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Selasa, 02 April 2013
THE LITTLE JACKAL AND THE CAMEL
All these stories about the little Jackal
that I have told you, show how clever the little Jackal was. But you know–if
you don’t, you will when you are grown up– that no matter how clever you are,
sooner or later you surely meet some one who is cleverer. It is always so in
life. And it was so with the little Jackal. This is what happened.
The little Jackal was, as you know,
exceedingly fond of shell-fish, especially of river crabs. Now there came a
time when he had eaten all the crabs to be found on his own side of the river.
He knew there must be plenty on the other side, if he could only get to them,
but he could not swim.
One day he thought of a plan. He went to
his friend the Camel, and said,–
“Friend Camel, I know a spot where the
sugar-cane grows thick; I’ll show you the way, if you will take me there.”
“Indeed I will,” said the Camel, who was
very fond of sugar-cane. “Where is it?”
“It is on the other side of the river,”
said the little Jackal; “but we can manage it nicely, if you will take me on
your back and swim over.”
The Camel was perfectly willing, so the
little Jackal jumped on his back, and the Camel swam across the river, carrying
him. When they were safely over, the little Jackal jumped down and showed the
Camel the sugar-cane field; then he ran swiftly along the river bank, to hunt
for crabs; the Camel began to eat sugar-cane. He ate happily, and noticed
nothing around him.
Now, you know, a Camel is very big, and a
Jackal is very little. Consequently, the little Jackal had eaten his fill by
the time the Camel had barely taken a mouthful. The little Jackal had no mind
to wait for his slow friend; he wanted to be off home again, about his
business. So he ran round and round the sugar-cane field, and as he ran he sang
and shouted, and made a great hullabaloo.
Of course, the villagers heard him at
once.
“There is a Jackal in the sugar-cane,”
they said; “he will dig holes and destroy the roots; we must go down and drive
him out.” So they came down, with sticks and stones. When they got there, there
was no Jackal to be seen; but they saw the great Camel, eating away at the
juicy sugar- cane. They ran at him and beat him, and stoned him, and drove him
away half dead.
When they had gone, leaving the poor Camel
half killed, the little Jackal came dancing back from somewhere or other.
“I think it’s time to go home, now,” he
said; “don’t you?”
“Well, you ARE a pretty friend!” said the
Camel. “The idea of your making such a noise, with your shouting and singing!
You brought this upon me. What in the world made you do it? Why did you shout
and sing?”
“Oh, I don’t know WHY,” said the little
Jackal,–”I always sing after dinner!”
“So?” said the Camel, “Ah, very well, let
us go home now.”
He took the little Jackal kindly on his
back and started into the water. When he began to swim he swam out to where the
river was the very deepest. There he stopped, and said,–
“Oh, Jackal!”
“Yes,” said the little Jackal.
“I have the strangest feeling,” said the
Camel,–”I feel as if I must roll over.”
“`Roll over’!” cried the Jackal. “My
goodness, don’t do that! If you do that, you’ll drown me! What in the world
makes you want to do such a crazy thing? Why should you want to roll over?”
“Oh, I don’t know WHY,” said the Camel
slowly, “but I always roll over after dinner!”
So he rolled over.
And the little Jackal was drowned, for his
sins, but the Camel came safely home.
END
