The Leopard's Schemes

Njagu the Elephant shook his head, breaking his train of thoughts. His eyes focused again on the woman Rudo.

Njagu said to her, "I do not think I am strong enough to help you on your quest. Maybe Leopard, the mighty warrior, can help."

Njega the Leopard remembered the failure of his schemes, and his arrogance that often led to pain and embarrassment. He tilted his head to the side as he briefly remembered his latest failed trick...

Leopard yawned and turned to his friend, Jackal.

"I am hungry. I only eat the flesh of animals, and they have been scarce this past week. We need to create a scheme that brings the animals to us."

A plan started to form in head of Ibaba the Jackal. They sat down in Jackal's home that night and perfected their scheme. Njega went to sleep that night dreaming of meat as his empty stomach rumbled.

As the sun rose, Leopard brought his bedding out to a clearing and laid down as if he was a corpse; he worked to slow his breathing and stiffen his body. Then, he called Ibaba to the clearing and said, "Call Ngomba the Porcupine. Let him see me dead."

So Jackal shouted while he walked through the town, "Come! Ngomba! Come to see dead body of the mighty beast, the one that kills animals without discretion."

Without the help of Jackal to call Gazelle, Leopard practiced speaking in a higher, nasally voice before calling out, "Iheli! Come mourn the death of the beast that kills all others - the king of the forest, Njega."

Iheli turned to her friend, Ekaga the Tortoise.

"Friend, you heard the calling. I must go to the clearing of mourning."

Ekaga could not stop hearing that nasally, high-pitched voice. He could not shake the feeling that something was not right. Ekaga warned his friend.

"It is a trick. I heard it in that unnatural voice. If you must go, take Ants and Bees bundled in plantain leaves. If Njega is truly dead, Bees and Ants will not hurt him."

Gazelle saw the sense in this, nodded her head and turned to the forest to gather Bees and Ants.

Gazelle leaped through the forest carrying the two bundles of plantain leaves. She quickly arrived at the clearing and saw the stiff body of the spotted menace.

Keeping her distance from the corpse, Iheli walked to the back of Leopard, pretending to cry and mourn. Then, with a swift movement, Gazelle tore the top of the bundles and threw them towards the powerful back of the big cat.

The bundle of leaves burst open with the insects who cried, "Sting! Bite! Bring pain to the great Njega."

The pain of their strong bites and stings prompted the big cat into action. He roared and leapt towards Gazelle, wanting immediate revenge. Iheli swiftly dodged the attack and ran for the shelter of the forest, calling out, "I am Iheli of the forests not the plains. You will never catch me. You're trick has failed! You are no king of mine."

These words faded into the afternoon air as Leopard made to charge after Iheli but was stopped by the stinging pain of the raised bumps along his back. Those words, "you are no king of mine," sunk into his heart.

Njega wanted to be respected by all as the King of the forest, but after this failure and humiliation, he could no longer call himself king.

The sting of the memory faded as the Leopard spoke to answer Elephant.

"I am no longer the King of the forest. How can I help a Displaced Mother, when I too have lost part of my identity?"

Leopard looked at the size of Hippopotamus and commented, "Maybe Hippopotamus is strong and confident enough to help."

Ngubu the Hippopotamus looked up to meet the eyes of Rudo and started shaking his giant head.

"I cannot help you. I recently doubted myself during a tug-of-war and shamefully tied with Tortoise. I could not prove my strength, and in the end, I lost more than the match. I lost my self-esteem. I cannot help you until I have regained my reputation and confidence."

Author's Note: This story of the leopard is from Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore Tales. In the original version, Jackal did not abandon Leopard; he only warned him of the devices of Iheli and Ekaga. Like the original, Ekaga questions the motives of the call to mourn the death of Leopard and advices Iheli to take precautions. However, in my retelling, I wanted to add a reason why Ekaga would question these motives, so I made Njega call Gizelle with a nasally, high voice. For context, most of the animals go to the mourning without caution or question because ignoring the call would be seen as an admission of guilt in the death. Also, in the original the bundles of plantain leaves included pepper along with the ants and bees. I didn't really understand how that would hurt Leopard, so I took that out. I want the animals to refuse to help Rudo for different reasons. Leopard seems to think of himself as the king, and I see this as his driving trait. If he loses this aspect of his identity, who is he? I wanted to explore this loss and the loss of Rudo's motherhood together. On the next page, you will find the story of Rabbit before the overarching story is resolved.

Bibliography: Tests of Death, version 2; from Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore Tales by Robert Hamill Nassau, 1914.

Image information: I See You (photo by Gerard Mendis), Porcupine; African wolf digging; Gazelle jumping

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