A jackal once made itself a throne of bones near the river-side,
and levied toll on all the animals that came there to drink water,
making each say in turn these words:
"Golden is your throne,
Silver is its plaster,
In your ears are golden earrings,
And you sit like a Rajah."
This praise pleased the jackal, and he was puffed up with his own
importance.
One day a guana, or iguana, a very large lizard, called by the natives
"Go," came to the river, but when the jackal asked it to repeat
the words, it said: "Let me drink first, for I am dying of thirst;"
so he let it drink, and when it had finished, it said:
"Bones are your throne,
With cow dung are they plastered,
In your ears are shoes,
And you sit like a jackal."
This made the jackal wild with anger, so he ran after the Go to kill
it, and caught its tail in his teeth, just as the Go was getting into
a hole. "Hoo hoo," said the jackal.
"Don't say Hoo, say Ha," called the Go; so the jackal said "Ha!" and
in order to say it, had to open his mouth, so the Go escaped!