Long ago, deep in the forests of Gabon, the lion and the hyena traveled together as companions. One day, as fate would have it, the lion discovered a great bull, while the hyena found a cow, heavy with pregnancy. Seeing fortune smile upon them, they placed the bull and cow together, and the hyena dutifully tended them with care and hope.
But as the days passed and the cow neared her time, the lion grew cunning. He said to the hyena, “Stay at home today. I will watch over the bull and the cow.”
The hyena knew her cow was ready to give birth, but she feared the lion’s temper. Reluctantly, she stayed behind.
That very day, in the open pasture, the cow gave birth to a healthy calf. The lion, greedy and deceptive, sought to claim the calf as his own. He took the afterbirth, the placenta, and forced it into the hind of his bull, then allowed the calf to nurse from its mother in the fields so the hyena would see no sign of it suckling later.
That evening, the lion returned boasting, “Behold! My bull has given birth to a calf. Here is the proof, the placenta!”
The hyena frowned. “Since when does a bull give birth like a cow?”
But the lion roared angrily, “Yes, it does!” and threatened her life. Terrified, the hyena sat down and wept.
At dawn, the lion seized the calf, the bull, and even the cow, and left the hyena behind in sorrow. She cried bitterly until the fox, sly and sharp-eyed, came upon her.
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“What troubles you, Hyena?” he asked gently.
Through her tears she explained, “My cow gave birth to a calf, but the lion claimed it as his bull’s child. He stole them all away.”
The fox listened carefully and said, “Be still. Tomorrow, I shall see to it that he returns what is yours.”
The next day, the lion and the hyena walked together when they saw the fox passing by with a waterskin slung across his back.
“Where are you going, Fox?” the lion asked.
The fox replied, “Last night, my father gave birth to a son. I go now to fetch milk for the newborn.”
The lion scoffed. “What nonsense! Does a man give birth like a woman?”
Quick as lightning, the fox answered, “If a man does not give birth like a woman, then give the hyena her calf.”
The lion, humiliated and furious, leapt at the fox to kill him. But the fox darted away, swift as the wind, and disappeared into the forest.
Burning with rage, the lion decided to ambush him. He crept into the fox’s den and lay in wait, silent as a shadow.
When evening came, the fox returned. At the mouth of his den, he spotted the lion’s paw prints in the dust. Suspecting danger, he called out, “Good evening, my house!”
The lion kept still.
Again, the fox called, “Good evening, my house! In the past, you always answered, ‘May your evening be good!’ That is how I knew you were truly my home.”
The lion, foolishly believing the den had once spoken, muttered in a disguised voice, “May your evening be good!”
The fox laughed sharply. “You are not my house! You are the lion himself!” With that, he fled into the darkness before the lion could spring.
Defeated and exposed, the lion realized he had been outwitted. Ashamed and unable to catch the fox, he returned to the hyena and grudgingly restored her calf.
Thus, by cleverness and courage, the fox returned justice to the wronged hyena. And to this day, people of Gabon still say: “Give the hyena her calf, said the fox.”
Moral Lesson
This folktale teaches that raw strength without honesty leads to disgrace. The lion, though powerful, was blinded by greed and arrogance. The hyena’s weakness lay in fear, yet the fox’s wit restored fairness. The story reminds us that cunning and truth can humble even the strongest, and that deceit, no matter how bold, cannot stand against clever justice.
Knowledge Check
1. What animals first found the bull and the cow?
The lion found the bull, and the hyena found the cow.
2. How did the lion trick the hyena about the calf’s birth?
He stuffed the cow’s placenta into the bull and claimed it gave birth.
3. Who comforted the hyena and promised to help her?
The fox stepped in with his clever plan.
4. What riddle did the fox use to expose the lion’s lie?
He claimed his father gave birth, forcing the lion to admit men cannot give birth—thus neither can bulls.
5. How did the fox escape the lion’s ambush?
He spotted the lion’s tracks, tricked him into speaking, and fled.
6. What cultural value does this tale emphasize in Gabonese tradition?
It highlights the triumph of wit over brute force and the importance of justice.
Source: Traditional Gabonese folktale, Central Africa.
