The Hunting Expeditions of the Hare and the Hyena
In the sunlit grasslands of Senegal, where baobabs rose like ancient guardians, the hare and the hyena set out together on hunting expeditions. Yet each hunt revealed not companionship, but cunning and greed.
On their first outing, the hare returned with rich, glistening fat, while the hyena dragged back only a scrawny lizard. Envy burned in her eyes. “Tell me, Brother Hare, where do you find such plenty?” she pressed. The hare, sly and careful, led her to the belly of a slaughtered ox.
Inside, he warned her, “Eat what you will, but do not touch the heart. That must never be eaten.” But greed has no patience. The hyena tore into the heart, and suddenly the ox stirred to life. With a violent shudder, the beast stood, carrying the hare and the hyena within. Startled butchers rushed forward with knives. Quick-witted, the hare leapt out, crying, “Strike there, strike the hyena!” Confused and furious, the men killed the hyena while the hare slipped away unharmed.
Their second hunt led them to a family of blind people who shared food by imitation. The hare, always alert, studied their habits. When they ceased eating, he too put down his food. The blind family welcomed him without suspicion. Later, the hyena tried the same trick, but greed betrayed her. She kept eating long after her hosts had stopped. Realizing they were mocked, the blind people shouted in rage. She fled in panic, stumbling into a baobab whose bark closed tightly around her. With great struggle and pain, she tore herself free, scarred but alive.
On their third venture, fortune placed an ox before them. Together they killed it. But when the time came to share the meat, the hare wove another trick. He persuaded the hyena to tie her hair high into a tree. While she hung helplessly, he feasted on all the meat. To mock her further, he threw bones into her mouth until her gums bled.
Still not finished, the hare covered himself in mud, disguising his form. “I am the king of the termites!” he proclaimed. The hyena, bewildered but desperate for revenge, sought to destroy him. He challenged her: “If you wish, throw me into the fire.” But cunning never falters. He added, “No, no, better throw me into the cool, wet grass.”
Believing she had beaten him, the hyena hurled the hare into the dew. Freed and safe, the hare once again escaped her wrath, leaving her humiliated and empty-handed.
The Spider and the Hyena
One day, word spread across the land: a feast was to be held in the sky, and all animals were invited. But the journey upward was impossible without help. The spider, skilled in weaving threads finer than silk, took pity on the hyena. Carefully, he spun a long thread that reached into the heavens, allowing her to climb.
At the feast, the hyena ate until her belly swelled, greed guiding her hands to every dish. In her gluttony, she revealed the secret of how she had climbed. When the feast ended, the spider had already descended. The hyena, left behind, was given a strip of cloth, a stick, and a drum. “Beware,” she was warned. “If the drum beats, the cloth will snap.”
At first, all was well. But the sound of a drum echoed below, and instantly the cloth tore. The hyena plummeted, striking a burnt tree, its sharp edges piercing her body.
Bleeding heavily, she mocked the tree that impaled her, speaking bitterly instead of seeking help. Weak, she crawled to rest beside the skeleton of a dead dog. There, drained of blood and strength, the hyena died.
If God Agrees (Su Yalla Sobé)
Not all lessons come from trickery, some come from pride.
Each day, the hyena visited a fruit tree heavy with ripe offerings. Her wife reminded her gently, “Say, ‘If God wills,’ for nothing comes without His blessing.”
But the hyena, stubborn and arrogant, snapped, “God has nothing to do with ripe fruit! My hunger alone fills my belly.”
One fateful day, she climbed the tree only to find a leopard already feeding. They fought fiercely, branches cracking beneath them. In their struggle, both tumbled to the ground. The leopard’s claws cut deep, leaving the hyena wounded and humbled.
From that day forward, the hyena never asked for anything, not even her slippers, without first saying, “If God agrees.”
Moral of the Tales
These Senegalese folktales reveal the danger of greed, arrogance, and pride. The hare thrives because of wit and foresight, while the hyena suffers for her envy and gluttony. The spider teaches how reliance on others can be betrayed by selfishness, and the hyena’s refusal to honor divine will ends in pain. Together, they remind us: wisdom, humility, and respect for God lead to survival, while greed and pride bring downfall.
Knowledge Check
1. What was the hyena warned not to eat in the ox’s belly?
The heart, which caused the ox to awaken.
2. How did the hare trick the blind family into believing he was one of them?
By imitating their eating habits and stopping when they stopped.
3. What disguised form did the hare use to escape punishment?
He covered himself in mud and claimed to be the “king of the termites.”
4. Why did the hyena fall from the sky feast?
The drumbeat caused her cloth rope to snap.
5. What phrase did the hyena refuse to say before eating fruit?
“If God wills” (or “If God agrees”).
6. What central lesson do these Senegalese folktales teach?
Greed, arrogance, and pride lead to downfall, while wisdom, humility, and respect for God bring safety.
Source: Senegalese folktales, collected by René Guillot (Contes d’Afrique, 1933) and Walter Pichl (Wolof Erzählungen, 1960/61).
