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Jackal and the sun

- Traditional San story

One morning Old Jackal woke up to find his son sleeping in the sun. The food was not ready and the goats were still in the kraal! "Young man, you are so lazy! Go and find a wife. I am too old to look after you," said Jackal's father. So, Jackal jumped up and took the goats out to graze.
In the bush, he saw something shining on a rock. He went closer and closer to the rock. The closer he got, the more beautiful the shine was. Perhaps this was the wife for him!
"You are beautiful," said Jackal to the shine. "But who are you? Why are you alone?" "I am the sun," the shine answered. "My family left me here when they moved on. They did not want to carry me. I am too hot."
The jackal said, "But you are so beautiful! I will carry you. I will take you home to meet my father." "All right, you can carry me. But do not complain when I get too hot for you," said the sun.
So, Jackal put the sun on his back and started the journey home. Before long, the sun was burning Jackal's fur.

License information: CC BY 4.0
MPAA: G
Go to source: https://www.africanstorybook.org/

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