In the rolling hills of the African countryside, where Boer farmers tended their flocks beneath endless skies, there lived a jackal whose cunning was matched only by his appetite for easy prey. This clever predator had discovered a most profitable routine that filled his belly without the effort of hunting wild game. Every evening, as the sun painted the horizon in shades of orange and gold, Jackal would make his way to the Boer’s kraal, where fat young lambs huddled together in their safe enclosure.
The kraal was well built, designed to protect the valuable livestock from exactly such threats as Jackal posed. But the wily predator had found the weakness in every fortress: the sliding door that allowed the farmer access to his animals. Night after night, Jackal would creep silently through this entrance, his golden eyes gleaming in the darkness as he selected the finest, fattest young lamb from the flock. With practiced stealth, he would carry off his prize and disappear into the night, leaving behind only confusion and the diminished count of the farmer’s precious animals.
This theft continued for several nights in succession, each successful raid making Jackal bolder and more confident in his criminal enterprise. The pattern was so reliable that the clever thief began to consider it his personal right to dine on the Boer’s finest lambs whenever hunger struck him.
But the Boer was no fool. A farmer who survives in the harsh African countryside learns to protect his livelihood with both cunning and determination. After losing several valuable animals to this mysterious predator, the farmer decided to set a trap that would end the thievery once and for all. At the sliding door where the thief gained entry, he carefully positioned a whip a deadly snare made of strong rope that would catch any intruder around the body and hoist them high into the air, far from the ground where they might find purchase to escape.
The trap was set with the precision of a man who understood both engineering and animal behavior. The noose was positioned at exactly the right height and tension to catch a creature of Jackal’s size, and the mechanism would activate the moment any weight pressed against the carefully balanced trigger.
That very evening, driven by habit and overconfidence, Jackal approached the kraal as he had so many times before. The familiar sliding door beckoned, promising another easy meal of tender lamb. But as he crept through the entrance with his usual stealth, disaster struck with lightning speed. Zip! The noose snapped tight around his body, jerking him violently upward until he swung helplessly high in the air, his paws unable to touch the ground that now seemed impossibly far below.
Panic seized the trapped predator as he swung and swayed in the cool night air, completely helpless and utterly exposed. His clever mind, usually so quick to find solutions to any problem, raced desperately for some means of escape. But the rope held firm, and the height made any attempt to reach safety impossible.
As the long night slowly gave way to the first pale light of dawn, Jackal’s unease grew to genuine terror. Soon the sun would be fully up, and the Boer would discover his trapped prisoner. The farmer’s justice would be swift and final—no mercy would be shown to a thief who had stolen so many valuable animals.
It was then that salvation appeared, though in an unexpected and mocking form. On a nearby stone kopje one of those distinctive rocky hills that dot the African landscape sat Monkey, who had been watching the night’s events with great interest. As the light grew stronger and the full extent of Jackal’s predicament became clear, Monkey descended hastily from his rocky perch, drawn by the irresistible opportunity to mock his trapped neighbor.
With characteristic agility, Monkey bounded to the kraal wall and perched there comfortably, surveying Jackal’s humiliating situation with obvious delight. His voice rang out with malicious pleasure: “Ha, ha, good morning to you! So there you are, hanging in the air at last, finally caught after all your clever schemes!”
But Jackal’s mind, even in extremis, remained sharp as a blade. Without missing a beat, he adopted an air of casual enjoyment and replied with convincing nonchalance, “What? Me, caught? Not at all, my friend! I am simply swinging here for my own pleasure it’s quite enjoyable, actually.”
Monkey’s laughter grew louder and more derisive. “You fibber! You liar and deceiver! Everyone can see that you’re caught in the farmer’s trap!”
“If only you realized how wonderful it feels to swing and sway like this,” Jackal continued with masterful acting, “you wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to try it yourself. Come, give it just a little try! You’ll feel so healthy and strong for the entire day afterward, and you never tire from the gentle exercise. It’s really quite invigorating!”
“No, I certainly will not!” Monkey replied with suspicious firmness. “You are definitely caught, and I’m not falling for your tricks.”
But Jackal was a master of manipulation, and he had all the motivation in the world to be persuasive. Gradually, with carefully chosen words and perfectly timed appeals to Monkey’s curiosity and vanity, he began to wear down his audience’s resistance. He spoke eloquently of the health benefits of swinging, the pleasure of feeling the morning breeze, and the invigorating sensation of gentle motion in the fresh air.
Monkey’s resolve began to waver. Perhaps there was something to this swinging business after all. The morning was beautiful, the breeze was pleasant, and Jackal did seem remarkably calm and happy for someone who was supposedly trapped. Maybe, just maybe, this really was some kind of enjoyable morning exercise that Monkey had never tried.
After considerable persuasion, Monkey finally allowed himself to be convinced. Against his better judgment and initial instincts, he sprang down from the kraal wall with his characteristic agility. With careful precision, he freed Jackal from the noose and adjusted the deadly rope around his own body, eager to experience this wonderful morning pleasure that had been so enthusiastically described.
