The Trickster's Ultimate Challenge: Jackal, Wolf, and Leopard

Have you ever wondered how far a clever mind can go to escape seemingly impossible situations? What happens when the tables finally turn on the most cunning trickster? Today's story explores what occurs when a lifetime of deception catches up with you – and whether even the most desperate trap can contain true ingenuity.

In a time when animals spoke and schemed, there lived a notorious trickster known as Jackal. For years, he had tormented Wolf with countless clever deceptions – stealing his dinner, tricking him into painful situations, and constantly outsmarting him at every turn.

Wolf's new wife had grown tired of hearing about Jackal's tricks. Day after day, she complained about how Wolf had let Jackal trap his tail, steal his food, and trick him into beatings. Her constant nagging drove Wolf to desperation. He needed to get even with Jackal or leave home forever – one or the other.

One day, while deep in thought about how to catch his tormentor, Wolf found himself walking right up to Jackal's house. Quickly hiding behind a bush, he noticed there was no smoke from the chimney, and the door was shut tight with a bush covering the window. Jackal wasn't home!

"This is just my chance at last," Wolf thought to himself. "I'll go inside and hide behind the door. When he comes in, I'll bash him until nothing remains but a grease spot!"

Wolf slipped into the house and squeezed himself into the corner behind the door. He had barely settled in when Jackal returned.

But Jackal wasn't one to enter his home carelessly. He circled around first, examining everything to ensure all was as he'd left it. Halfway around, he discovered Wolf's footprints and stopped short.

"That's not my track," he muttered, his ears twitching alertly. "That's Wolf who's been here. Perhaps he's inside my house?"

After considering his options, Jackal called out in a slow, cunning voice: "My old house! My old house!"

Silence answered.

Again he called: "My old house! My old house!"

Again, silence.

With a knowing wink, Jackal changed his call: "My old house! I know Wolf's inside you, or you'd say 'Come in' like you always do!" Then he laughed loudly enough to be heard through the trees.

Wolf, hearing every word from his hiding place, thought himself clever. "If I call out 'Come in,' he'll think it's the house answering! Jackal isn't as smart as he thinks." So Wolf softened his voice and called out in a high, wheedling tone: "Co-o-me in!"

Jackal burst into laughter and began throwing stones at the door. "Come out of there, old fathead! Think I can't recognize your voice? Besides, I can see your tail hairs sticking through the cracks!"

Furious at being outsmarted yet again, Wolf flung open the door, intending to chase Jackal down. But Jackal could run twice as fast, occasionally kicking out his back foot just to taunt Wolf further.

After many more failed attempts to catch Jackal, Wolf grew truly desperate. He decided to visit White Owl, who was known for his wisdom. The owl listened carefully to Wolf's troubles, his eyes fixed steadily on Wolf as if physically attached.

"Well," said Owl finally, "Jackal is certainly cunning, but we can outsmart him. Here's what you must do:

"You know where Leopard lives in the ravine beyond the mountain? She has four young cubs and struggles to find enough food for them. Tomorrow, you'll walk past Jackal's house as if returning from that ravine. Have honey dripping from your jaws and paws. Walk right past Jackal while he's sitting in the sun, but don't say a word – just continue home.

"The next day, do the same thing. By then, he'll surely greet you, as he'll have been thinking about that honey ever since. Still, don't answer – just keep walking.

"On the third day, when he greets you, return his greeting. He'll certainly coax and wheedle to learn where you found the honey. Don't tell him at first – just give him a tiny piece wrapped in a green leaf. This will make him desperate for more.

"Then suggest you might show him where to find it if he promises to keep it secret. He'll promise before you've finished asking. Lead him to the ravine, to the great rock at the far end, and show him Leopard's den. Tell him, 'The honey is in there,' and in he'll pop. Then roll a big stone across the entrance and leave him. Leopard will handle the rest when she returns home."

Wolf thought this plan was brilliant. It sounded so clever that he considered it already accomplished, laughing to himself as he left to begin.

The first day, Wolf walked past Jackal's house with honey dripping from his mouth and paws. Jackal, sitting by the prickly pear, said nothing. He simply glanced over his shoulder to ensure his escape route was clear, then noticed the honey and thumped his tail once against the ground in thought. Wolf passed by without a glance.

