Long ago, in the traditions of the Kimbundu people of Angola, there lived Mr. Leopard, a creature both sly and calculating. With him walked two of his younger kin, first his grandson Mr. Antelope and later his grandson Mr. Monkey. Their journeys together revealed the power of wisdom, the dangers of folly, and the inescapable justice that comes when deceit meets its end.
Part I: Leopard and Antelope
Mr. Leopard called upon his grandson, Mr. Antelope. “Come with me,” he said, “we must go to my father-in-law.” Antelope, obedient and respectful, carried three heavy demijohns of rum as a gift for the family they would visit.
As they walked, Leopard urged Antelope to pick up something lying along the road. Trusting his elder, Antelope stooped only to grasp a mass of driver ants. The creatures bit his hands fiercely. Leopard laughed coldly. “Foolish grandson, does anyone take driver ants with bare hands? Let us go.”
Soon hunger pressed upon them. They found a field of sugarcane. Leopard declared that true sugarcane was not eaten, but only the wild kind. Trusting again, Antelope chewed the wild cane, cutting his mouth until it bled. Leopard mocked him. “Are you not a fool? Wild canes wound the mouth.”
Later, they came across maize. Leopard instructed his grandson to pluck only green corn, claiming the yellow was unfit. Antelope obeyed, but when the corn was roasted, his remained raw while Leopard’s was cooked and ready to eat.
Their path crossed a group of women planting peanuts. Leopard excused himself, hid in the bush, and dressed in fine clothes he had concealed in his bundle. He approached the women with smooth words, received food, water, and tobacco, then rejoined Antelope. But when Antelope wished to visit the same women, Leopard tricked him: “When you greet them, say, ‘Vioko, vioko, go and eat dung.’”
Innocently, Antelope obeyed. The women were enraged. “Your grandfather spoke with kindness. You insult us! Be gone.” They beat him and drove him away. Leopard laughed when Antelope recounted the incident, scolding him as foolish once again.
Soon they came to a brook. Leopard instructed Antelope to close his eyes while jumping. Antelope stumbled, crashing down and breaking one of the rum jugs. “See, fool!” Leopard cried. “What shall we offer my in-laws now?”
At last, they reached the father-in-law’s home with only two jugs of rum. They were welcomed, given mats to sleep on, and food was prepared. But Leopard ensured Antelope never tasted it. He sent him to fetch water in a fish trap, which could not hold water. Each time Antelope returned, Leopard had already eaten his share.
That night, Leopard demanded Antelope sleep on a shelf. Transforming into his beastly nature, Leopard crept into the goat pen, slaughtered twenty animals, and gathered their blood in a pot. Returning, he poured it over the sleeping Antelope.
By morning, the father-in-law found his pen ruined. Leopard pretended innocence: “Perhaps it was Antelope.” Antelope was discovered covered in blood. “Thief!” the family cried. Without mercy, they killed him, skinned him, and even gave Leopard a leg of meat as compensation for the shame of his grandson.
Leopard carried this meat home. Half he ate himself, and half he delivered to Antelope’s wife. “This is what your husband sent you,” he lied. But Antelope’s child sniffed the meat. “Mama, this smells like Papa.” The mother silenced the child, but Leopard later confessed the truth: “Your husband was killed for stealing goats. The meat you ate was his flesh. Now you know his fate.”
Grief overwhelmed the family. They mourned Antelope, never suspecting that Leopard’s deception had condemned him.
READ: Leopard, Monkey, and Hare | A Kimbundu Folktale of Trickery, Greed, and Justice
Part II: Leopard and Monkey
After some time, Leopard invited another grandson, Mr. Monkey, on the same journey. As before, he instructed him to pick up driver ants. But Monkey, wary, said: “Grandfather, you hold the head, I will take the tail. They bite, and I know it.”
At the maize field, Leopard tried again to trick him, but Monkey ate only the yellow corn, leaving the green untouched. At the sugarcane field, he ignored Leopard’s words and broke a fine, sweet cane instead of the wild kind. And when told to fetch water in a fish trap, he laughed: “Who dips water with a fish trap?”
When they reached the father-in-law’s house, food was served. Leopard tried to eat before Monkey returned with spoons, but Monkey caught him and insisted on eating together. That night, Leopard repeated his scheme: he killed goats, gathered their blood, and tried to pour it on Monkey. But Monkey, awake, shoved him the pot spilled over Leopard himself.
At dawn, the slaughter was discovered. Monkey calmly played his banjo, singing, “He deceived Antelope, but will he deceive Monkey?” Leopard was found stained with blood. The family killed him on the spot.
Seeing their mistake with Antelope, they said to Monkey: “You shall marry our daughter.” They sent him home with gifts, including a leg of Leopard’s meat. Monkey gave it to Leopard’s wife: “Your husband sent this.” But the children sensed the truth. “This smells like Papa.” Soon Monkey revealed it: “Leopard killed goats, and he was killed in turn.” The family wailed in mourning once again.
Moral Lesson
This tale warns against blind trust and reckless folly. Antelope, too trusting, became prey to Leopard’s deceit. Monkey, wiser and watchful, escaped the same fate and lived with honour. The story teaches that cleverness and awareness protect us where naivety invites destruction. It also shows how deceit, no matter how hidden, eventually returns to destroy the deceiver.
Knowledge Check
- Who were Leopard’s companions in the story?
Leopard travelled with his grandsons, first Antelope, then Monkey. - Why did Antelope die?
He was tricked by Leopard, framed with goat’s blood, and killed as a thief. - How did Monkey avoid Antelope’s fate?
He stayed alert, questioned Leopard’s tricks, and pushed away the pot of blood. - What role did the father-in-law’s household play?
They judged based on appearances, punishing Antelope unjustly but later executing Leopard when exposed. - What is the main lesson of the folktale?
Wisdom and vigilance protect, while blind trust and deceit lead to ruin. - What is the cultural origin of the story?
This is a Kimbundu folktale from Angola.
Source: Kimbundu folktale, Angola.
