The Jackal and the Farmer

The Jackal and the Farmer, a fable of the Kabyle people of North Africa

A farmer plowed with two oxen from dawn 'til dusk. One evening, a lion came by and said, "Give me one of your two oxen or I'll kill you and both of the oxen!"

The terrified farmer unhitched one of his oxen and gave it to the lion, who took it and dragged it away. The farmer bought another ox on his way home so that he would be able to plow again tomorrow.

The next day, the farmer plowed again from morning until evening but at sundown the lion came again, and said "Farmer, give me one of your two oxen or I'll kill both of them and you as well."

Once again the farmer gave him an ox, and that evening he bought another ox so that he would be able to plow again the next day. The next evening, the lion came again, demanding one of his oxen.

So it was that every evening the lion came, and every evening the farmer gave him one of his oxen. One night, however, as the farmer was driving his single ox home, a jackal came up to him.

"Every morning I see you leave your farmyard with two oxen," asked the jackal, "and every evening I see you coming back with only one. Why is that?"

"In the evening when I am finished with the day's work, the lion comes and demands one of my oxen," replied the farmer. "Then he threatens to kill me and both my oxen if I don't grant his wish."

The jackal pondered and scratched his chin. "I can free you from the lion but you must promise me a sheep." The farmer answered, "If you can free me from the lion I will gladly give you a sheep."

"Tomorrow I will disguise my voice and call to you from up there on the hill," said the jackal. "I will ask who you are speaking to. Answer by saying it is only an Asko (a block of wood to be split)."

"Have a hatchet at hand," added the jackal. "Do you understand?" The farmer replied "Yes, certainly, I understand you."

The next day, the farmer went to his field and plowed as usual with the two oxen, from morning till eve, but this time he brought his hatchet along, just as the jackal told him.

When evening came, so did the lion: "Farmer, give me an ox or I shall kill both oxen and you as well!" At once, a deep voice spoke from the hill, saying "Farmer, who is talking with you?"

The lion, suddenly afraid, ducked down and said in a frightened voice, "That is God!" The farmer then called back loudly, "It is only an Asko."

The deep voice answered, even more loudly, "Then take your hatchet and split the block of wood!" The frightened lion said softly, "Just hit me gently, farmer," and with that he bowed his head.

The farmer gripped his hatchet and struck at the lion's skull with all his force so that he split it, and the lion died at once.

The jackal came down from the hill and said, "I have done what I promised. The lion is finished. Tomorrow I will come back to fetch the sheep that you promised me." The farmer replied, "You shall have it."

The farmer came home. He said to his wife, "The jackal has freed me from the lion. Now I will give him a ram. I will kill it. You pack it up so that I can take it with me to the field tomorrow."

The farmer killed the ram but as his wife was packing it up, she wondered "Why shouldn't we eat this good ram ourselves?" She put the ram into a leather sack and laid it in a wicker basket.

Then she told their dog to lie down in the basket, beside the leather sack.

"If the jackal does not take the ram during the day, bring it home again," she said to the farmer. "Otherwise, animals that have done nothing for you will eat it during the night."

"Set the basket down in the field just as it is, and then let happen what will."

So the farmer went to the field. He put the basket down on the ground and shouted, "Jackal, here is your ram!"

Then he went to work, plowing from morning until evening without concerning himself any further about the basket, the ram, or the jackal. Finally at sundown, the jackal appeared to claim the ram.

When he poked his nose into the basket the farmer's dog leaped up, scaring the jackal, who ran off as fast as he could. The dog ran after him but the jackal was too fast so he gave up and ran home.

When the farmer came, he looked into the basket and found the ram untouched. He picked up the basket with the ram in it, brought it home, and said, "The jackal has not called for his ram. Now we can eat it ourselves!"

As for the jackal, he swore never to help men again.

(adaptation, via Volksmärchen der Kabylen, translated by D. L. Ashliman)

(images via Bernard DUPONT, ReadySetSafari, and Animal Matchup)