The next day, seeing Wolf approaching with even more honey dripping, Jackal grew curious. "Morning, Uncle Wolf," he called.

Wolf didn't turn his head. He continued walking, licking his lips loudly until Jackal's back arched with desire for that honey.

On the third day, Jackal was ready. As soon as he spotted the dripping honey, he sauntered closer. "Morning, Uncle Wolf! Fine rains we've been having. There's a kudu with a calf across the stream. Don't you think we might catch the calf if we hunt together?"

Wolf paused, as if considering. "No," he replied, "I'm not interested in kudu meat these days. I'm so full of honey I don't crave anything else."

Jackal's mouth began to water. "Do you think that honey might be spoiled?" he asked. "It looks quite dark."

"Oh, it's the dark kind," Wolf answered, licking his chops until Jackal couldn't stand it. He approached and caught a falling drop.

This only intensified his craving. "Uncle Wolf," he pleaded, "won't you give me just a tiny bit of honey? Old friends like us two, you know."

Wolf pretended to consider. "Well, I wouldn't mind, but I only have one piece left – a piece I'm taking home to my wife."

"Your wife!" Jackal responded with mock pity. "Well, if you do that sort of thing..." He shook his head sorrowfully. "But anyway, she doesn't know you have this honey, so it won't matter if you give it to me. What she doesn't know can't trouble her."

"Oh, but she knows I went to get some," Wolf replied, acting reluctant.

"Tell her someone else had been there before you and scraped it all away," suggested Jackal. "She'll never know the difference."

"Well," Wolf conceded, "I might do that – though I expect I'll regret it. Here it is, then," and he unwrapped the small piece of honeycomb.

Jackal devoured it in one bite, which only intensified his desire for more. "Goodness!" he exclaimed, "that's delicious! Where did you get it?"

"Oh, far away," Wolf replied. "Too far to carry home. So I go and eat my fill every day. There's so much of it."

"So much!" Jackal repeated, squirming with desire. "Couldn't we go back there now? I could bring a calabash and collect some for your wife. That would solve everything."

Wolf shook his head and stepped back.

"You'd better do it now," Jackal pressed. "Your wife will see where it's dripped on you and smell it anyway. Then she won't believe anything you say. Better come now and let me carry a calabash back for her."

Wolf acted as if this was a new consideration. "Well, perhaps I should. But no tricks now. If I take you to this place, you'll have to carry back two calabashes, not just one."

"Is there really that much honey?" Jackal asked. "Gracious! Just wait while I get two calabashes this instant!" He darted into his house and emerged with two of the largest new calabashes. "Here they are, let's go!" But he winked to himself, thinking, "If I carry that honey back, I know who'll eat it too."

Wolf pretended great reluctance, acting as if he was only going because he feared his wife. Along the way, Jackal chattered about future hunts they would enjoy together and where watermelons would soon be ripe. Wolf agreed to everything, taking it all in while feigning interest.

At last they reached the ravine, then the rock, and there was Leopard's den. "The honey's in there," said Wolf. "Right inside. Turn up the bed and there it is. And don't forget those two calabashes for my wife."

Jackal laughed and darted inside, already planning how he'd enjoy the honey himself. But he had barely entered when Wolf sprang forward and rolled a massive stone across the entrance.

"Ha! Not so clever this time!" Wolf crowed. "You'll be fine when Leopard comes home and finds you with her cubs. You were going to carry two calabashes of honey for me, were you? As if I'd trust you with any honey at all!"

Jackal heard the stone rolling into place and lunged to escape, but only banged his head painfully. Then he heard Wolf's taunts and sniffed the air suspiciously.

"I bet you thought I was really going to carry that honey for you!" he called back.

"And I bet you thought I'd have trusted you if there had been honey here!" Wolf replied.

"And I know you think I believed there was honey here!" Jackal sniffed. "I knew there'd be no honey, or you wouldn't have showed me. But I knew there'd be something – and there is. There's something even better to eat: cubs."

"And there's more," Wolf added. "There's their mother – the leopard. And – good heavens, here she comes!"

You should have seen how quickly Wolf disappeared.

The leopard approached and put her paw on the stone. "What's this doing here?" she growled, making Jackal's wits freeze with fear.

