week 9 story: a leopard and a crocodile walk into a field...
There was a man who had many wives. All the wives had jobs outside of the home to provide for each other while the man stayed home to tend to housekeeping duties. The man’s wives worked most of the day, so he was responsible for cooking dinner each night.
One day, the man was at the river trying to collect fish for dinner that night. He was having a terrible time because he was not having any luck catching fish. “Aghh! I am so sick of this!” the man groaned aloud. “I’m so tired of sitting here catching fish and running around trying to catch pigs and chickens!” he continued to complain.
Then, a thought came to the man. He left the river and went into the woods to cut palm-kernels. He cut 20 bunches of palm-kernels and walked out from the woods.
The man set aside 10 palm-kernel bunches and went to look for the crocodile with the other 10 bunches in hand. He found the crocodile and presented the 10 palm-kernel bunches to the crocodile. “Say, friend, if you bring me plenty of fish daily, I will cut 10 bunches of palm-nuts for you each time,” the man offered the crocodile. The crocodile accepted and made the man promise that he would cut palm-nuts for the crocodile and no one else. The man agreed.
Afterwards, the man found the leopard and presented the same offer to the leopard, “If you bring me plenty of fresh meat daily, I will cut down 10 bunches of palm-nuts for you.” The leopard would only accept the offer if the man promised to cut down palm-nuts for the leopard and no other. The man agreed.
Day after day, the leopard and the crocodile would bring the man plenty of fish and fresh meat to feast on. The man had so much food for him and his wives, he shared it with the rest of the townspeople.
However, the leopard and the crocodile began to get bored of eating palm-nuts everyday. Each animal went to the man and suggested the man present them with a dog instead. The leopard or the crocodile had never seen a dog, but they each heard dog flesh was exquisite. The man had his own dogs, but he did not want to give his dogs to the leopard and crocodile, so he said he did not have any.
As the days went on, the leopard and crocodile’s cravings for dog flesh intensified. Every time they brought the man his food, they asked for a dog.
One day, the crocodile went into town to bring the man’s daily fish and, again, asked the man for a dog. Very annoyed, the man lied, “I do not have a dog for you to eat, but I know of a place where I did see one before.” The man told the crocodile of a place with a field and so the crocodile went.
The next day, the leopard brought the man his daily pig and chicken meat and pestered the man for a dog to eat. The man was irritated and told the leopard the same thing he told the crocodile. The leopard went on the hunt for a dog.
The leopard reached the place the man told him about, but he saw the crocodile lying in the sun. Thinking the crocodile was asleep, the leopard snuck up beside him. Wow, this dog is much larger than I thought it would be, the leopard thought to himself. He went in for a bite of the crocodile’s thick skin.
The crocodile bounced up. “What are you doing?” he howled.
“I came here to indulge on the flesh of a dog,” the leopard answered. “Now, lie back down and I’ll be quick.”
“Ha! Dog? I am a crocodile!” the crocodile countered. “You are the dog this man told me about.”
The leopard was bewildered. “I am not a dog. I am a leopard!”
The crocodile and the leopard soon understood the man’s ploy. Instead of fighting each other, the animals decided they would kill the man. They went into town and found the man. “Ah, we’ve found the dog we’ve been seeking!” the leopard and crocodile roared.
And so, they killed the man and gorged on his flesh.
One day, the man was at the river trying to collect fish for dinner that night. He was having a terrible time because he was not having any luck catching fish. “Aghh! I am so sick of this!” the man groaned aloud. “I’m so tired of sitting here catching fish and running around trying to catch pigs and chickens!” he continued to complain.
Then, a thought came to the man. He left the river and went into the woods to cut palm-kernels. He cut 20 bunches of palm-kernels and walked out from the woods.
The man set aside 10 palm-kernel bunches and went to look for the crocodile with the other 10 bunches in hand. He found the crocodile and presented the 10 palm-kernel bunches to the crocodile. “Say, friend, if you bring me plenty of fish daily, I will cut 10 bunches of palm-nuts for you each time,” the man offered the crocodile. The crocodile accepted and made the man promise that he would cut palm-nuts for the crocodile and no one else. The man agreed.
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| A crocodile with his mouth open. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons |
Day after day, the leopard and the crocodile would bring the man plenty of fish and fresh meat to feast on. The man had so much food for him and his wives, he shared it with the rest of the townspeople.
However, the leopard and the crocodile began to get bored of eating palm-nuts everyday. Each animal went to the man and suggested the man present them with a dog instead. The leopard or the crocodile had never seen a dog, but they each heard dog flesh was exquisite. The man had his own dogs, but he did not want to give his dogs to the leopard and crocodile, so he said he did not have any.
As the days went on, the leopard and crocodile’s cravings for dog flesh intensified. Every time they brought the man his food, they asked for a dog.
One day, the crocodile went into town to bring the man’s daily fish and, again, asked the man for a dog. Very annoyed, the man lied, “I do not have a dog for you to eat, but I know of a place where I did see one before.” The man told the crocodile of a place with a field and so the crocodile went.
The next day, the leopard brought the man his daily pig and chicken meat and pestered the man for a dog to eat. The man was irritated and told the leopard the same thing he told the crocodile. The leopard went on the hunt for a dog.
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| Leopard lying down. Web Source: flickr |
The crocodile bounced up. “What are you doing?” he howled.
“I came here to indulge on the flesh of a dog,” the leopard answered. “Now, lie back down and I’ll be quick.”
“Ha! Dog? I am a crocodile!” the crocodile countered. “You are the dog this man told me about.”
The leopard was bewildered. “I am not a dog. I am a leopard!”
The crocodile and the leopard soon understood the man’s ploy. Instead of fighting each other, the animals decided they would kill the man. They went into town and found the man. “Ah, we’ve found the dog we’ve been seeking!” the leopard and crocodile roared.
And so, they killed the man and gorged on his flesh.
Author's Note: I didn't change too much from the original story; the plot is basically the same. I made adjustments here and there and added more dialogue between the characters. Instead of the man's wives refusing to work, I made them have jobs in my story, but the man was still responsible for household duties. Also, instead of the leopard and crocodile fighting and killing each other in the end, I wanted them to team up to get their revenge on the man for lying to them. Hope you enjoyed my retelling of the story!
Bibliography: "The Leopard and the Crocodile" from Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett. Story Source
Hi Soriyana, I really enjoyed reading your story. I love stories that have animal characters in them. The dialogue you added helped to add an element to the story that kept things interesting. I also like the turn of events in the end how the animals figure the man out and team up against him. Great story! I may have to go and read the original know to see the changes you added.
ReplyDeleteHi Soriyana, This story was so graphic and very well done. I could see everything happening and it was very thorough. These poor animals though! Then in the end the man is the one who gets his. It was an interesting story for sure, though I haven't read the original. I liked the line, “Ah, we’ve found the dog we’ve been seeking!” It was my favorite part because of all the trickery.
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