How The Cheetah Got Her Speed

How The Cheetah Got Her Speed, a Bushmen fable by Southern Destinations

Once upon a time when the world was young, the Creator decided to find out which animal could run the fastest: the Cheetah (the speediest cat) or the Tsessebe (the swiftest of all the antelopes).

A head-to-head race would answer the question. The Tsessebe had tough hooves but the Cheetah only had soft paws unsuitable for racing, so she borrowed a sturdier set from an obliging Wild Dog.

The contestants took their marks at the base of a tall baobab tree; the finish line was a distant hill across the plains. The Cheetah and the Tsessebe crouched down, then set off in a cloud of dust!

The Tsessebe soon took the lead and by the half-way point it seemed certain to win. Suddenly, disaster struck! The Tsessebe stumbled on a stone and crashed to the ground, badly injuring its leg.

The Cheetah saw what had happened – the race was hers to win! To everyone's surprise, however, the good-natured Cheetah did not run right past, stopping instead to offer help to her wounded opponent.

The Creator was so touched by the Cheetah's unselfish act that He bestowed upon the Cheetah a gift: He made her the fastest animal in the entire land... and allowed her to keep the Wild Dog's paws.

(adapted, originally via Great Cats of the World)

(images via Leopardo- Chita TV and Matthew Baldwin)