He had to think quickly. "I put that stone there," he called out promptly. "You'd better not move it. I saw Wolf licking his lips, thinking what a nice dinner he would make of your cubs. So I got inside and pulled this stone against the door to keep him out and save your little ones. If you look, you'll see his tracks."

The leopard looked, and indeed there were Wolf's footprints. "My goodness!" she exclaimed. "So that Wolf wanted to get my cubs while I was out hunting?"

"That's right," Jackal confirmed from inside. "And he figures if he can't get them today, he'll try another day. So you'd better leave the stone there and let me hand your cubs through the window to be nursed and returned. Then I'll watch them while you hunt again, and I'll keep doing that until they're big enough to go hunting with you."

"That makes sense," agreed the leopard. "I'll do that. Hand me the cubs."

So Jackal passed one cub out through the window. When it had nursed enough, he took it back and handed out another. He continued until all four had been fed. "Now you look after them again until I return," said the leopard, and off she went.

Jackal sat down and surveyed his surroundings. "Well," he said to himself, "there never was any honey here, but what is here is nearly as sweet and much better – these cubs; fat cubs; juicy cubs. Leopard would have to pay me for nursing them when I finish anyway, but I think it's better I take my payment first. Then if you don't like the work, you needn't do it. I'll have one of these cubs right now."

He ate one cub, finding it so delicious that he decided no single leopard could drive him out while any cubs remained. So he sat there singing a song about "honey that had hair on it." When the leopard returned and asked, "How are my little ones?" Jackal replied, "Just fine – for eating."

"What's that?" asked the leopard, her tail twitching.

"Well, their eating and drinking," Jackal quickly corrected, handing out one cub.

They exchanged the remaining three cubs, but the leopard was waiting for the fourth – the one Jackal had already eaten. Without hesitation, Jackal simply handed out the first cub again. "Extra portion for you," he said when taking it back. "Extra juice for me."

When the leopard went hunting again, Jackal ate the cub that had received two feedings. When the leopard returned, he handed out the cubs – one, two, and then the first one again as number three, and the second as number four. He felt so pleased with himself that he stood on his head inside the den.

The leopard went hunting again, and Jackal ate another cub. Upon her return, only one remained. "How are my little ones?" asked the leopard.

"Fine," Jackal assured her. "They're just fine! Only one seems a bit unwell. But it will be alright after another feeding."

He passed out the last remaining cub, which nursed and was handed back. Then he passed it out again for another feeding. Each time the cub fed, until eventually its little stomach was so full it couldn't drink anymore and had swelled noticeably. "That's the one that's not feeling well," Jackal explained.

"It does look a bit sick," the leopard agreed, concerned. "I wonder what's wrong with it?"

"I think this stone blocks all the air," Jackal suggested. "You might pull it back a little – not all the way, or Wolf might try to get in again."

So the leopard pulled the stone back slightly – not too far, but just enough for Jackal to squeeze out if he wanted to. "Look after that sick one," she instructed before departing again.

Jackal promptly ate the last cub. "What a shame they're all gone," he lamented. "Now I'll have to leave before the leopard returns and wants to feed her cubs again."

He squeezed through the opening, ready to escape, but had barely taken his first step when he spotted the leopard returning. There he stood, exposed, with the leopard approaching to feed her cubs. But the clever trickster wasn't finished yet.

With a sudden yell, he ran and put his shoulder against the rock. "Hurry! Hurry!" he shouted. "The rock is falling on your house! Come help me hold it up! Quick!"

The leopard didn't stop to look or think. Hearing Jackal's cries and seeing him straining to hold up the rock, his eyes bulging with effort, she rushed to his side. Within seconds, the leopard was there too, her shoulder against the stone, digging and pushing to hold it up.

"Hold it while I run and get a prop!" Jackal called, and the leopard redoubled her efforts while Jackal disappeared into the trees to find a support.

But as the old storyteller concluded with a meaningful pause: "He hasn't returned with that prop yet."

What does this ancient tale tell us about the power of quick thinking? About the nature of deception? And perhaps most importantly, about whether true cleverness lies in outsmarting others or in building genuine trust?

In a world where we're often faced with challenging situations, should we admire Jackal's resourcefulness or question his ethics? The story leaves us wondering: Is a triumph built on deception really a victory at all? And what happens when our reputation precedes us – when everyone knows we're the trickster who never returned with the prop?