Folklore – The Hare and the Leopard
Once, many years ago, a hare and a leopard lived together. The hare was nurse to the leopard’s two children and also had charge of the house.
One day the leopard went out hunting and the hare was nursing the children in her lap. She let one child fall, and it injured its back so that it died at once. The hare was very frightened, and put the two children to bed side by side and covered them up as though they were sleeping.
In due time the mother leopard came home carrying the meat, which was a goat she had killed. She threw down the meat and asked for the children to nurse them. The hare brought the living baby, saying, “Nurse this one first. The other is fast asleep.”
After a time the leopard said, “Bring the other,” so the hare took away the first baby and put it in bed and, after pretending to cover it and lift the other, she brought back the same living baby. The leopard said, “This is the same baby,” but the hare denied it, saying, “No, that is the other.”
After a few moments the leopard got up to go and look for herself in the bed, and as she did so the hare ran out of the house and down to the river.
The leopard uncovered the other baby and saw that it was dead. She raised a cry and rushed out after the hare. When the hare reached the river she rolled in the mud and then swam to the other side and sat on a hillock to await the leopard. After a few minutes the leopard came panting along and did not recognize the hare as her nurse. She asked, “Have you seen a hare pass here?” The hare said, “No.
We have been hunting leopards for the king. We have killed nine and want one more to complete the number he asked for. You had better run away; the hunters are coming and may catch you.” As the hare said this, there was a noise in the grass near and the leopard, fearing that it was the hunters, ran away back again, leaving the hare in safety.