orange fairy book

Chapter 20 The Adventures of the Jackal's Eldest Son

Now, though the Jackal was dead, he left two sons who were as scheming as he was, the eldest of whom was often with a coyote.One day, as they were walking together, they picked up a beautiful green cloak, which must have been dropped by someone riding a camel across the plain.Of course they both wanted it, and they almost quarreled about it, until they decided that the coyote would wear it during the day and the jackal at night, and that would solve the problem.But after a while the Jackal was dissatisfied with the decision again, and said that his friends, unlike those of the Coyote, could not see the splendor of the cloak at night, so that it must be fair that he sometimes wear it during the day.The coyote refused at any rate, and they were on the verge of quarreling again, when the coyote suggested that they should go to the Lion King for judgment.The jackal agreed, and the coyote wrapped the cloak around him, and they both ran to the lion's den.

The talkative jackal told the story first, and the Lion King turned to the hyena when he had heard it, and asked him if what the jackal had said was true.

The coyote replied, "Totally true, Your Majesty."

"Then lay this cloak on the ground," said the Lion King, "and I will judge." So they spread the cloaks out on the red floor, with the Coyote and the Jackal standing on either side.

After a moment of silence, the Lion King sat on the throne and said:

"My verdict is - whoever can ring the nearest bell first after dawn tomorrow will fully own this cloak. Now, you go, there are still many things waiting for me to do!"

The coyote stayed up all night, lest the jackal ring the bell before him, for the bell was so close at hand that any slowness would be too late.When the first ray of sunshine appeared in the morning, the coyote ran away to the clock, and the jackal had slept well all night. At this time, he also got up, and shouted in the direction where the coyote was running: "Good day." transport!"

In fact, the cunning jackal didn't run towards the clock, but put the cloak on his shoulders, and flew to the other side of the plain.

After running for a few miles, the jackal felt that it was safe for the hyena to catch up, so he slowed down.Then he saw a lion and another coyote talking, and walked slowly over to join their conversation.

"Good morning," he said, "may I ask what's going on? You seem to be discussing something important."

"Sit down, please," replied the Lion. "We are discussing which direction we should go in order to find the best food. The Coyote wants to go to the forest, and I want to go to the mountains. What do you think?"

The jackal said: "Oh, when I was walking on the plain just now, I found a group of sheep grazing, and some of them went into a small valley, which was beyond the sight of the shepherd. After you pass, hide in the Among the stones, you can strike at the right time, and no one will find you. However, you should let me accompany you and guide you, right?"

"It is very kind of you," answered the Lion, and they walked cautiously along the way, until at last they came to the side of the little valley, and hid themselves behind a pile of stones to observe the situation secretly.There were indeed several sheep grazing on the lush meadow in the small valley, a ram, an ewe, and a lamb, all of whom were unaware of their perilous situation.

The lion asked the coyote in a low voice, "How shall we divide?"

"Oh, that's easy," said the coyote. "The lamb for me, the ewe for the jackal, and the ram for you."

"So I have to eat that thing that is skinny except for the horns, isn't it?" the lion roared angrily, "I'll teach you how to divide it, that's right!" After speaking, he punched the coyote twice hard , The coyote died suddenly.Then he turned to the jackal and said, "How do you want to divide?"

"It is quite different from the coyote's division," replied the Jackal. "You should eat the lamb for breakfast, the ewe for lunch, and the ram for supper."

The Lion looked at him in amazement, and exclaimed, "My God, you are so clever! Who taught you such wisdom?"

"The fate of the coyote," answered the Jackal, laughing and running as fast as he could, for he had seen two men with spears in their hands approaching behind the Lion!
The jackal ran desperately, not even daring to turn his head. Finally, he couldn't run anymore, and fell under a tree panting.At this time, he heard rustling in the grass, and it turned out that his father's old friend hedgehog came to him.

"Oh, it's you?" asked the hedgehog. "It's so rare that we meet so far away from home!"

