In a time when animals could talk, a wagtail’s eggs hatched on the ground. A jackal coerced a fox to falsely swear that the wagtail owed him butter. Distressed, the bird confided in a greyhound, who devised a plan. Hidden in a sack, the hound confronted the deceitful jackal and fox, exposing their lies and ensuring justice for the wagtail.
Source
Moorish Literature
romantic ballads, tales of the Berbers,
stories of the Kabyles, folk-lore,
and national traditions
The Colonial Press,
London, New York, 1901
► Themes of the story
Cunning and Deception: The jackal and fox use manipulation and deceit to accuse the wagtail falsely.
Revenge and Justice: Justice is restored when the greyhound intervenes to expose the falsehoods.
Good vs. Evil: The struggle between the deceitful jackal and the innocent wagtail highlights this moral conflict.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Berber peoples
Translated by J. Rivière
and Chauncey C. Starkweather
At the time when all the animals spoke, a wagtail laid her eggs on the ground. The little ones grew up. A jackal and a fox came to them. The jackal said to the fox: “Swear to me that the wagtail owes me a pound of butter.”
The fox swore to it. The bird began to weep. A greyhound came to her and asked her what was the matter. She answered him: “The fox has calumniated me.”
“Well,” said the hound, “put me in this sack of skin.”
She put him in the sack. “Tie up the top well,” said the hound. When the jackal returned she said to him: “Come and measure out the butter.”
► Continue reading…
The jackal advanced and unfastened the sack. He saw the hound, who stretched out his paws and said to the fox:
“I am ill; come and measure, fox.”
The fox approached. The hound seized him. The jackal said, “Remember your false testimony.”
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Dreamtime Whispers 