[From Kiungani, or: Story and History from Central Africa by Arthur Madan, 1887.
[From Kiungani, or: Story and History from Central Africa by Arthur Madan, 1887. See item #130 in the Bibliography.]
There was once an elephant, and he made a brew of beer and said, “I should like to have a dance for my friends, but at my drinking-bout I will have none who have not horns. I want all who have horns, but no one else.”
So one day he collected together all his friends who had horns, but no one else. And they all assembled. And he asked his friends, “Whom shall we appoint policeman to keep the door for us?”
They all said, “Perhaps the hyena would do.”
Someone was sent to go and find the hyena. The hyena was soon found, he and a very little cub of his, and they were brought to the elephant. And the elephant said, “I want you to be our policeman and just keep the door for us.”
“Oh, certainly,” said the hyena. “Very well. Agreed.”
The arrangements were made for the dance. It was a dance called “Njipa.” First they conversed, and presently beer was brought, a jar and a half full, and they drank. When they had done drinking, they fell to dancing, and the song to which they danced was this — “Njipa, mwiwale zale? Uwanywo hatupiyakao mwanyi pwanabwa ngoo” — which means, “This dance, where did you hear of it? And we are by no means at home yet, oh, no!” That is what it meant.
Well, while they were dancing away and highly delighted because the dance was a very good one, suddenly they saw a very handsome young person coming with antlers like a stag. They called the stag and asked him, “Is this a relation of yours or not?”
The stag replied, “I do not know. Possibly it is a relation of mine.”
The elephant said at once, “Give this young person a place and let him dance. It is alright; he has horns.” A place in the dance was given him at once. But he would not dance in the sun, as he was afraid his horns would come off — for he was only a rabbit really and had no horns at all, just horns of wax.
So they danced till they began to be tired. Presently they went to have another pull at the beer, just by way of refreshment. When they had refreshed themselves, then at once they fell to dancing again. And then the rabbit got in a sunny place, and in a moment both his horns melted off, and one horn flew off and hit the elephant near the nose. “Collar that fellow there!” exclaimed the elephant to the hyena.
“Where?” answered the hyena. “I have not got sight of him yet.” The rabbit had not got out; he had hidden himself near where the hyena was. The very moment the hyena went out of the door, the rabbit bolted out too.
When the hyena saw him, he went after him at full speed. Suddenly the rabbit dived into a hole. The hyena and his young cub dug away with a will but could not get at him. Presently the hyena said, “Wait here and don’t let him out. Stuff grass into the hole; I will go and get fire.”
“Very well.” said the cub.
As soon as the hyena was well on his way to fetch fire, the rabbit rose up from inside, and while the cub was gathering grass, the rabbit