and the fox said, ‘Whoever wishes to eat me at one time will try again,’ and turned to the men and ordered them to kill him. After which the fox said, ‘Now that we have killed the lion, good-bye;’ and the men replied, ‘Good-bye.’ He went away, and waiting till evening, and returning at supper time, he wounded the leg of each remaining sheep, and ran off to the owner and said, ‘A monster bigger than the last has come and wounded all your sheep.’ Previous to this the fox went to the market, and bought a suit of clothes, and sprinkled them with the blood of the sheep, and made it appear as if the big monster of whom he spoke had also killed a man. He then said to the owner, ‘All your sheep are spoiled; we had better kill them and make a feast.’ So the shepherd killed the rest of the sheep, and ate them with the fox; and when they had finished, the fox filled a bowl with dirty water. The owner after he had finished his breakfast, said, ‘What am I to do now? The sheep are killed.’ The fox said, ‘Now I will tell you how it all happened.’ The man said, ‘How?’ The fox said, ‘Not till you open that door so that the light is let in;’ and then said quickly, ‘It is I who killed your sheep;’ he then threw the dirty water in his face, and made off.
5. The Pigeon and the Monkey.
Once upon a time as a pigeon was passing by he met with a monkey. The monkey said to the pigeon, ‘Come, let us play;’ and the pigeon said, ‘Very well, what shall we play at?’ The monkey put up a stick and proposed they should get up it. The pigeon agreed, and the monkey said, ‘Which shall go up first?’ The pigeon said,‘You.’ The monkey said, ‘All right,’ and tried but could not manage it; upon which the pigeon immediately flew to the top. The pigeon said, ‘Now it is my turn to say, ‘What shall we next try?’ The monkey said, ‘All right.’ So the pigeon challenged the monkey to tie his tail to his leg, and when he had accomplished it, and untied it, he said, ‘Come, let us see whether you can tie your wing to your leg.’ The pigeon said ‘All right,’ and fastened his wing to his leg, but could not undo it; and the monkey devoured him.
6. The Hyena and the Hedgehog.
Once upon a time there was a hedgehog travelling in quest of something to eat, and saw a hyena coming towards him with intent to devour him. As soon as the hyena had reached him, he said, ‘My lord, I observe that you are dirty and stand in need of a bath, and if you require one I have a bath at your service in my house.’ The hyena replied, ‘Yes, it is true, I am much troubled with fleas, please come along and give it me; but first come to my house and breakfast, and then we will go to the bath.’ The hedgehog said, ‘That is just what I want, for I am out now looking for food.’ So the hedgehog went to the hyena’s house and had his breakfast. The hedgehog then said, ‘Now come along and take your bath.’ The hyena said, ‘All right.’ So they went to the hedgehog’s house and the bath was heated to boiling. The hedgehog said to the hyena, ‘Now jump into the bath, and scratch yourself.’ So the hyena jumped in; whereupon the hedgehog closed down the lid, and tied it with a string. The hyena said, ‘This is too hot for me, I want to get out.’ ‘No, no,’ said the hedgehog, ‘it is far better for you to be there than for me to be in your belly; bawl away till you are dead.’
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