The moment Monkey was secured in the trap, Jackal quickly released the mechanism and stepped back to watch his former mocker swing helplessly in the air. His laughter rang out across the countryside, filled with triumph and malicious glee.
“Ha, ha, ha!” Jackal laughed with undisguised delight. “Now it’s Monkey who’s caught in the farmer’s trap!”
The reality of his situation hit Monkey with the force of a physical blow. He was trapped exactly as Jackal had been, hanging helplessly in the air with no way to reach the ground or free himself. Terror and anger flooded through him as he realized the full extent of the deception.
“Jackal, free me!” he screamed desperately, his voice carrying panic and pleading. “Get me out of this trap immediately!”
But Jackal had no intention of helping his replacement victim. Instead, he pointed toward the farmhouse with theatrical alarm. “There! The Boer is coming!” he shouted with false urgency.
“Jackal, free me from this trap, or I’ll break all your playthings when I get out!” Monkey threatened, though his position made such threats empty and pathetic.
“No, no,” Jackal replied with mock concern, “there’s the Boer coming with his gun. You’d better rest quietly in that noose and try not to make any noise that might anger him further.”
“Jackal, quickly make me free!” Monkey pleaded, his voice growing more desperate with each passing moment.
“No, here comes the Boer already, and I can see he’s carrying his gun. Good morning to you both!” And with these cheerful parting words, Jackal ran away as fast as his legs could carry him, disappearing into the bush before either the Boer or Monkey could do anything to stop him.
Within moments of Jackal’s escape, the Boer appeared at his kraal to check on his livestock and his trap. His face showed grim satisfaction when he saw the figure hanging in his snare, finally having caught the thief who had been stealing his valuable animals.
“So, so, Monkey,” the farmer said with stern authority, “now you are caught at last. You are the fellow who has been stealing my lambs, aren’t you?”
“No, Boer, no!” Monkey screamed in terror and desperation, “not I, but Jackal! It was Jackal who stole your lambs!”
But the farmer’s mind was already made up. He had caught a thief in his trap, and justice would be swift and final. “No, I know your kind,” he replied grimly. “You monkeys aren’t too good for that sort of mischief.”
“No, Boer, no, not I, but Jackal!” Monkey stammered frantically, his words tumbling over each other in his desperation to convince the angry farmer of his innocence. “It was Jackal who stole from you! I never touched your lambs!”
“Oh, I know you well enough,” the Boer said with finality, raising his gun and taking careful aim. “Just wait a moment while I end this problem once and for all.”
The gunshot echoed across the countryside like thunder, followed by a silence that seemed to stretch forever. Poor Monkey, innocent of any crime except foolish gullibility, hung lifeless in the farmer’s trap while the real thief remained free to continue his predatory ways.
Moral Lesson
This folktale serves as a powerful warning about the dangers of manipulation and the consequences of being too easily deceived. Jackal’s cunning allows him to escape justice by transferring his punishment to an innocent victim, while Monkey’s gullibility and desire for novel experiences lead to his tragic death. The story teaches us to be skeptical of those who try to convince us that obvious danger is actually pleasure, and reminds us that in life, the innocent often suffers for the crimes of the guilty when deception and manipulation are involved.
Knowledge Check
Q1: What crime was Jackal committing at the Boer’s kraal in this African folktale? A1: Jackal was stealing fat young lambs from the Boer’s kraal every evening. He would creep through the sliding door and carry off the farmer’s valuable livestock, repeating this theft several times in succession until the farmer set a trap to catch him.
Q2: How did the Boer try to catch the thief stealing his lambs? A2: The Boer set a whip (snare trap) at the sliding door entrance to his kraal. The trap was designed to catch any intruder around the body with a noose and hoist them high in the air, making escape impossible by keeping them far from the ground.
Q3: How did Jackal convince Monkey to take his place in the trap? A3: Jackal pretended that hanging in the noose was actually a pleasant morning exercise that made you feel healthy and strong. He claimed he was swinging for pleasure and described the supposed health benefits, gradually convincing the skeptical Monkey to try this “wonderful” experience.
Q4: What happened when the Boer found Monkey in the trap? A4: The Boer assumed Monkey was the lamb thief and refused to believe Monkey’s protests that Jackal was the real culprit. Despite Monkey’s desperate pleas of innocence, the Boer shot and killed him, believing he had caught the right criminal.
Q5: What does the whip trap symbolize in this African folktale? A5: The whip trap symbolizes the consequences that await those who commit crimes and take advantage of others. It represents justice and punishment, though in this story it ironically catches the innocent instead of the guilty due to Jackal’s manipulative deception.
Q6: What cultural lesson does this folktale teach about trust and deception? A6: This African folktale warns against being too trusting of smooth talkers who try to convince you that obvious danger is actually beneficial. It teaches that manipulative individuals will sacrifice innocent people to save themselves and emphasizes the importance of critical thinking when someone tries to persuade you to do something that seems suspicious or dangerous.
