Once upon a time a ram thought he would build himself a house in the
forest. So he went into the forest and made a clearing.
“That’s done now,” he said; “to-morrow I’ll have a rest, and after that
I’ll start building my house.”
Then he went back to his home.
But at the same time a leopard thought he would build himself a house in
the forest. So he went there and began to look for a likely place, when
suddenly he saw that a clearing had already been made, as though on
purpose for a house to be built there.
“That’s splendid!” he thought. “I’ll begin to build my house here!”
And he started dragging sticks and stakes and logs along; he worked all
day, and got very tired, and then he said:
“Well, the beginning is always the hardest part! To-morrow I’ll rest,
and then start work again!”
The next day the ram came along, and saw all the sticks and stakes and
logs gathered there: all he had to do was to put them together! And he
was very much surprised, and he thought:
“This must be the fairies helping me!”
And then he began putting the walls up. And he got half way, and then
felt very tired, so he went away to rest.
The next day the leopard came along again, and saw that the walls had
been half built, and he thought:
“There, isn’t that splendid! I had a rest yesterday, and the fairies
meantime helped me!”
[Illustration: Black and white line drawing of a grumpy-faced leopard
standing on a hill in a jungle clearing surrounded by palm trees.]
And he started to work and finished building the walls, and got very
tired, and thought:
“That’s all right! All to-morrow I’ll rest, and then I’ll finish it
off!”
The next day the ram came along, and saw that it was all done but for
the roof. And he set to work and put the roof on. Then he thought:
“Well, to-morrow I’ll just have a good rest, and then I can start moving
in!”
The next day the leopard came along again, and when he saw what had
happened he thought:
[Illustration: Black and white line drawing of a horned ram standing in
a clearing next to a pile of logs, with palm trees behind.]
“There now, would you believe it, the work’s finished! The roof is on!
To-morrow I’ll move in!”
The next day the ram started moving into his new house, and the leopard
also started moving into HIS new house, and they both came along and
met, and the ram said:
“This house is for ME to live in! I built it, and the fairies helped
me!”
But the leopard said:
“No! This house is for ME to live in! It was I who built it, and it was
ME whom the fairies helped!”
[Illustration: Black and white line drawing of a leopard and a ram
facing each other before a thatched hut with a pointed roof and palm
trees.]
And they argued about it for a long time, and couldn’t settle who was to
live in the house, or whom the fairies had helped. And in the end they
went for judgment to the lion, and said to him:
“Please will YOU decide the question: Who built the house, whom did the
fairies help, and who is to live in it?”
And the lion replied:
“Both of you built the house, and the fairies helped you both, and so
both of you go and live in it, and don’t quarrel!”
[Illustration: Black and white line drawing of a grumpy lion sitting
centrally between two palm trees, facing a ram and a leopard standing
below.]
So both the leopard and the ram started living in the house, and they
got on all right and didn’t quarrel. The leopard would go off hunting,
bring back his prey, and eat it. And the ram just kept on walking about
round the house, nibbling the grass and getting quite satisfied with
that. And the leopard began to wonder how it was: the ram had no sharp
teeth, had no claws, and besides that he was lazy, so how did he manage
to get plenty to eat and keep fat? How did HE catch his prey? So he
asked him one day, and said:
“How do YOU catch your prey, Mr. Ram?”
And the ram answered:
“How do I catch my prey? First of all you show me how YOU catch your
prey!”
[Illustration: Black and white line drawing of a leopard sitting upright
near a single log, watching a ram headbutt the ground near a thatched
hut.]
Then the leopard put a log of wood on the ground, and began to approach
it as if he were hunting: first he’d come up from one side, crouch down
on the earth and creep along; then he’d come up from the other side,
crouch down on the earth and creep along. Then all at once he’d spring
right on to the log and start gnawing it with his teeth, hitting it with
his paws, and tearing it with his claws. And the ram watched him, and
then said:
“Well, now I’ll show you how I catch my prey.”
[Illustration: Black and white line drawing of a ram headbutting a
wide-eyed leopard in the side, with palm trees in the background.]
And he went and stood in front of the log, and then began to back. And
he backed and backed, till all at once he ran forward at the log and
butted it hard with his horns, and the log simply went spinning away
like a top. So the leopard saw that the ram was very strong, and he
thought to himself:
“The ram’s a dangerous beast! I must be on the look-out, or he’ll do for
me. But there’s one good thing: I know he’s got to go back before he
comes forward!”
And after that they went on living happily, the leopard going off
hunting and bringing back his prey, and the ram walking round the house
and nibbling the grass. But the leopard kept a sharp look-out and
watched to see if the ram hadn’t started backing.
Then came the rains, and the earth got wet and slippery. And one day the
leopard and the ram were standing together when suddenly the ram
slipped, and he slipped so much that he went quite a long way back. And
when the leopard saw this he got a terrible fright, and thought:
“Oh dear, oh dear! My end has come!”
And with that he dashed off into the forest. And ever since then the ram
has been sole master of the house.
[Illustration: Black and white line drawing of a ram standing in a
grassy clearing, watching a leopard flee into the background past palm
trees.]
[Illustration: Detailed black and white line drawing of a mechanical
dragon built like a steamship or train, with smokestacks, biplane wings,
and riveted metal plates.]