Swahili Tales/The Hare and the Lion
THE HARE AND THE LION.
The hare arose and went to look for food in the forest, and saw a very large calabash tree; and he looked up and saw a hive of honey, and he returned to the town to look for companions to come and eat with him.
And he passed by the buku's door, and the buku asked him in, and he sat down. And he said to him, "My father has died, and has left me a hive of honey, so let us go and eat it." And they went.
And he said to him, "Climb up." And they both climbed up, and ate honey. And they had carried burning straw, and they fired the bees, and they flew away. And they put out the straw, and ate the honey.
All at once the lion came out under the calabash tree. And he looked up, and saw people eating, and asked, "Who are you?" And the hare said to the buku, "Hold your tongue, that old fellow is mad." And he asked again, "Who are you, won't you speak?" And the buku was afraid, and said, "We are here."
And the hare said to the buku, "Take me and put me among the straw, and tell the old lion, 'Get out of the way, that I may throw the straw down, and I am coming.'" And the lion got out of the way, and the buku threw it, and as it fell down, the hare got out and ran away.
And the lion said, "Come down then." And he came down. And he caught hold of him, and said, "Who were you with up there?" And he said, "I and the hare. Did you not see him here when I threw him down?" And he said, "I did not see him." And he ate the buku. And the lion set out and went seeking the hare, without finding him.
Till the third day after, the hare went and called the tortoise, and said to him, "Let us go and eat some honey." And he asked, "Whose?" And he said, "My father's." And he said, "Let us go." And they arrived and climbed up with their burning straw, and they put fire to the bees and they flew away, and they sat down and ate.
All at once the lion came out, and that lion was the owner of the honey. And he asked, "Who are you up there?" And the hare said to the tortoise, "Keep quiet." And the lion asked again. And the tortoise was afraid, and said, "I shall speak. You told me this honey was yours: what then, is it not yours, does it belong to the lion?" And the lion asked again, "Who are you." And he said, "We are here." And he said, "Come down then." And he said, "We are coming." And the lion had sought for the hare many days, and he said, "I have got the hare to-day."
And the hare said to the tortoise, "Take me and put me among the straw, and tell the lion, 'Get out of the way, that I may throw down the straw;' and I will go. Wait for me below." And he said, "Very well." And the tortoise said to himself, "This fellow wants to run away, leaving me to be eaten by the lion: he shall eat him first." And he took him and put him among the straw. And he said to the lion, "The hare is coming."
And the lion caught him, and laid hold of him with his paw, and said, "What am I to do to you to-day?" And he said, "If you eat me my flesh is tough." And the lion asked him, "What am I to do with you then?" And he said, "Take hold of me by the tail and whirl me round, and then knock me on the ground, and so you shall eat me." And the lion was deceived, and whirled him round, and when he wanted to knock him, he slipped out of his paw, and ran off. And he lost the hare.
And he said to the tortoise, "You come down too." And he came down. And he said, "What am I to do with you?" And he said, "Put me in the mud, and rub me in this way till my shell comes off." And the lion took him, and went with him to the water, and rubbed him; and the tortoise got away, and the lion rubbed till his paws were raw. And he looked at his paws, and blood was coming from them; and he said, "The hare has done me to day." And he went looking for him.
And he asked, "Where is the hare's house?" And they told him, "We do not know." And the hare had said to his wife, "Let us remove from this house." And they removed. And the lion went asking, and people told him, "That is his house on the top of the mountain." And the lion went, and when he arrived, the hare was not there. And he said, "I will hide myself inside the house, till when the hare comes with his wife, I will eat them both."
And the hare came, he and his wife. He had heard nothing, till on the road he saw the lion's feet, and he said to his wife, "You go back, the lion has passed this way looking for me." And she said, "I will not go back, I will follow you, my husband." And he said, "You have friends to go to, go back." And she went back. And the hare went on and followed the feet, and saw that they went into his house. And he said, "Oho, lion! you are inside."
And he went back cautiously, and went and stood at a distance, and said, "Salaam house! Salaam house! Salaam house!" And he heard no reply. And the hare said, "How is this? Every day as I pass this place, if I say, 'Salaam,' the house answers me; but to-day perhaps there is some one inside it." The lion was deceived, and replied, "Salaam."
And he said to him, "Oho, lion! you are inside, you want to eat me, your son. And where did you hear of a house's talking?" And the lion said, "Wait for me, that's all." And the hare ran off, and they chased one another till the lion was tired. And he said to the people, "The hare has beaten me; there, I do not want him any more." And he went back.