Leopard and Jackal lived together in the same village. One day, Leopard said to Jackal, "I'm so hungry! I can't eat just any kind of food; I must have animals to eat." So Leopard went to look for some animals to eat in the forest. He wandered many hours but could not find anything to eat.
The next day, Leopard said to Jackal, “My friend, we must come up with some plan so that we can kill some animals. I can't keep wandering in the forest day after day like this. I'm so hungry!"
Leopard by Art G. at Wikimedia
So together Jackal and Leopard came up with a plan.
The next day, Jackal took his bedding and spread it out in the open air. Then Leopard lay down on the bedding, stretched out like a corpse and keeping perfectly still. "Well done, Leopard!" said Jackal. "This is going to work very nicely!"
Then Leopard whispered to Jackal, “We'll start with Porcupine! Call Porcupine first."
So Jackal shouted, in accordance with their plan, “Come! Porcupine, come! That beast that kills animals is dead! Leopard is dead! Come and mourn with me for Leopard! Come to Leopard's funeral!”
So Porcupine came to the funeral, weeping and wailing, as if he was really sorry for the death of his enemy. He approached the supposed corpse, and then he mocked the dead Leopard. "Behold the one who killed so many of my people! Behold his dead body of that murdering beast."
Crested Porcupine by C8 at Wikimedia
Leopard heard everything Porcupine said and then, all of a sudden, he sprang into action: he leaped up and brought Porcupine down under his paw, dead. Then Leopard said to his friend Jackal, “There you go! Go ahead and butcher this one, and then we'll have a feast."
So Jackal butchered the Porcupine and the two friends had a fine meal.
The plan had worked so well that they decided to do it again the next day. Jackal brought out the bedding, Leopard lay down, and this time Jackal called for Antelope. Antelope came, pretending to mourn for Leopard but then mocking him, and Leopard killed him just as he had killed Porcupine, and again Jackal and Leopard enjoyed a good feast.
In this same way they also killed Elephant, Ox, and one creature after another until there were only two left: Gazelle and Tortoise.
"I don't know what we can do now," Jackal said to Leopard. "Gazelle is very tricky, and so is Tortoise. I do not think our plan will fool either of them."
"Oh, I think we can fool them both," said Leopard. "We'll invite them both to my funeral tomorrow."
Then they went to sleep, dreaming of yet more food to feast on, and the next morning Leopard once again stretched himself out on the bedding, pretending to be dead, keeping completely still. His mouth drooped open, his tongue lolling, just like a dead person.
Then Jackal shouted, in accordance with their plan, “Come! Gazelle, come! That beast that kills animals is dead! Leopard is dead! Come and mourn with me for Leopard! Come to Leopard's funeral!” Jackal had to shout very loudly this time, for Gazelle's house was quite far away from the house of Jackal and Leopard.
Gazelle by Yathin S. Krishnappa at Wikimedia
When he heard Jackal calling him, Gazelle said to himself, “So, Leopard is dead! I suppose I must go to his funeral!" Gazelle then began to make his way towards the house where Leopard and Jackal lived.
Along the way he passed Tortoise's house. As he was Tortoise's friend, he stopped there and said, "Tortoise, have you heard the news? Leopard is dead!"
"No, he's not!" said Tortoise. "I'm warning you: Leopard is not dead. You should just go back home now. This is just a trick that Leopard is playing with Jackal's help."
"I'm not so sure," replied Gazelle. "I think I will go see for myself."
"Well," said Tortoise, “if you are determined to go there, I will tell you something.”
Tortoise by Kenogenic at Wikimedia
"Yes, please!" exclaimed Gazelle.
Tortoise explained in detail what Gazelle should do, and Gazelle smiled. "That is a good plan," he said. "Thank you, Tortoise!"
Gazelle then continued on his way to the house of Jackal and Leopard, and when he arrived he saw Leopard lying there, motionless as a corpse, his tongue lolling out.
"Dear Jackal," he said, "what has brought about Leopard's death?"
"He had a fever yesterday," Jackal replied, "and today he is dead."
Then Gazelle let loose a great wail and he began to rampage through the garden, overturning all the plants, smashing the fruits and vegetables in his supposed grief. As he destroyed the garden he kept an eye on Leopard; Leopard didn't move.
Meanwhile, Jackal, who was distressed to see the garden in ruins, begged Gazelle to restrain himself. "Your grief is great, I can see that," said Jackal. "Calm yourself, please! You should kneel down beside the corpse and weep there for the dead Leopard."
As Jackal spoke, Leopard was listening, and he prepared himself to spring into action, thinking about how tasty Gazelle was going to be.
So Gazelle slowly approached the supposed corpse, and as he did so, he pulled out the sack of ants, bees, and peppers that Tortoise had prepared for him and threw it at Leopard. The sack burst open, and the bees and ants swarmed everywhere, while the peppers got into Leopard's mouth and eyes. The bees rejoiced, shouting, “We will all sting Leopard!” The ants also rejoiced, shouting, "We will all bite Leopard!" Even the peppers rejoiced, shouting, "We will make Leopard burn!"
Writhing in pain, Leopard jumped up, but the peppers had blinded him, so he didn't even come close to where Gazelle was standing. Then Gazelle laughed as he ran back into the forest. "I have no business here, Leopard!" he said. "My business is back in the forest," and so Gazelle quickly sped away to safety in the trees.
Then Gazelle went straight to Tortoise's home and told him what had happened. "I saw for myself," he said. "Leopard was not dead, and thanks to you, I escaped."
Tortoise smiled. "You would do well to avoid Leopard," he said, "dead or alive."
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