The Seven Old Animals and the Robbers' House - African Folk Tale

Once there was a man who had an old dog, so old that the man desired to put him aside. The dog had served him very faithfully when he was still young, but ingratitude is the world's reward, and the man now wanted to dispose of him. The old faithful creature, however, discovered the plan of his master and so at once resolved to go away of his own accord.

After he had walked quite a way, he met an old bull in the veldt.

"Don't you want to go with me?" asked the dog.

"Where?" was the reply.

"To the land of the aged," said the dog, "where troubles don't disturb you and thanklessness does not deface the deeds of man."

"Good," said the bull, "I am your companion."

The two now walked on and found a ram.

The dog laid the plan before him, and all moved off together, until they afterwards came successively upon a donkey, a cat, a cock, and a goose.

These joined their company, and the seven set out on their journey.

Late one night they came to a house, and through the open door they saw a table spread with all kinds of delicious food, of which some robbers were having their fill. It would do no good to ask for admittance, and seeing that they were hungry, they had to think of something else.

Therefore the donkey climbed up on the bull, the ram on the donkey, the dog on the ram, the cat on the dog, the goose on the cat, and the cock on the goose. With one accord they all let out terrible threatening noises.

The bull began to bellow, the donkey to bray, the dog to bark, the ram to bleat, the cat to mew, the goose to honk and gaggle, and the cock to crow, all without stopping.

The people in the house were frightened out of their wits; they glanced out through the front door, and there they stared at the strange sight. Some of them took to their heels out the back door, some disappeared through the window, and in a few moments the house was empty.

Then the seven old animals climbed down from one another, stepped into the house, and satisfied themselves with the delicious food.

But when they had finished, there still remained a great deal of food, too much to take with them on their remaining journey, and so together they devised a plan to hold their position until the next day after breakfast.

The dog said, "See here, I am accustomed to watching at the front door of my master's house," and thereupon lay down to sleep there. The bull said, "I'll go behind the door," and there he took his position. The ram said, "I will go up to the loft." The donkey said, "I'll stay at the middle door." The cat said, "I'll take the fireplace." The goose said, "I'll guard the back door." And the cock said, "I am going to sleep on the bed."

The captain of the robbers, after a while, sent one of his men back to see if these creatures had yet left the house.

The man came very cautiously into the neighborhood, listened and listened, but he heard nothing. He peeped through the window and saw in the fireplace just two coals still glimmering, and thereupon started to walk through the front door.

There the old dog seized him by the leg. He jumped into the house, but the bull was ready, swept him up with his horns, and tossed him up to the loft. Here the ram received him and pushed him off the loft again. Reaching the ground, he made for the middle door, but the donkey set up a terrible braying and at the same time gave him a kick that landed him in the fireplace, where the cat flew at him and scratched him nearly to pieces. He then jumped out through the back door, and here the goose grabbed him by the trousers. When he was some distance away, the cock crowed loudly. He thereupon ran so fast that you could hear the stones rattle in the dark.

Purple and crimson with bruises and out of breath, he came back to his companions.

"Frightful, frightful!" was all that they could get from him at first, but after a while he told them his tale.

"When I looked through the window I saw in the fireplace two bright coals shining, and when I wanted to go through the front door to investigate, I stepped into an iron trap that clamped down on my leg. I jumped into the house, and there someone seized me with a pitchfork and tossed me up to the loft. There again someone was ready and threw me down hard. I wanted to escape through the middle door, but there someone blew on a war horn and struck me with a sledgehammer so that I didn't know where I landed. Coming to my senses quickly, I found I was in the fireplace, and there another demon flew at me and nearly scratched the eyes out of my head. I fled out the back door, and there I was attacked by a sixth monster with a pair of fire tongs. And when I was still running away, someone shouted from the house, 'Stop him, stop h-i-m!'"

The robbers were so terrified by this account that they never dared return to that house again. They believed it was haunted by the most fearsome spirits and demons.

The seven old animals, meanwhile, found the house so comfortable and the remaining food so plentiful that they decided to stay permanently. They had found their "land of the aged" at last—a place where they were safe, well-fed, and valued for their unique abilities.

The dog continued to guard the front door faithfully, the bull protected the main room, the ram kept watch from the loft, the donkey secured the middle entrance, the cat maintained the hearth, the goose patrolled the back exit, and the cock served as their alarm system from his perch.

And there they lived contentedly for the rest of their days, proving that even those considered old and useless can find new purpose when they work together with wisdom and courage.