一只不想做国王的兔子（中）

"My second decree is that every day you must bring me an animal for my supper. A king can't do his own hunting."

 

The animals nodded gloomily.

 

"And my third decree is, if you don't do as I say, I'll eat the lot of you!"

 

The animals now turned to one another in horror. They had thought a king would be wise and protect them. But Kali only wanted to bully¹ and eat them. As darkness fell, the unhappy animals slunk away into the bush.

 

But at dawn they were back at the waterhole, hurrying to build Kali's palace. There was much to do and little time.

 

All through the heat of the day the animals lugged² and labored³. Elephants lifted tree trunks for the pillars, crocodiles brought mud for the walls, giraffes collected grasses that weaver⁴ birds wove for the roof. None dared stop for a moment. Only hare did nothing. He hid inside a tussock（草丛） of oat grass and watched as the fine thatched house rose up beside the water-hole.

 

The sun was just beginning to set as the weaver birds tied off the last knots in the soaring thatched roof. No sooner had they finished than Kali appeared. He prowled up and down his new kingdom swishing his tail while his subjects watched uneasily.

 

"This is what I call a palace," he roared at last.

 

The animals gave a sigh of relief. But all too soon, for in the next breath the lion snarled⁵, "But where's my supper? My belly's rumbling⁶. Bring me a juicy warthog."

 

As soon as he heard this, Hare sneaked⁷ off home to his hollow in the baobab tree. "Didn't I tell them?" he said to himself. "Didn't I say that making Kali king would mean big trouble? And would anyone listen?"

 

And so it was that every day afterwards one of the animals was chosen to be Kali's supper. One day it was an impala. Another it was a zebra. Next it was a gazelle.

 

One day though it was Hare's turn. Tembo caught him unawares as he was grazing on the plains. The great elephant seized him in his trunk and carried him kicking and screaming to Kali's palace.

 

"It's not fair!" shrieked⁸ Hare. "I didn't even vote for Kali. I told you it was a bad idea to have a king."

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