Title

The Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman

Collection

Wilhelm Bleek notebooks

Summary

[The two Lions !haue ta ≠hou and !gu] came to the house of an old woman who was lame, and lived with a little hare. These also managed to outwit the lions; and, at last, !gu died of starvation. After his death, the other lion soon obtained food...We have also a separate account of the latter part of this, embracing the tortoise, the little hare, and the old woman, in the Katkop dialect (by Dia!kwãin, who had it from his mother #kámme–an), written by L (B XXVI. 2487–2529, XXVII. 2530–2535). The two Lions !haue ta ≠hou and !gu are about to eat the Tortoise. The one Lion swallows the Tortoise whole and the Tortoise goes and stands in front of his forehead. The Lion sets out to hunt a gemsbok herd, but the Tortoise speaks to the herd and warns them, so they run away. The Lion returns to his companion and tells him what the Tortoise has done to his hunt as revenge. They go to hunt the herd again together and the one Lion tells the other to remain behind while he steals up on the gemsbok, but the other refuses because he does not believe that the Tortoise stands in front of his forehead. Again, the Tortoise speaks to the gemsbok and warns them and they all run away. The Lion, annoyed, wants the Tortoise taken out of his forehead. The other Lion tries to cut out the Tortoise, who moves under the skin to the back of the tormented Lion's head. The Lion tells his friend to stop cutting and they leave to find where the Tortoise has gone. They come upon a house with an old woman inside. She has a decayed hip and has the little Hare with her in the house. She tells the Hare to take the thorn-tree bag and run away as the Lions are coming to eat them. She tells the Lions to chase after the Hare instead as her flesh is old and decayed. The Lions follow the Hare so that they may eat of the Hare along with the old woman's flesh. The Hare sits on the pan and watches the Lions coming, throwing out thorns to pierce their feet. The Lions stop to pull the thorns out and decide to go back to eat the old woman instead. But the old woman has left the house and the one Lion blames the other for again not listening to him. The tormented Lion asks the other to take out the Tortoise and the other beats the front of the tormented Lion's head with a knobkerrie, knocking a hole in it. The Tortoise moves safely around to the back of the Lion's head while the Lion falls down, unconscious. The helpful Lion says that they must leave the Tortoise alone or else the tormented Lion will be killed from the blows. They go off but the tormented Lion dies from hunger and the Tortoise exits his head.

Comments

1) This story was told to Dia!kwain (David Hoesar) by his mother (≠kamme-an) who heard it from her mother (who could only speak |xam, see p.2486v), 2) p.2491v: Dia!kwain's mother told him that in her time gemsbok were 'abundant', 3) p.2490v: an expression for refusing a piece of food that is too small, 4) p.2507v: a note on a plant with thorns called |kan-tssi (the Dutch name for it is Duif Doorn and Mr Gibbon's called it Tribulus terrestris), 5) See also The advice that Dia!kwain's mother gave him about the tortoise, i.e. that he must not leave one, if he saw it, but must take it home and Lion and Tortoise and The Lion and the Tortoise (in Lloyd's notebooks), 6) This story is found in Book XXVI and Book XXVII

Contributors

Dia!kwain (David Hoesar) (V)

Date

13 March 1874 (started)

Categories

History (Early Race)

Keywords

Lion (the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , Lion (of the two Lions !haue ta ≠hou and !gu) , Lion (bad luck of in finding food) , Lion (reduced to 'pure bones') , Lion (has hands) , Lion (is a man) , Lion (is a person of the Early Race) , Lion (can talk) , Lion (died of hunger) , Lion (is foolish) , Lion (feet of are pierced by thorns) , Lion (helpful) , Lion (tormented) , Lion (takes up the Tortoise) , Lion (swallows the Tortoise) , Lion (the Tortoise stands in front of the forehead of) , Lion (unsuccessful hunt of) , Lion (the Tortoise warns prey of) , Lion (the Tortoise's revenge on) , Tortoise (the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , Tortoise (and bad luck in finding food) , Tortoise (the Lion swallows) , Tortoise (revenge of) , Tortoise (the Lion tries to cut out) , Tortoise (warns the gemsbok) , Tortoise (little) , Tortoise (stands in front of the Lion's forehead) , Tortoise (speaks standing in the Lion's forehead) , gemsbok (were abundant in Dia!kwain's mother's time) , gemsbok (in the time of the Early Race) , gemsbok (and the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , gemsbok (herd) , gemsbok (warned by the Tortoise) , woman (the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , old woman (the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , old woman (the Hare understands her speech) , old woman (of the Early Race) , old woman (treatment of) , old woman (left alone in hut) , old woman (hip) , old woman (flesh of is decayed) , old woman (deceives the Lion) , hut (the old woman's) , hut (the old woman left alone in) , hut (the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , hip (the old woman's decayed) , hip (the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old Woman) , Hare (the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , Hare (and the Early Race) , Hare (was formerly a person) , Hare (understands the old woman's speech) , Hare (the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , Hare (little) , Hare (young) , Hare (sits on pan) , Hare (and thorns) , Hare (deceives the Lion) , thorns (pierce the Lion's foot) , thorns (and the Hare's escape from the Lion) , thorns (bag of) , thorns (and the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , thorns (|xam name of) , thorns (proper name for) , thorns (Dutch or 'Boer' name of) , thorns (|han-tssi) , thorns (Duif Doorn) , geriatricide (the |xam treatment of the old) , geriatricide (the old woman left alone in her hut) , geriatricide (and the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , speech (of the old woman) , speech (the Hare understands the old woman's) , speech (and the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , name (of thorns) , name (and the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , name (proper) , name ('Boer' or Dutch) , name (|xam) , old (the |xam treatment of the aged) , old (geriatricide) , old (the old woman left alone in her hut) , old (and the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman) , revenge (of the Tortoise on the Lion) , revenge (the Lions, the Tortoise, the little Hare and the old woman)

Story Pages

2487-2529, 2530-2535

Page Images