A chacal once found himself in trouble when a sharp thorn became lodged in his paw. The pain made every step difficult, and he limped along the road looking for someone who might help him.
Before long, he saw an old woman walking toward a fountain. She was carrying herself quietly along the path when the chacal called out to her.
“Mother, please remove this thorn from my paw.”
The old woman stopped. She looked at the wounded animal and, feeling pity for him, bent down to help. With care, she pulled the thorn from his paw and threw it away.
But the chacal was not satisfied.
“Mother, give me my thorn.”
The old woman stared at him.
“My son, I threw it away.”
“Give me my thorn,” the chacal insisted.
He began to cry as though he had suffered a great injustice. The old woman tried to calm him, but the chacal continued demanding the thorn she had already discarded.
At last, wanting to stop his crying, she offered him an egg instead.
“Be quiet. Do not cry anymore. I will give you an egg.”
The chacal immediately followed her home.
The old woman gave him the egg, and he carried it away.
Don’t stop yet! See our complete East African folktales collection
But instead of being grateful for what he had received, the chacal soon began thinking about how he could turn the small gift into something more valuable.
He reached a village and stopped at a house.
“People of the house, give me a place to stay for the night.”
The people welcomed him inside.
Then they asked about the egg he was carrying.
“Where shall I put my egg?” the chacal asked.
“Place it in the goat’s manger,” they told him.
The chacal followed their instructions.
When night came and everyone had gone to sleep, the chacal ate the egg. Then he took the shell and hung it from the goat’s horns.
At dawn, he rose and demanded his egg.
“Give me my egg.”
The people looked at him with surprise.
“We will compensate you for your egg.”
But the chacal refused.
“No. It was the goat that ate my egg. I will take the goat.”
The people eventually gave him the goat, and the chacal led it away.
He had lost an egg, but he had gained a goat.
The chacal was pleased with himself.
He walked until he reached another village. Once again, he stopped at a house and asked for shelter.
“People of the house, give me a place to stay.”
They welcomed him.
Again, he asked where he should keep the animal.
“Where shall I put my goat?”
“Tie it beside the manger of the horse,” they told him.
The chacal did exactly that.
When darkness covered the village and everyone was asleep, the chacal killed and ate the goat. He then hung its intestines from the horse’s ears.
At sunrise, he stood up as though nothing had happened.
“Give me my goat.”
The people offered to replace it with another goat.
But the chacal would not accept.
“No. I will take the horse. The horse ate my goat.”
Once again, the people gave him what he demanded.
The chacal walked away with a horse.
His confidence grew.
Each trick made him believe that he was cleverer than everyone around him. He had started with nothing more than an egg, yet through lies and manipulation he had already gained a goat and then a horse.
Soon, he arrived at another village.
“People of the house, give me a place to stay.”
They welcomed him as before.
“Where shall I put my horse?” he asked.
“Tie it beside the manger of the cow.”
That night, the same pattern followed.
The chacal ate the horse and placed its intestines on the cow’s horns.
In the morning, he demanded his horse.
“Give me my horse.”
The people offered him another horse.
But the chacal refused.
“No. I will take the cow. The cow ate my horse.”
Once again, the people surrendered to his demand.
The chacal took the cow and continued on his way.
By now, he believed there was no limit to what his cleverness could achieve.
He had begun with an egg.
Now he had a cow.
His appetite for deception had grown alongside his success.
When he reached another village, he asked once again for shelter.
The people allowed him to enter.
The chacal looked around and saw a young girl.
“Where shall I place my cow?” he asked.
“Attach it beside the young girl’s bed,” they told him.
That night, the chacal carried out the same trick.
He ate the cow and placed its intestines on the girl’s back.
At dawn, he demanded his cow.
“We will give you another one,” the people told him.
But the chacal shook his head.
“No. It is the young girl that I will take.”
The people gave him a sack, believing that he would carry the girl away in it.
The chacal took the sack and left the village.
He was delighted.
He had fooled everyone again.
As he walked toward a hill, he began imagining the meal he would make from his prize. He was so confident that he did not bother to consider whether his trick might finally have failed.
When he reached the hill, he untied the sack.
He expected to find the young girl inside.
Instead, a pack of greyhounds burst out.
The chacal froze.
For the first time, his confidence disappeared.
The dogs rushed toward him.
He turned and ran toward the forest, but the greyhounds were faster.
The chacal ran as hard as he could, but the animals pursued him through the woodland until they caught him.
The trickster who had deceived one household after another could no longer deceive anyone.
The greyhounds killed him.
His cleverness had carried him from a single egg to a goat, from a goat to a horse, from a horse to a cow, and finally toward what he believed would be another easy victory.
Instead, his own deception became the reason for his downfall.
The chacal had mistaken greed for cleverness.
He had believed that because his lies worked several times, they would continue working forever.
But every deception carries a risk. A person who constantly takes advantage of others may eventually meet someone who sees through the trick.
The old Kabyle tale therefore turns the familiar image of the clever chacal into a warning. Intelligence can help someone survive difficult situations, but when cleverness is guided by greed and dishonesty, it can lead the trickster straight into danger.
Fascinated by this tale? Discover more North African folktales
Moral Lesson
Cleverness without honesty can become a person’s greatest weakness. The chacal kept deceiving others because each successful trick made him more confident and greedy. In the end, his desire to gain more caused his downfall. The story teaches that deception may bring temporary rewards, but it can eventually turn against the person who uses it.
Knowledge Check
1. How did the chacal first receive the egg?
An old woman removed a thorn from his paw and gave him an egg after he complained about losing the thorn.
2. How did the chacal obtain the goat?
He ate the egg and blamed the goat, claiming that the goat had eaten it.
3. Why did the chacal keep demanding larger animals?
His first deception succeeded, making him increasingly greedy and confident that he could continue fooling people.
4. What does the chacal represent in the tale?
He represents cunning and intelligence used without honesty or restraint.
5. What happened when the chacal finally opened the sack?
Instead of finding the young girl, he released greyhounds that chased and killed him.
6. What is the main lesson of this Kabyle folktale?
The story teaches that greed and repeated deception can eventually bring about the downfall of the person who uses them.
Source
Adapted from Joseph Rivière, Recueil de contes populaires de la Kabylie du Djurdjura, 1882, “Le chacal,” pp. 79 to 81.
