Jackal and ǀGau the Lion

You know, cleverness is a very important thing to possess—and cleverness has saved ǃKaũ from the cooking pot more than once. ǃKaũ, the jackal, is a clever creature. Sometimes too clever for his own good.

One day, long ago, ǃKaũ was trotting—as only a jackal can—through a narrow, rocky pass in the mountains. As usual, he kept his nose close to the ground, sniffing at the dust in search of some scent. You never know where your next meal will come from, he thought. A rat was unlikely in the heat of the day, but perhaps a lizard…

Suddenly, he froze.

Movement. Ahead of him in the pass.

Oh no.

ǃKaũ panicked. It was ǀGau, the great lion, coming straight toward him.

He was too close to flee, and ǃKaũ was filled with dread. He had played so many tricks on ǀGau in the past that he was certain the lion would now take his revenge.

There was no escape.

Desperate, Jackal looked up at the sky, and that's when he saw the clouds gliding slowly past the cliffs above—and an idea came to him.

"Help! Help!" cried Jackal, dropping to the ground and trembling. "Help!"

Lion stopped in his tracks, surprised.

"Help!" howled ǃKaũ again, this time letting the real fear in his chest add weight to his cry. "Oh great king! There is no time to lose! See those great rocks above us? They are about to fall—they will crush us both!"

He cowered even lower, paws over his snout.

Lion glanced upward—and sure enough, the clouds made it look as if the rocks were falling. His heart quickened.

"Oh mighty ǀGau, please, use your strength—save us!"

And so ǀGau, not wanting to be buried alive, put his mighty shoulder to the overhanging stone and heaved against it.

"Thank you, great king!" yelped Jackal. "I'll go fetch that log down the path. We'll prop the rock up together and be safe!"

With that, ǃKaũ darted off around the bend and disappeared down the track.

Lion remained behind, straining under the weight of the unmoving rock.

How long he waited there before he realized it was all just another trick—we will never know.

But this much is certain:

ǀGau got tricked,
ǃKaũ got away,
and cleverness—well, cleverness lives on too.