IN the olden days, all the animals of the world lived together in friendship. No one animal was the leader or ruler. There was no concept of crime. Because of this, there was a lot of bad stuff going on. Animals would do things because they knew they could get away with them.
This cold only last for so long. Many of the animals were getting tired of the nonsense and shenanigans going on around them. They decided they needed to appoint a leader to sort things out, so they gathered together to choose a king. However, this wasn’t as easy as it sounded. All of the animals wanted something different in a leader.
Lion was eager to suggest himself. He was brave, strong, and intolerant of foul play. However, the other animals collectively found the lion much too intimidating to be a successful ruler. Wolf was named next, but Wolf had many sworn enemies and couldn’t manage to win enough of his neighbors over.
After realizing they’d never be able to settle if given an open choice, the animals decided to have a race to determine who the new king would be. The first animal to make it to the stool under the ancient tree and sit down there would be crowned.
Every animal in the kingdom entered the race. Naturally, the hare was the quickest of the animals and was able to reach the stool significantly before the next animal behind him.
The hare had followed the conditions of the race and rightfully earned his place as king…or so he thought. As he was about to sit down, the hare heard a voice coming from the stool. To the hare’s surprise, the chameleon came into view. He was, in fact, already sitting on the stool.
“Hold on,” said the hare, fuming in anger. “The king of the animals should have won fair and square, not through deception and trickery. Deception and trickery are things we were trying to get rid of in the first place! Yes, it was clever of you to cling to me throughout the race and make it here first, but it was also selfish. This is not a quality you would want in a leader of yours, is it?” asked the hare.
By this time, the other animals had arrived at the stool as well. All of them were crowded around, listening intently. The chameleon realized that the hare was right. He didn’t admit this aloud, but he left the stool and slowly blended into the grass, never to be seen again.
With that, the hare became king of the animals and ruled fairly and justly for the rest of time.
(A chameleon in the grass, Blogspot)
Book: West African Folktales
Author: William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, drawings by Cecilia Sinclair
Year Published: 1917
Web Source: West African Folktales
Author's Note: The only thing I really changed about this story was the ending. In the original, the chameleon does not give up his post, which results in all the animals dispersing and the chameleon having nobody to rule over. In my version, he sees the error of his ways and steps down.
This is a wonderful story. The story kept me interested the whole time. I think it was good that you changed the ending. Everyone should look for their errors and step down when needed, though this doesn't happen as often as it should. The race was edged in the hares favor though. So I think it was quite clever of the chameleon to cling to the hare and end up beating him there. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI liked the fact that you changed the ending. A lot of the endings from our readings negate a change, in my opinion. Some seem to be so far off base as far as morals go. So enjoyed the fact that you let the chameleon's honor and moral compass to win out. I will say that the chameleon really did have a brilliant idea of clinging to the hare to reach the stool first. Excellent storytelling, Melanie.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool story! Although I did not read the original story, I like that you changed the ending. Happy endings are so much better. When someone realizes their faults that is always a great thing, but too bad the chameleon ran away afterwards. It was pretty clever of him to find on the hare and attempt to win the reign as king. Overall great job on your storytelling this week!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story! I've never read the original but it sounds really interesting. I like that you changed the ending, sometimes the endings to these fairy tales can be so sad haha. But it sounds like you did a great job of upholding the original while making it your own. Your version was fun and entertaining to read! Great job in your story, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI already commented on your introduction so I decided to comment on another storytelling post. I did not read the original story, but I think I would like your version better. I like that you had the chameleon willing step down because he realized his error. I would not have thought that the hare would win the race though. Definitely thought a cheetah would.
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