The Hare and the Elephant
A classic Sulwe trickster tale – how the clever little hare outsmarted the two strongest animals in the bush.
TO ChiTonga
The ChiTonga text of this story is being written down with native speakers from Binga. Check back soon!
EN English
Once upon a time, Sulwe the hare was walking through the bush when he met Nzovu the elephant. Nzovu laughed at him. "You are so small," said the elephant. "You are nothing in this forest."
Sulwe was not happy. "I may be small," he said, "but I am stronger than you think. Let us have a tug of war. Tomorrow morning, I will pull you all the way to the river."
Nzovu laughed so loudly that the trees shook, but he agreed.
Then Sulwe went down to the river and found the hippo resting in the water. "Hippo," he said, "you are big, but I am stronger than you. Tomorrow, I will pull you right out of the water." The hippo also laughed, and also agreed.
The next morning, Sulwe took a very long rope. He gave one end to Nzovu in the bush, and the other end to the hippo in the river. Then he hid in the tall grass in the middle and shouted, "Pull!"
The elephant pulled. The hippo pulled. They pulled and pulled all day long, each one thinking the tiny hare was on the other end. By evening, both animals were so tired that they fell down.
Sulwe came out of the grass, laughing. From that day, both Nzovu and the hippo respected the little hare.
Lesson: Wisdom is greater than strength.
