Mr. Hare called for a meeting in his home. He loved sharing the little he had with all the animals. No matter how hard the years had been, animals got time to meet and eat together. Apart from eating together, they would get time to share laughter and stories.
This year’s host was Mr. Hare and his wife Ndiku. In the evening Mr. Hare called his wife,
“My lovely wife, tomorrow you will go out there to our friends. Inform them this year we are pleased to invite them in our house. Remind them this year we will have stew of butterfly and honey.”
Mr. Hare was known to be generous. He also liked to meet young hares to teach them stories about their history.
Ndiku obeyed her husband. The following day she woke up very early. On her back she carried their four months old child Bobby. Bobby loved riding on her mother’s back. On the road they met with friends Kithaka and Kethaka. He moved his ears sideways as a form of greetings. By noon they arrived in the old village. All were at home preparing to go to work.
“Good morning,” she greeted
“Good morning,” they responded
“I have come to invite you for a meeting in our house tomorrow,”
“We will come,”
“You are welcome”
Ndiku followed the houses in line until she had informed all the houses. Afterwards she started the journey back home. She arrived home very tired and thirsty. She found the husband was already at home. It was already some minutes past noon.
“You must be tired and thirsty, please sit and I will serve you with something to wet your throat.”
He served Ndiku and Bobby juice he had gathered from the trees. They enjoyed it.
The following day at 3:00 pm the first visitor arrived. Tonny Hare and Little Dolly Hare came too. They looked happy. They would play and sing:
Jingle bell
Jingle bells
Jingle all the way!
They would dance the ears this way and that way. As they danced, they would form circles and at night have butterfly stew. This really excited them.
The next group arrived an hour later. Their father was not there. This was strange! Mr. Hare went to open the gate for them.
“Good evening,” Mr. Hare greeted
Later that night, it was sadly noted he was killed. The mood became sore. Who killed him? No one knew about it. After the meals they didn’t sing the jingle bell. The adults too didn’t take coconut wine to protest the killing of their friend.
They all agreed the enemy was acting swiftly.
Mr. Hare’s family had a close friend. He was chosen and spoke to their creator. When in trouble, they would visit him. Now they needed him most for protection from the evil killer.
The prophet was in his room when they arrived. When he came out, he was happy to see his friends. When the prophet heard about the killings, he went to the prayer room. He was heard asking for his friends’ protection. The creator offered to give wings to all animals to fly high away from the enemy. But the offer came with a condition. They were to elect a leader who would be in charge of giving out the wings.
The following morning, a big meeting was called. All the animals who needed wings were convened. The antelopes, the leopard, elephant, zebras, hyena, giraffe, horses, camel and all the birds came to the meeting.
All animals with two legs, with four legs, each group was to elect a leader of their own. The ostrich was elected for animals with two legs. He was given the wings. He distributed the wings equally to all the animals. When he tacked in his, they were insufficient to lift his body in the air. But the wings were sufficient enough to run fast away from the enemy.
Those with four legs, all failed to agree on a leader. When the hyena was chosen, some animals dismissed him saying he is greedy. When the elephant was chosen, some animals cited bullying. That is why the creator did not give out the wings to the animals who walk on fours. Probably when they grow trust among themselves, they will get wings.
Read – The Karate Kid of Coronationville – A Children’s Story by C A Turton, South Africa
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