|
An African Fable of the Cat
Once upon a time the cat did not live in houses of men.
She lived only in the bush or in the jungle.
One cat became friendly with a rabbit. She went
everywhere with the rabbit and was astonished at the
craftiness of her friend. One day a duiker fought the rabbit
and killed it with it's horns. As her friend was dead the cat
lived with the duiker. Then the duiker was killed by a leopard,
so the cat decided to live with the leopard. A few days later
they met a lion. The lion fought the leopard and killed it. The
poor cat made friends with the lion and lived with him until
one day they met a herd of elephants. A huge bull fought
with the lion and killed it.
The cat thought to herself, "I must make friends with an
animal as large and strong as this elephant, surely nothing
can defeat it!!"
But her troubles were not yet over, for one day a hunter
shot the elephant with a poison arrow and the elephant died.
Now the cat did not know what to do, for she had never
seen a two legged animal such as this. She thought hard and
said to herself, "if this man can kill a huge animal like an elephant,
I had better make friends with him so that I can live in safety."
She followed the hunter back to his home, and when the hunter
entered his hut the cat crept up on the verandah. She heard
sounds of quarrelling in the hut and saw the man in a fight with
a woman who was beating him with a stick for stirring porridge.
The cat said to herself, "Now I have seen the strongest of all
creatures - a woman!"
Ever after this the cat has lived in the huts with the woman,
because it is they who are all powerful.
by Lala
huilani@thinline.com
©1998-1999 Hui Lani
