Show 1I THE PARTNERSHIP RABBIT ANn ELEPHANT ANn WHAT GAME UFlt BY HEKET M BTAKLKY i Author of li Darkest Africa n Howl FoundLivingstone Etc < Etc i Copyright 1693 by Henry M Stanley zT5N Willimesi Uganda a rabbit jWJYand an elephant coming from Ijdiffcrcnt directions met on a f road one day and being old 4 Jjfriends stopped to greet one i t 4another and to chat about the t weather and the crops and to exchange opinions on the state of 4 trade Finally the rabbit proposed that the elephant should join him in a partnership to make a little trading expedition to the Watusi shepherds because said he I bear there are i some good chances to make profit among them Cloth I am toH is very scarce there and I think that we micht find a good bargain waiting us The el phant was nothing loth and closed with the offer of his little friend and a couple of bales of assorted goods were prepared for the journey y They set out on particularly good terms with each other and Rabbit who had a good store of experiences amused the elephant greatly Byandby the J pair of friends arrived at a river and the elephant to whom the water was aeree I able stepped in to cross it but halted on I hearing Rabbit exclaim Why Elephant you surely are not going to cross without me Are we not partners J Of course we are partners butI did not agree to carry you or your pack Why dont you step right in The water Is not deep it scarcely covers my feet But you stupid fellow can you not I ace that what will scarcely coveryour feet Z flflfl 7111 i r i 1 I DID NOT AGREE TO CAEEY YOU J > > 1 is more than enough to drown me and I can t swim a bit and besijdes if I get iny fur wet I shall catch the ague and however am I to carry my pack r ross Well 1 cannot help that It vas you who proposed to take the journey and I thought a wise fellow like you would havo known that there were rivers running across the road and that you knew what f to do If you cannot travel then goodbye good-bye I caunot stop here all day and thc elephant walked on across to the other side r Surly rascal muttered Rabbit All right my big friend 1 will pay you t for it some time t I Not far off however Rabbit found a log and after placing his pack on it he paddled himself over and reached the I other bank safely but to his grief he discovered < dis-covered that his bale had been wetted and damaged Rabbit wiped the water up as much as possible and resumed the journey with the elephant who had looked carelessly f on the efforts of his friend to cross the river Ii Fortunately for Rabbit the latter part it of the journey did not present such difli cniUc3 and they arrived among the Watusi shepherds Now at a rade Elephant was not to be compared with Rabbit for he could not talk so pleasantly as Babbit and was not at all sociable Rabbit went among the women and laughed and joked with them and said so many funny things that they were delighted with him and when at last the trade question was cautiously ii i touched upon a chiefs wifo was so kind h to him that she gave a mightv fine cow in exchange for his littte bale of cloth Elephant t Ele-phant on the other hand wont among the men and simply told them I that he had come to buy cattle with cloth The Watusi I shepherds not liking his appearance or his manner said they had no cattle to I sell but if he cared to have it he might I have a year old heifer for his bale I Though Elephants bale was a most weighty one and many times more valuable val-uable than Rabbits yet as he was so I gruff and ugly he was at last obliged to be satisfied with the little heifer When they began the return journey I just after they had left the Watusi Elephant J Ele-phant said Rabbit Now mind should i i we meet anyone on the road and we are asked whose cattle these are I wish yon to oblige me by I Baying that they are mine because I should not like people to believe that I I am not as good a trader as yourself They will also be afraid to touch them if I they know they are mine whereas if they hear that they belong to you every fellow will think he has as good a right to them as yourself and you dare not defend de-fend your property Very well replied Rabbit I quite understand In little while as Rabbit and Elephant Ele-phant drove their cattle alang they met I and was sure that he would play him I some unkind trick and as night was falling and his home was far and he1 knew that there were many vagabonds lying in wait to rob poor travelers he knew that if his wit failed to save him ho would be in great danger j I True enough it was not long before a big blustering lion rose from the side of the road and cried out Hello you there Where are you going with that cow Come speak out Ah is that you Lion I am taking it to Mugassa the deity who is about to give a feast to all his friends and he told me particularly to invite you to share it if I should meet you I I Eh What To Mugassa Oh well I am proud to have met you Rabbit As I am not engaged I will accompany you because everyone considers it an honor to wait upon Mugassa They proceeded a little further on and a bouncing buffalo came up and bellowed fiercely You Rabbit stop Where are you taking that cow to 1 I am taking it to Mugassa dont jou know How would a little fellow like me have the courage to go so far from home if it were not that I am on service for Ma gassa I am charged also to tell you Buffalo that if you like to join in the feast Mugassa is about to give he will be glad to have you as a guest I Oh well that is good news indeed I will come along now Rabbit and am very glad to have met you How do you i do Lion I A short distance off the party met a huge rogue elephant who stood in the middle of the road and demanded to know where the cow was being taken in a tone which required a quick answer Now Elephant get out of the way This cow is being taken to Mugassa who will be angry with you if I am delayed de-layed Have you not heard of the feast he is about to give By the by as you are one of the guests you might as well help me to drive this cow and let me get on your back for I am dreadfully tire I l I Why thats grand said the elephant ele-phant I shall be delighted to fubi I I p f44rn i I 0 j r t fr 1r uI1J UNGGASSA IS Cvbl1N6 many people coming from market who stopped and admired them and said Ah what a fine cow is that To whom does it belong It belongs to me answered the thin voice of Rabbit The little