Then the Wild Dog said again, "Thou saidst that thou fearest no one,
except grass, flies, earth and tree-leaves; thou fearest, lest when
thou enterest the forest, the leaves of trees should touch thee, or
lest grass should touch thy body, or lest flies should sit on thy skin;
thou also fearest to lie upon the bare earth, and thou fearest our
Lord, who created thee: all these thou fearest, 'but not any other I
fear within this forest,' thou saidst; and yet I showed thee a bird,
the which thou couldst not kill, but thou leftest it, and rannest home;
now tell me how this bird looks?"
The Lion answered and said to the Wild Dog: "Wild Dog, what thou saidst
is true, and I believe it; a black man is something to be feared; if we
do not fear a black man neither shall we fear our Lord who created us."
Now all the wild beasts which God has created hunt for their food in
the forest, and eat it; but as soon as they see one black man standing,
they do not stop and wait, but run away. Now the following beasts are
dangerous in the forest: viz., the leopard, the lion, the wild cow, the
wild dog and the hyena; but when they see a black man, they do not stop
and wait. As for the dispute which the Lion and the Wild Dog had, the
Wild Dog was right, and the Lion gave him his right; then they shook
hands again, and each went and ran to his own home. This fable, which
I heard, respecting the Wild Dog and the Lion, is now finished.
[1]This refers to the universal belief that hunters are able to render
themselves invisible, in moments of danger, by the operation of charms
and witchcraft.