It was a time of famine. The hare made himself a drum out of snakeskin, cut himself a stick, poured water into his calabash - a bottle gourd - took his bag and went hunting. In the bushes he saw a whole brood of guinea fowl.
The hare said:
- Hey! Come out everyone! Today is my holiday! Today will be fun!
He put his bag on the ground, put his stick, put his bottle gourd, and then hit the drum with his paws - and the drum began to sing and say:
- Bam, bam, kulunkutu, kulunkutu, kata lolo take kata linka! The guinea fowl heard and looked out of the bushes.
They asked:
-What does your drum say?
The hare said:
- My drum calls you to a holiday.
They asked:
- Why do you have a stick?
The hare said:
- To teach you to dance.
They asked:
- Why do you have a bag?
The hare said:
— There’s a treat in the bag for you.
They asked:
- Why do you have a calabash?
The hare said:
- To give you wine! And he hit the drum again.
- Bam, bam, kulunkutu, kulunkutu, kata lolo take kata linka!
The guinea fowl crawled out of the bushes and approached the hare with caution. And the drum kept calling and persuading:
- Kulunkutu, kulunkutu, kata lolo take kata linka!
The guinea fowl came very close to the hare.
Then the hare grabbed his calabash and splashed water on them. The guinea fowls rushed about and cackled. Water flooded their eyes. Blindly they bumped into each other and circled in one place.
And the hare grabbed his stick and began waving it left and right. He killed three guinea fowl, he put them in his bag and went home. He walked and tapped on his drum:
- Kulunkutu, kulunkutu, kata lolo take kata linka! Kulunkutu, kulunkutu, I killed the stupid guinea fowl with a stick!
At home, the hare lit a fire and began to cook dinner for himself.
At this time, a hyena cub passed by his home. Hungry, he wandered through the forest and suddenly smelled the smell of meat. He stopped and began to think about how he could taste the tasty morsel. He was small but cunning. No wonder he was a hyena cub,
He said:
- Hare, give me fire. The hare gave him a coal.
The hyena cub moved away a little and put out the fire. Then he returned to the hare and said:
- My fire has gone out. Give me another coal. The hare gave it.
The hyena cub moved away and put out the fire again. So he left and returned until, finally, the hare pulled the meat out of the cauldron. The hare had to give a piece to his guest. The hyena cub ate half of it, put the other half behind its ear and ran home. He said to his mother and older brothers:
- You are sitting here hungry, but look what I brought! Look what's behind my ear! You will find something there!
The old hyena came up, saw the meat and took a bite.
The brothers came up, saw the meat and attacked it so much that they even tore the little one’s ear.
The little one cried. And his mother began to console him:
- Shut up, shut up, I’ll buy you another ear at the market!
Then she said:
-Where did you get this delicious meat?
The brothers said:
- Yes, yes, where did you find this wonderful meat?
The little one said:
- The hare gave it to me.
Then the old hyena said:
- Go call the hare. Say I'm sick. The hyena cub left, and the old hyena put a stone behind her cheek and lay down. The hare has arrived. The hyena moaned and said:
- My little brother, oh-oh! My teeth hurt a lot.
“I see,” said the hare.
Hyena said:
“Feel what’s in my mouth.” - And she opened her mouth. The hare put his paw into her mouth, and that was all the hyena needed. She bit his paw and hissed:
“Until you admit where you got the meat, I won’t let you go.”
The hare said:
“And that’s all you need from me?” Yes, you can eat this meat every day! Make a drum, take a stick, take a calabash, take a bag and go to the guinea fowl. They live in the bush. It is not so easy to lure them out of there. But tell them you came to amuse them. If they ask why you have a stick, tell them: to teach them to dance. If they ask what the bag is for, say: to treat them. If they ask why there is a drum, say: to call for a holiday. And then splash water on them and hit them with a stick.
The hyena did just that. She went to the bush and began drumming the drum with all her might. Her drum was made of buffalo skin, and every time the hyena hit it, thunder rolled through the forest.
And the hyena thought: The louder the voice of my drum, the better! All the guinea fowl will hear me. All the guinea fowl will come running to me. And I will kill everyone with a stick, I will strangle everyone with my teeth. Not one will leave me. But the guinea fowl did not come. They then stuck out, then hid again...
Finally they asked:
- Why are you beating the drum like that? The hyena has completely lost patience. Her head was even clouded from hunger and greed.
- Why am I beating the drum? - the hyena growled. - To lure you out of the bush!
The guinea fowl asked:
- What do you need the calabash for?
Hyena said:
- To make wet chickens out of you.
The guinea fowl asked:
- What do you need the stick for?
Hyena said:
- In order to beat you stupid people.
The guinea fowl asked:
- What do you need the bag for?
Hyena said:
- In order to carry you away in this bag. And she began to beat the drum again.
- Kulukkutu, kulunkutu, kata lolo take kata linka!
But the guinea fowl settled in the bushes and didn’t even show their beaks.
So the hyena left with nothing. Out of rage, she tore her drum with her teeth, broke her stick, smashed her calabash on the stones, and tore her bag to shreds. And if a hare caught her eye, she would swallow it whole.
But the hare sat in his hole and laughed loudly.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru