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PART I

AFRICAN FABLES THE HEDGEHOG AND THE DOG

HE Hedgehog and the Dog were formerly good friends, and cultivated bananas together. When the bananas were full-grown, the Hedgehog used to go to look at them every day, and when at last they were ripe he invited the Dog to go with him and eat them. When the two friends reached the foot of the banana tree, the Hedgehog tried in vain to reach the bunches of bananas. The Dog, meanwhile, standing on his hind legs, could easily reach up and pluck the fruit. He found them so good that he did not stop until he had eaten all the bananas, without giving a single one to the Hedgehog, regardless of his entreaties.

When the Dog had eaten the last banana the Hedgehog said: "Now let us play a game that I often play with my brothers. You must take a bamboo and sharpen it at both ends; and when it is sharp you must stick it into the ground at the foot of the tree, and then climb the tree and jump down on the stick. The Dog was willing to play this game, and when all was ready he invited the Hedgehog to jump first, and even helped him up the tree, since his friend could not climb alone. The Hedgehog jumped first, straight down onto the bamboo stick,—but thanks to his stiff quills, he was not hurt. Then came the turn of the Dog, and he jumped, and was transfixed by the sharp bamboo. As the Hedgehog departed he called over his shoulder, "Ask your banana skins to help you!"

(Senegal Folk-Tale, from Collection de Contes et Chansons Populaires, Vol. 40.)

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