Tales of the Wild
Wilderness folklore from around the world
Compiled & Edited by
Praveen Dabré
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY:
Praveen Dabré on Smashwords
Tales of the Wild
Copyright © 2010 by Praveen Dabré
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a compilation of traditional folklore from across the world. By definition these are in the public domain and free of copyright. However, the author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of those tales that are so copyrighted and have inadvertently been included in this collection.
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Tales of the Wild
Wilderness folklore from around the world
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Jackal, Dove, and Heron
JACKAL, IT is said, came once to Dove, who lived on the top of a rock, and said, “Give me one of your little ones.”
Dove answered, “I shall not do anything of the kind.”
Jackal said, “Give me it at once! Otherwise, I shall fly up to you.” Then she threw one down to him.
He came back another day and demanded another little one, and she gave it to him. After Jackal had gone, Heron came, and asked, Dove, why do you cry? "
Dove answered him, “Jackal has taken away my little ones.” He asked her, “In what manner did he take them?” She answered, “When he asked me I refused him; but when he said, ‘I shall at once fly up,’ I threw it down to him.”
Heron said, “Are you such a fool as to give your young ones to Jackal, who cannot fly?” Then, with the admonition to give no more, he went away.
Jackal came again, and said, “Dove, give me a little one.” Dove refused, and told him that Heron had told her that he could not fly up. Jackal said, “I shall catch him.”
So when Heron came to the banks of the water, Jackal beat him on his neck, and broke his neck in the middle.
Since that day Heron’s neck is bent.
– South Africa
The Grateful Bear
A LONG time ago a woman was out in the fields tending her cows. As they were grazing peacefully, along came a big, bad bear.
The woman, who was pregnant, was so frightened that she couldn’t move; she collapsed on a grassy hill, expecting the worst from the wild beast.
Closer and closer came the bear until finally he was right in front of her. She already felt his panting breath, and in her despair, she called to God to protect her. The bear lifted his huge paw, and then…
Carefully and gently, he placed it on her knee and licked her clenched hands. Astonished, she looked into his imploring eyes. He began to lick his paw, and now she noticed that it was bloody. She gathered up her courage and took a closer look. She could see that a large splinter was stuck in the bear’s paw, so she quickly took hold of it and pulled it out.
The bear licked her hands again, took his paw from her lap, and walked away. Surprised and happy, the woman thanked God that the danger had passed. Later, when she was returning home with her cows, the bear came along carrying a large horse thigh in his mouth. He walked up to her and laid it at her feet. Obviously he meant it to be his token of gratitude to her for pulling the splinter out of his paw.
– Sweden
The Fox and Crane’s Hospitality
ONE DAY the fox invited the crane home for dinner, but he did it only to be mean and to make fun of her. He prepared a tasty soup and poured it into a shallow tin bowl. The crane couldn’t get at the soup—all she could manage was to wet the outermost tip of her beak. The fox kept urging her to eat and asking her why she didn’t like the food—and finally she had to go home hungry.
Of course, the crane couldn’t stand having the fox make a fool of her, so she invited him to her house to get even. The fox couldn’t decide whether to go or not, but finally his curiosity got the better of him. The crane had made a soup with pieces of meat and dumplings, but she served it in a jar with an opening so narrow that the fox couldn’t get anything but his nose into it—and barely even that. The crane, however, could stick her beak right down to the bottom and fish out pieces of meat and dumpling, while the fox could only sniff.
“Is something wrong with my food?” asked the crane. “You’re not eating! I do hope you’re not the type who needs encouragement. Well, then, I guess I’ll have to eat it myself.” And the crane began to eat, while all the fox could do was drool.
When the crane was full, she said, “Never let it be said of me that my guests went home hungry.” And this time she found a bowl for the fox so that he could eat some too.
– Sweden
The Woodcutter without a Brain
TWO WOODCUTTERS were walking in a thicket when they saw lion spoor on the road. “This is the mark of a lion,” said one. “What shall we do?”
“Let us go on our way and do what we have to do,” said his friend. So they continued along the path and each collected a load of firewood.
When it was time for them to return, the first man said, “Let us take another way home, in Allah’s name!”
“No, this path is shorter,” said his friend.
The first man said, “I saw lion’s spoor on the road and I shall not return that way, by Allah!” And he took a rocky path higher up the mountain.
The second woodcutter returned the way they had come. When he reached the place where they had noticed traces of a lion, he found the lion himself sitting in the middle of the road.
“Peace, uncle lion,” said the man.
“Peace, o son of Adam,” said the lion.
“What are you doing here?” asked the man.
“I am sick,” replied the lion, “and I need the brain from the head of a man to cure me. God in His mercy has led you to me and is offering me your brain, praise be to Him.”
“Listen, O lion,” said the man, “for what I am about to tell you is the truth. I am a brainless fellow. Had I the least bit of brain I should not have returned this way. The one with the brain is up there beyond the rocks!”