"I nearly lost my life just now," said the jackal out of breath. "Now I'm going to sleep first, and we'll find some entertainment when I regain my strength." So he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. for hours.

When the jackal woke up and saw the hedgehog waiting for him, he said to the hedgehog, "I feel better now, do you have any advice?"

The Hedgehog replied, "There is a little farmhouse over there in the woods, and they make the best butter in the world. I know their habits. The farmer's wife keeps a few cows far away from home, and after an hour she Will go to milking, then we can easily climb in through the window of their house and steal the butter in the house. You can eat first, and I will watch for you in case someone comes, and then you for me Take care, let me eat."

The jackal said excitedly: "This plan sounds good!" So they set off together.

But when he got to the farmhouse, the Jackal said to the Hedgehog, "Go in and take out those butter jars, and I will hide them in a safe place."

"Oh, no," cried the hedgehog, "I can't do that, because they'll find out right away that the butter has been stolen! Besides, it'd be nice to steal a little now and then."

"Do as I tell you at once," said the jackal, looking at the hedgehog with stern eyes.The hedgehog didn't dare to say anything more, and quickly rolled the jars of butter to the window, and the jackal moved them out of the window one by one.

The butter cans were soon lined up in front of the jackal when he jumped up suddenly.

"Run for your life," he whispered to the hedgehog, "I saw that peasant woman coming down from the mountain!" The hedgehog was so frightened that his heart "pounded" and he ran as fast as he could.The jackal stayed where he was and shook his head with a smirk. In fact, he didn't see the peasant woman at all. He just wanted to trick the hedgehog away, because he didn't want the hedgehog to know where he hid the butter pot. Then, he could steal it every day. Take a little out and take it to his hiding place, and enjoy it all by yourself.

Finally one morning, the hedgehog found the jackal and couldn't help but ask him:

"What did you do with the butter after that? You never told me."

"Oh, I hid them in a safe place, and we can't bring them out until the couple have completely forgotten about them," replied the Jackal, "but they're still looking, so we'll have to wait a little longer, and then I'll Take them home and we can share them when the time comes."

The hedgehog waited and waited, but every time he asked if there was a chance of getting the butter back, the jackal always made excuses.After a while, the hedgehog became suspicious and said to the jackal:

"I want to know where you hid them. Take me to that place after dark tonight."

"I really can't tell you," said the jackal, "you're talking so much, you're sure to let the secret out, and then we'll have nothing, and the farmer will probably have our heads chopped off. I think he's discouraged, It is estimated that he will give up soon, just wait patiently for a while."

The hedgehog didn't say anything, but pretended to agree.A few days later, the jackal came back from hunting and was fast asleep when the hedgehog suddenly woke the jackal up.

"I've just been informed," said the hedgehog, "that my family wants to have a party tomorrow and they want to invite you. Will you come?"

"Of course I will," replied the Jackal, "with great pleasure. But I am going out in the morning, so you may meet me on the way."

"Excellent," replied the hedgehog.Then the jackal went on to sleep, and he had to get up early the next day.

The next day, the hedgehog came to the appointed place on time, but the jackal hadn't arrived yet, so he sat down and waited.

When the dark yellow figure of the jackal finally appeared, the hedgehog shouted: "Ah, you are here at last! I almost decided not to wait for you! Actually, I wish you hadn't come, because I don't know where to hide you." it is good."

"Why did you hide me?" Jackal asked suspiciously, "What's wrong?"

The hedgehog replied, "Well, many guests have brought their dogs and mules with them, so I'm afraid it won't be safe for you to be with them." The jackal ran away at once.

"Hey, don't run that way," the hedgehog stopped him and continued, "because there is another team coming down the mountain, and you lie here. I put these sacks on you. If you want to save your life, you lie down. Now, no matter what happens, don't move."

What happened next was that the hedgehog rolled a large rock down the knoll and crushed the jackal to death while the jackal was lying down covered by the sack.

(End of this chapter)