one belongs to Elephant I Very fine indeed A good cow that replied the people and passed on Vexed and annoyed Elephant cried furiously to Rabbit Why did you not answer as I toldyou Now mind do as I tell you at the next meeting with strangers stran-gers Very well answered Rabbit I will try and remember By and by they met another party going go-ing home with iowls and palm wine who when they came up said An that is a fine beast and in prime order Whose is it It is mine quickly replied Rabbit and the little scabbv heifer belongs to Elephant This answer enraced Elephant who Eaid What an obstinate little fool you are Did you not hear me ask you to say it was mine Now remember you are to say so next time or I leave you to find your own way home because 1 know you are a horrible little coward Very well Ill do it next time replied re-plied Rabbit in a meek voice I In a short time they metanother crowd which stopped them when opposite to them and the people said Really that is an exceedingly fine cow To which of you does it belong I It is mine I bought it from the 1 Watusi replied the Rabbit I 1 The Elephant was so angry this time that he broke away from Rabbit and drove his little heifer by another road and to Lion and Hyena and Buffalo and I Leopard whom he met he said what a fine fat cow was being driven by cowardly little Rabbit along the other road He did this out of mere spite hoping that some one of them would be tempted to take it by force from Rabbit But Rabbit was wise and had seen the suite in Elephants face as he went off I with Mugassa andcome get on my back I will carry you with pleasure And Rabbit whispered Elephant as he lifted him by his trunk dont forget for-get to speak a good word for me to Mugassa Soon a leopard and then a hyena were met but seeing such a powerful crowd behind the cow they nile ted great civility civil-ity and were invited to accompany Rabbits Rab-bits party to Mugassas feast It was quite dark by the time they arrived ar-rived at Rabbits village At the gate stood two dogs who were Rabbits chums and they barked furiously but hearing their friends voice they came up and welcomed Rabbit The party halted and Rabbit after reaching the ground whispered to Dogs how affairs stood and Dogs wagged wag-ged their tails approvingly and almost yelped with fun as they heard of Rabbits wit It did not take long for Dogs to understand what was required of them and one of them bounded off to the village and after a short time returned re-turned with a pretended message from the great Mugassa Well my friends do you hear what Mugassa says cried Rabbit with a voice of importance Dogs are to lay mats outside the village vil-lage by the gate and the cow is to be killed and the meat prepared nicely and laid on the mats And when that is done Mugassa himself will come and give each his portion He says that you are all very welcome Now listen to me before I go in to Mugassa and I will show you how you can all help tOhurry the feast for I am sure you are all anxious to begin You Hyena you must kill the cow and dress the meat and Dogs will carry it in on the mats but remt inber if a bit is touched before Mugassa commands we are all ruined You Elephant you take this brass hatchet of Mugassas and split wood nicely for the hearth Buffalo you go and find wood with a smooth bark that burns well and bring It Elephant I Leopard you go to the banana plantations I plan-tations and watch lor the falling leaf and catch it with one eye in order that we i may have proper plates ILion I I-Lion my friend do you go and fill this pot from the spring and bring water that Muerassa may wash his Hands Having issued his instructions Rabbit went strutting into tho village but after ho had gone a little way he darted aside and through a side door went out and came creeping up towards an ant hill On the top was a tuft of grass and from this hiding place he commanded a view of the gate and all who might come near it Now Buffalo could only find one log with smooth bark and Dogs shouted out to Buffalo that one log was not enough to roast or to boil themeat and he returned to hunt for some more Elephant struck the log with his brass hatchet and it was broken at one blow l cr j 4A I ROSE FROM THE SIDE OP LB ROAD I and there was nothing else with which to cu the wood Leopard watched and watched for falling fall-ing leaves but failed to see any Lions pot had a hole in the bottom and he could never keep it full though he tried ever so many times Meantime Hyena killed the cow and dressed the meat beautifully and then I said to Dogs Dogsmy friends the meat is ready What shall we do You can help us Carry it in and lay it on the mats if you liKe for Mu gassa must see it before anybody can touch it Ah but 1 feel extremely hungry and my mouth waters so that I am sick with longing May we not go shares and eat little bit It looks very nice and fat whined the Hyena Ah no we should not dare do such a thing We have long ago left the wods and its habits and are unfit for anything but human society but if you were allowed al-lowed to eat any yon could fly into the woods and we should nave all the blame No no como help us carry it inside You will nothavE towait long The Hyena was obliged to obey J but contrived to hide in the grass some of the tripe Rabbit from behind his tuft of gra s saw itall and winced in the dark When the meat was in Dogs said It is ah light now Just wait outside till the other fellows arrive Hyena retired and when he was outside out-side of the gate searched for his trine and lay down qui tly to enjoy it But as he was about to bite it Rabbit screamed Ah you thief Hyena You thief I see you Stop thief Mugassa is coming These cries so alarmed Hyena that he dropped his tripe and fled away as fast as legs could carry him and the others Buffalo Elephant Lion and Leopard tired out with waiting and hearing hear-ing these alarming cries also ran away leaving Rabbitand his dog friends in quiet possession They carried the tripe into the village and closed the gate and barred it after which they laughed loud and long Rabbit rolling on the ground over and over with the fun of the day T dayMy friends Rabbit was the smallest of all but by his wisdom he was more than a match for the two Elephants Buffalo Leopard Lion Hyena and all And even his friends the Dogs had toconfess that Rabbits wit could not be matched That is my tale |