Story III: The Lion King, the Jackal and the Hyena (Harming others is harming yourself)

 It is said that long time ago the mighty lion got very ill. As he was lying ill, he asked that all the animals came to him. So, the animals quickly answered their king's calling. One only, the jackal, was missing. The hyena was among the animals who gathered to watch their king and he saw that the jackal had not came. He cunningly went to the lion king and whispered to him:
- The jackal is now looking for food and that is why he is not here with us, where he should be.
The lion then got very upset and he ordered the jackal to come. The king said to him:
-Jackal, you do know that I am very ill and that I have called all the animals to me! You alone were not here with me.
- My king, said the Jackal, I might not have been right here with you but I was very worried for you. I went to a witch doctor to ask for an advice that might help you get better . The witch doctor said that you need to have the skin of the hyena. His skin is the only cure for your illness!
- OK then! said the lion. I will do it; I will call all the animals here again and when the hyena arrives, I will take his skin.

Not knowing about the king's plan, the hyena came to join him again. He sat very close to the king, somewhere in the first rows of the animal crowd. The lion had then skinned him as planned.

Story III related by Nicholas the Treesleeper  in 2011

Story II The vulture and the turtle

Once upon a time the Vulture met the Turtle.

-"Say Turtle, we are having this great meeting on the other side of the river. Would you like to come"?
- "Sure I would, but I cannot get there. I can't swim. However, I need to ask you to take this bag that my wife sent and carry it to the other side of the river".
The vulture agreed but just before he lift the bag lying on the ground, the turtle slipped in. Soon after the vulture reached the other side of the river, the turtle quickly left the bag without letting the vulture the chance to see it. He was surprised to see the turtle had managed to cross the river and finally come to the meeting.
After the meeting the turtle asked him again:
- "Say Vulture, now that you brought the bag from my wife to this side of the river, would you be so kind to take it back?"
Still wondering how the turtle got there, the vulture accepted to carry the bag once again. As he flew, he began thinking that the bag was a little too heavy. More, he could not stop wandering about how the turtle finally managed to cross the river considering it could not swim. He thus decided to look inside the bag and see what he had been carrying. So he opened the bag and saw the turtle was hiding inside. Utterly upset about having been fooled by the turtle, he left the bag right there on the ground and flew back home alone. Still away from home, the turtle needed to find another lift over the river so he decided to tell his story to other vultures in hope that he would get some help. The vultures agreed to give him a ride back home; they gave the turtle a stick and said:
-"Turtle, you need to hold this stick tightly while I carry you over the river. Beware that you cannot speak. Just hold on to this stick tightly using your mouth. Should you make the mistake to speak, you will certainly fall."
While they were flying over the river some chickens saw the turtle and laughed at it:
-"Hahaha. Come and see a turtle flying!"
Annoyed by their laughter the turtle said:
-"Oh! Shut up!"

The Turtle then fell in the river where she remained up to present days. Today the Turtle is rarely seen leaving the water.

This is how the Turtle left the solid ground to live in the waters and this is another story related by Nicholas, a man from the Treesleeper Tribe. 

Monica A

Stories from Namibia I

They say the jackal is a very cunning animal...

One day the jackal and the hyena were sitting by the fire. While they were resting, the jackal said:
- Hear me, Hyena! Let's kill our mothers and eat them.
The hyena went home and killed his mother. The jackal, however, led his mother farther away in a cave, took an old animal skin and showed it to the hyena as a sign of his mother's death. As the two animals were eating the hyena's mother by the fire, the jackal burst into laughter.
- Why are you laughing, Jackal? Asked the hyena.
- Well, I was just thinking of how we both killed our mothers.
Days went by. The Jackal sneaked out every day to where  his mother was and brought her food. The hyena saw him going back and forth daily and he began to wonder: "What is the Jackal doing every day? Why is he going again and again to that cave with food"? So, he decided to follow the Jackal only to find himself  struck with great surprise when he saw the jackal's mother alive. He killed her and went back by the fire. When the Jackal returned to the hidden cave he found his mother dead  and cried bitterly. As he also arrived back to the fire, the hyena asked:
- Why are you crying, Jackal?
- I am not crying. My eyes are teary because of all this smoke! Said the Jackal.

This is the end of the first story as I have written it down after meeting Nicholas, the Treesleeper.

PS. Today I tried to remember this story as I was chatting with some of my colleagues. My memory slightly failed me when I named the animals in the story. It was a hyena not a lion...

Regards,

M
- 

The story of the Rhino and the Fire / Rinocerul si Focul

The story of the Rhino and the Fire

This evening I am going to tell you a story. I’ve heard it some days ago from a Romanian man who lived in Namibia for 3 years. He spent most of the time with the Bushmen, helping them while asking for nothing in return. He learned this story from them. Someday, he might write a book about what he has seen here. Until that day, he was kind enough to share some stories with me.

Here is the good night story:

Long time ago the Rhino and the Fire were good friends. The Rhino would often come to visit the Fire and they would happily talk for long hours. During such a visit, the Rhino seemed very upset. He came close to the Fire and told him: “Fire, I always come to visit you but you have never come to my house. Please be so kind to visit me soon”

The Fire replied: “My dear friend, I would like to come but I do not think it is wise. I am sorry but I cannot do it”.

The Rhino was very upset and he lamented saying: “Fire, you must come to me. You are my friend. Friends should visit each other”.

Reluctantly, the Fire accepted. One day, he came to the Rhino’s house. You can probably guess what happened: the house and everything around it was destroyed by a scorching fire.

Since that day the Rhino and the Fire are no longer friends. They say that when the rhino sees a fire in the bush it stamps it out. Never again did the Rhino visit the fire as a friend but as a foe seeking revenge.

Rinocerul si Focul

În seara aceasta va voi scrie o poveste. Cu doar cateva zile in urma auzeam aceasta poveste la un roman din Namibia. A locuit aici aproape 3 ani, petrecand o vreme indelungata alaturi de bosimani pe care i-a ajutat fara sa ceara ceva in schimb. Stia povestea de la ei. Intr-o zi, va scrie poate o carte despre ceea ce a vazut in Namibia. Inainte de acest moment insa, mi-a relatat cu deschidere cateva evenimente şi povesti din lumea de aici.

Iata povestea pe care v-o trimit in semn de „noapte buna”.

Demult, Rinocerul si Focul erau buni prieteni. Rinocerul venea adesea in vizita la Foc. Stateau de vorba ore intregi fara sa oboseasca. In timpul unei vizite insa, Rinocerul parea foarte suparat. S-a apropiat de foc si i-a spus: “ Focule, eu vin tot timpul la tine in vizita dar tu nu ai venit niciodata la mine acasa. Te rog sa ma vizitezi curand”

Focul i-a răspuns: “Scumpul meu prieten, mi-ar placea sa vin dar nu cred ca este intelept. Imi pare rau dar nu pot sa fac asta”.

Rinocerul s-a suparat rau şi i-a replicat cu durere: “Focule, eşti prietenul meu. Prietenii ar trebui sa se viziteze”.

Cu greu, Focul a acceptat. Intr-o zi a venit in vizita la casa Rinocerului. Puteti ghici ce s-a intamplat: casa si tot ceea ce era in jurul ei au fost mistuite de flacari. Din ziua aceea Rinocerul si Focul nu mai sunt prieteni. Se spune ca atunci cand rinocerul vede un foc il calca in picioare pana se stinge. Astfel, Rinocerul nu a mai venit niciodata in vizita la Foc ca un prieten ci a cautat mereu sa se razbune.