The lion’s terrible appetite had emptied the bush of game, and fear clung to every village and kopje. For many nights the great beast prowled the forests and fields, felling antelope and bushpig, even bold hunters who dared meet him. When he raided the chief’s kraal and took the life of the chief himself, the people’s sorrow hardened into resolve. The chief’s son made a promise in front of the elders and all the young men: whoever delivered the land from the lion would win his beautiful sister in marriage. Spears were raised, war cries sounded, and one by one the would-be slayers fell beneath the lion’s claws. Despair settled like the dust after a hard rain.
News of the lion’s victories travelled through the bush; even animals who had once ignored the matter spoke of it with dread. The hare, small, plump, and quick of wit, watched and decided that force alone would not free his people. He spoke to the sable, a cautious and clever friend, and asked him to learn whether the prince’s pledge was true. The sable crept to the village edge and returned with word that the prince indeed meant what he had promised. Encouraged, the hare set himself a task that required no blunt bravery but keen craft: he would tempt the lion into revealing a weakness and then use that moment to draw the hunters to victory.
At noon the hare found the lion resting beneath a baobab, his ribs showing beneath his tawny coat though his eyes still glittered with pride. The hare bowed and addressed him with the courtliness of a small creature to a king: “O great one, you have fed on raw flesh so long; allow me to make you a fire and show you the delight of roasted meat. Let me be your servant in this small thing.” The lion, who had never refused to test his strength or his appetites, was pleased at the notion of spectacle. “Light your fire,” he rumbled. “Hurry, for my hunger is sharp.”
Together they found dry sticks and arranged them. The hare produced a small woven trap and asked, with the deference of a subject, that the lion hold it aloft a while so the hare might demonstrate its curious magic. Amused at the thought of a trap so small that a hare might be contained in it, the lion lifted the contrivance. The hare slipped inside and, nimble as wind through grass, anchored the trap’s mouth about a strong root so that the cord passed through the weave and around the root. When the lion pulled up, the trap would not rise. He tugged and strained, then roared with baffled pride. The hare pretended to struggle and laughed softly: “If you wish, I will lift you when you are caught, if you trust me.”
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Vanity proved a greater weakness than teeth. The lion, imagining the delight of displaying the trick to his mate and cubs, asked the hare to perform the marvel before his den. The hare agreed but not to linger. He “went for water” and instead ran like a flash to the village, breathless with urgency, and burst before the chief. “Come with spears only!” he cried. “Come now! I have found the lion and his family bound by a strange device, come while they lie helpless!” The chief and his best hunters seized spears and, guided by the hare, rushed to the den.
The sight that met them was as the hare had promised: the lion family snug in the woven trap, tied and struggling but unable to break free. At the signal the hunters threw, and the lion, the lioness, and the cubs fell together beneath the spears of men who had been waiting only for a chance to act. The village erupted with drums and praise; the prince’s daughter was given to the hare in marriage as the pledge had promised, and the people feasted on the spoils of freedom. The hare, once small and overlooked, was honoured for his quick mind and his respect for the hunters who had taken the spear and risked life.
After that night the tale of the hare’s cunning spread from hut to hut. Mothers told their children how a sharp mind could solve a threat that muscles alone could not, and how courage wore many faces, sometimes in the jaunty step of a small animal, sometimes in the steady hand of a hunter. The chief taught that humility matters too: the lion lost not for lack of strength but for the arrogance that made him show off and trust in his spectacle rather than in simple caution. In the shelter of that lesson the village lived on, safer and more watchful, singing the hare’s name at dusk beside the fires.
Moral Lesson
Bravery is not only the province of the strong; wit and prudence can overcome brute force. Pride and vanity often open the door to downfall, while humility, cleverness, and cooperation bring lasting reward.
Knowledge Check
Q1: Who offered the prize for the lion’s defeat?
A1: The chief’s son (the prince) offered his sister in marriage to whoever would kill the lion.
Q2: What role did the sable play in the hare’s plan?
A2: The sable scouted the village to confirm that the prince’s pledge was genuine.
Q3: How did the hare trick the lion?
A3: The hare asked the lion to hold a trap high, anchored it to a root from inside, and then fled to fetch the hunters.
Q4: What cultural origin is assigned to this retelling?
A4: Zambia; this variant is most closely associated with Bemba-speaking storytelling traditions.
Q5: What lesson did the village teach children after the deed?
A5: That cleverness and cooperation are as valuable as physical strength, and that pride can be a fatal flaw.
Q6: Which two qualities combined to defeat the lion?
A6: The hare’s cleverness and the hunters’ courage and spears.
Source: Bemba folktales, Folktales of Zambia by Chiman L. Vyas (1969), Zambia
